Zen-Korea

= Zen in Korea by Zach Togut  =

Three things everyone should know about Zen Buddhism in Korea:
Korean Buddhism is a kind of Buddhism that through out history has gained influence from both Confucianism and Shamanism. Korean Buddhism is mainly focussed on the ritualistic side of the religion. Buddhist rituals are extremely important in Korea and are not only practiced with diligence by the monastic peoples, but by the common people of Korea as well. Korean Buddhism plays a big part in the nationality of Korea, and many temples and places of worship are still around in Korea today, which are available to the 75% of the Korean population, which is Buddhist. [|://www.taekwondobible.com/korculture/spirit/historybud.html]

[|Buddhanet's directory of weblinks]

Critical Vocabulary/ Major concepts:
Buddhist practices in Korea have fluctuated over history, and now has split up into three major sects. One of the Main beliefs for all Korean Buddhism sects is that, it is believed that anyone can achieve enlightenment, and that every sentient being has Buddha nature. Buddha nature is the potential of reaching enlightenment in ones daily life. The first sect, Taego, is popular for its belief that its clergy should be allowed to marry. Taego is also the second largest Sangha in Korea, and it believes like all other Buddhist sects in korea that all can reach enlightenment. The second, Jingak, also believes that its clergy should be allowed to marry, and Jingak is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajrayana Buddhism is a very broad, and inconsistent version of Buddhism, that follows the Tantras and preforms rituals diligently. The third sect of Korean Buddhism is Won Buddhism. Won Buddhism follows something called the four beneficences, which consist of laws, parents, fellow beings and Heaven and earth. The Won followers practice the four beneficences, so that one day they might be enlightened in Buddha Nature.
 * amitabha - sanskrit for boundless light. Is the Buddha that is in the land of no suffering. The "Pure Land" or "Land of Bliss."
 * bodhisattva - people that are capable of reaching Nirvana, but stay back to help others on the path to enlightenment
 * Dharmachakra - The wheel of law. The eight spokes represent the eightfold path.

Historical timeline (major developments):
Before Buddhism in Korea the dominant religion was Shamanism, but in 372 A.D Buddhists from China came and spread Buddhism. Buddhism was widely accepted in Korea, and was easily applicable with Shamanism. Shamanism is the belief that all living beings and inanimate objects have a spirit. Buddhism had no conflicting ideas with this belief, thus making it easy for the local people to accept the religion. Around this time, Korea was split up into three kingdoms. The first kingdom, Koguryo accepted Buddhism immediately, making it the main religion of the kingdom. The second Kingdom was the Paekje kingdom, which in 384 A.D accepted the Buddhist religion that had been spread by a people traveling southwest from the Koguryo kingdom. Buddhism then, in the 6th century came about in the kingdom of Shilla. Buddhism was first accepted by the lower classes, unlike Koguryo and Paekje, whose royalty accepted the religion hastily. Shilla's aristocracy gradually accepted Buddhism over time, and the Kingdom became one of the biggest locations for Buddhism's evolving culture. Shilla then in 668 A.D conquered all of its opposing kingdoms, and united all of its people under the central religion of Buddhism. After the Shilla period, the Koryo Dynasty came about in 935 A.D, still continuing the practices of Buddhism. During this time many temples were built for worship, and it was common for kings and their families to enter monasteries. At this same point in time, confucianism was introduced, not yet as popular as buddhism, but gaining followers rapidly. The Choson Dynasty soon gained power in 1392 A.D after the fall of the Koryo dynasty. The Choson Dynasty followed Neo-confucianism beliefs, and it became the new national religion. Buddhism began to become more and more unpopular during this time, and for some Kings in the Choson Dynasty, persecution of the Buddhists was common. Many Buddhist temples were torn down, for new temples, causing monks to leave Korea. Although in 1604, 5,000 Buddhist monks helped stop the Japanese invasion of Korea, making Buddhism a widely respected, and accepted religion again. In 1910 Buddhism again became popular when the Japanese gained rule over Korea. Korea was then liberated in 1945, bringing back the Korean Buddhist tradition, which is still present today in both North and South Korea. @http://www.taekwondobible.com/korculture/spirit/historybud.html

Geography
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Huntington Archive - Here is a place to start -- but, you can probably do better.

Monastic Practice
@http://mannaismayaadventure.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/

This Buddha located in South Korea is portrayed with his right hand raised, and his the tips of his index finger and thumb touching. This is a Vitarka Mudra. The thumb and index finger, are said, to represent the wheel of law. This is a picture of a large group of Buddhist monks in Korea, protesting against the Mayer of Seoul, who they believe is wrong for only electing non-buddhists to important spots in his cabinet.

Lay Practice
media type="youtube" key="ZCY7xDG89JA" width="425" height="350" This traditional service shows the importance of rituals in Korean Buddhism. The man sitting, Zen master Pohwa Sunim, is expressing the sutras that the followers must accept to reach their own Buddha nature.

Scriptures and Poetry
media type="custom" key="7272439" Haein-sa Temple, located in the northern Kyonsang province of Korea is home to over 81,258 wooden blocks, which together makes up the Tripitak Koreana. Each block has a certain scripture or sutra that makes up 7,000 volumes of books. @http://7junipers.com/log/category/regions/korea/

Sacred Texts BuddhaNet and The Wisdom Anthology

Remember that Google Books offers an embed code, so that you can put the text from a google book into the page in a scrollable window.

Buddha Images (of the Korean Buddhist tradition):
This is a large statue of Buddha in South Korea. The lotus Flower or padma that the Buddha sits on is a symbol of purity. The right hand raised in this position is also an Abhaya Mudra. An Abhaya Mudra is a gesture of reassurance, blessing, and protection. . Huntington Archive - Digital Collection Search and Artstor

Pilgrimage Sites
Although this temple is located in China, the Jiu Hua Shan Temple was started in 730 A.D by a Korean Buddhist by the name of Kim Kiao Kak. This temple is now extremely important to the Buddhist religion, and thousands of Buddhist monks and temples are scattered closely around the area. @http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/spip.php?article5705 

This temple of Beautiful Gates was built in 1910. It is the only temple within the old walls of Seoul. The temple today is called the Chogyesa Temple, which was given to it after the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945. @http://www.buddhapia.com/buddhapi/eng/temple/korexp/html/bu5.html 

Current Events
Today not only is their problems in Ayodhya between Muslims and Hindus over their holy land. But their is also conflict between the the muslim, Himdu's and the Korean Buddhists. The Korean Buddhists believe that an extremely important queen, Queen Ho, ruled over Ayodhya over 2,000 years ago. She was said to have been one of the biggest spreaders of Buddhism, bringing over 20 monks to help spread Buddhism. Making the land extremely holy and important to the Korean Buddhist's. []   Baekje, an ancient Kingdom in South Korea had a festival in from September to October 16th that is honoring the great Buddhist kingdom, in its ancient capital of Gongju. T he Kingdom was once said to of had great relations with Japan, thus making it a worldwide festival for all to see. An estimated half of the proposed visitors were said to be japanese, showing that the relations between the Japanese and Korean could be as good as they were in the past. @http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/n_feature/2010/09/28/36/4901000000AEN20100928007200315F.HTML

Personal Reactions
Originally, I believed that the ritualist practices of Buddhists were only practiced by the monastic peoples. But in Korea, ritualistic practices are extremely common. Most Buddhist homes have small places of worship, or shrines in their homes, that allow them to worship when ever they are compelled to. Another thing that is baffling about Korean Buddhism, is how modern their beliefs were on marriage hundreds of years ago. For hundreds of years it has been, in the Jingak and Taego belief that all members of the Buddhist clergy are allowed to marry. This belief at the time proposed in Korea, would of never been accepted by the mainly Catholic society of Europe, showing that Korean Buddhism was an advanced religion for its time.

GRADING: F: Follows directions. Steals material. (No attempt to cite anything.) C: Follows directions. Pastes the correct items into the correct places but takes no care in explaining the choices made. Uses less than six sources. Text is SLOPPY - no proofing! B: Follows directions. Describes the choices made using complete sentences and clear language. Labels items correctly. Cites sources. Organizes the visuals. A: Does B - but, shows some extra care, thought and research. An A has a "Wow" factor. This does not mean more color or flying moneys. It means that the content selected does a great job TEACHING about Buddhism in that region.