Primarily grounded in the Seon tradition, he also set about teaching others of Pure Land Buddhism and undertook massive studies and translation efforts of the Buddhist Tripitaka.
In 1879, at age fifteen, he was ordained a sunim by the Venerable Hwanwol at Haeinsa in Hapcheon in South Gyeongsang and was given the ordination name Jinjong.
He spent the coming years practicing Seon meditation and studying the Korean Tripitaka at monasteries and temples throughout Korea, engaging many masters in Dharma combat.
Beginning in 1903 he began leading discussions on Seon and Pure Land Buddhism with various students, and also set about building meditation halls for temples and repaired the Tripitaka woodblocks housed at Haeinsa.
"[2] In 1910 he became Master of Chilburam Meditation Hall on Jirisan mountain, and his congregation asked him to critique others religions from a Buddhist standpoint.