Won-Hyo Tul
(28 Moves)
In his encyclopaedia General Choi told us:
Won-Hyo was the noted monk who introduced Buddhism to the Silla dynasty in 686 A.D.
What
I’ve discovered
Won-Hyo (617-686 A.D.) born as Sol-Sedang was said to be
wise from birth. The pen-name Won-Hyo meaning ‘Dawn’ was derived from his
nickname (Sedak), which had the same meaning. In
Buddhism
Buddhism had been introduced to Silla previously, but had been confined to the Royal family and rejected by the people.
With many scrolls that needed to be read only available in Chinese it was not accessible to the general population of the time.
Buddhist monks
traditionally journeyed to China to complete their study, but it is recorded
that Won-Hyo set out on this journey but did not complete it, thus becoming the
only monk in his day who did not study in
Writing
Won-Hyo wrote around 240 volumes covering
100 different types of literature, unfortunately constant invasions mean that
much of historical value has been lost and only 25 volumes of 20 of his works
survive to this day.
One of Won-Hyo’s works ‘Sipmun
Hwajong-Non’ or ‘Treatise on the Harmonious Understanding of the Ten Doctrines’
was a plea for the uniting of the Buddhist sects.
Won-Hyo’s posthumous title ‘Hwajong Kuksa’ was
derived from this work.
Family
After a Royal invitation to reside at the palace,
Won-Hyo married the widowed princess Kwa, a daughter of King Muyol.
The King approved this union even though at this
time widows were forbidden to remarry, because he felt the child produced would
be of great benefit to the kingdom.
Their son
Sol-Chong became one the Ten Confucian Sages of the Silla era.
Sol-Chong developed a form of translation for Chinese
texts, the Idu system simplifying Chinese characters into phonetic signs which
could convey the Korean language; this made them more accessible to the general
population.
In 661 A.D. Won-Hyo began the ‘Chongto’ or Pure
Land Sect, Won-Hyo believed that salvation could be found through prayer alone,
this sect opened Buddhism up to the general populace and in 662 A.D. he left
the priesthood to travel the country teaching the people.
Ilyon records Won-Hyo performing the ‘Gourd dance’
and composing a song which enabled him to bring his teaching to even the most
despised of the low born people; he also records that his marriage to a widow,
which was forbidden meant that he had to leave the priesthood.
In 668 A.D. the Three Kingdoms of
Won-Hyo’s efforts made Buddhism finally available
to all Koreans and he died in 686 A.D.
For
sources of this information please see the bibliography section of the site.
Website Copyright Zoey Fendt ©2007- no unauthorised copying allowed.
