Korean Seon
Jinul addressed a doctrine of Sagyo Yiepseon (사교입선; 捨敎入禪) that monks should live an inborn life after learning and forgetting all creeds and theories.
He was the first monk to be appointed a national teacher and advisor by the king, having written a book presenting the Seon tradition from the Song dynasty.
[7][8][9] Beomnang (法朗, Pŏmnang, Peomnang) , who studied with the Fourth Patriarch Dayi Daoxin, was the first to bring the teachings to Korea.
Mazu's successors had numerous Korean students, some of whom returned to Korea and established their own schools at various mountain monasteries with their leading disciples.
[citation needed] Toǔi (道義 Doui), who studied with Zhizang and Baizhang Huaihai is regarded as the first patriarch of Korean Seon.
[citation needed] Jinul sought to establish a new movement within Korean Seon, which he called the "samādhi and prajñā society".
[citation needed] Jinul's works are characterized by a thorough analysis and reformulation of the methodologies of Seon study and practice.
[8] One major issue that had long fermented in Chan, and which received special focus from Jinul, was the relationship between "gradual" and "sudden" methods in practice and enlightenment.
[citation needed] Drawing upon various Chinese treatments of this topic, most importantly those by Guifeng Zongmi and Dahui Zonggao, Jinul created Pojo Seon,[8] a "sudden enlightenment followed by gradual practice" dictum, which he outlined in a few relatively concise and accessible texts.
[10] Jinul incorporated Dahui Zonggao's gwanhwa (觀話; guān huà, "observing the critical phrase") into his practice.
[12] Jinul's philosophical resolution of the Seon-Gyo conflict brought a deep and lasting effect on Korean Buddhism.
[8] It was during the time of Jinul that the Jogye Order, a Seon sect, became the predominant form of Korean Buddhism, a status it still holds.
There would be a series of important Seon teachers during the next several centuries, such as Hyegeun (혜근; 慧勤), Taego Bou, Gihwa and Hyujeong, who continued to develop the basic mold of Korean meditational Buddhism established by Jinul.
The number of temples was reduced, restrictions on membership in the sangha were installed, and Buddhist monks and nuns were literally chased into the mountains, forbidden to mix with society.
The queen had deep respect for the monk Bou (보우, 普雨), and installed him as the head of the Seon school.
The "righteous monk" (義士; uisa) movement was led by Hyujeong, a Seon master and the author of a number of important religious texts.
He is considered the central figure in the revival of Joseon Buddhism, and most major streams of modern Korean Seon trace their lineages back to him through one of his four main disciples: Yujeong; Eongi, Taeneung and Ilseon, all four of whom were lieutenants to Seosan during the war with Japan.
[14] Since Jinul Korean Seon was based on the integration of practice and scholarly study in the slogan "sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation".
[citation needed] Stuart Lachs observes that Korean Sŏn places less stress on the figure of the teacher than does Japanese Zen, which is more hierarchical.
In Korean Sŏn, the role of pangjang, the equivalent of roshi, is an elected position with an initial ten year term limit.
Lachs feels this model is instructive, as it would remove much of the hierarchy and idealization of the teacher so prevalent in American Zen centers, which follow more the Japanese style.
[17] According to Robert Buswell, in Korean Sŏn, the "master-student relationship is not nearly as formal and restrictive as we might suspect from most Western accounts of the Zen tradition.
On the flight to Los Angeles, a Korean American passenger offered him a job at a laundry in Providence, Rhode Island, which became headquarters of Seung Sahn's Kwan Um School of Zen.
At the end of World War II, his disciple, Master Mann Gong, proclaimed that lineage Dharma should be transmitted worldwide to encourage peace through enlightenment.
