Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Among Hanam’s 21 cases of Seon dialogue, the first 10 cases in the opening section systematically present both the process of Seon practice and the ultimate state toward which it is directed, thereby offering valuable guidance for contemporary practitioners. This study argues that these 10 cases may be structured into three stages—Ibseon (Entering Seon), Yeonseon (Continuing Seon), and Bangseon (Releasing Seon)—and explores their psychotherapeutic implications.
In cases 1 through 3, which correspond to the stage of Ibseon, the starting point, goal, definition, and methodology of Seon practice are established. This stage presents both anticipatory assurance regarding the goal of practice and methodological doubt centered on the Critical Phrase (huatou) as its key operative mechanisms. The first half of Yeonseon shows the deepening of this methodology, as the Critical Phrase continues spontaneously and the six gates open. The latter half presents enlightenment as the result of this prior process. It describes enlightenment as something that cannot be fixed in language, identifies its content as non-being, and presents post-enlightenment discernment of sameness and difference as a further stage. In the stage of Bangseon, represented by cases 9 and 10, enlightenment is internalized through the Critical Phrase and reflection. Defilement-consciousness and the Critical Phrase function respectively as the place of detainment and the place of birth, so that through genuine investigation of the Awakening Phrase the practitioner continuously transforms defilement-consciousness into bodhi-nirvāṇa and true Buddha nature.
The methodology of Seon consists primarily in the dynamic interplay of anticipatory assurance and doubt. The former instills confidence in healing and realization and generates a strong psychological motive force, while the latter drives the practice through the Critical Phrase. As the Word without Flavor, the Critical Phrase renders all language, action, karma, and consciousness flavorless, thereby restructuring the practitioner’s entire life as flavorless action, flavorless karma, and flavorless consciousness. In this way, it makes possible a fundamental psychotherapeutic transformation.