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

The Mt. Saja Sanmun (Mountain Gate=Seon Family), one of the important nine Seon lineages that prospered in Goryeo dynasty, was alleged to have been founded by a great Seon master Doyun(道允, 798-868) and his disciple Jeoljung(折中, 826-900) in the 9th century. However, the Mt. Saja Sanmun was not the direct successor of the Mt. Saja Sanmun founded by Jeoljung in the late 9th century. The Mt. Saja Sanmun in his time was just a single Seon monastery where he practiced together with his disciples; Mt. Saja Sanmun, after the 11th century, comprised of a group of monasteries inhabited by the disciples of Doyun and of Jeoljung. The former can be understood as a ’Seon Place’ which means just a monastery, while the latter is a ’Seon lineage’ consisting of many Seon families and monasteries. The denotation of Sanmun(=Seon family) was changed in the early 11th century when the nine Sanmun system was established. The change coincided with the establishment of the Goryeo dynasty’s political and economic systems, especially the appearance of aristocratic families. Following the change of the Sanmun’s meaning, Doyun, who originally had no direct relation with Mt. Saja Seon monastery, came to be regarded as the founding father of the Saja Sanmun, while Jeoljung, the original founder of the Mt. Saja Seon monastery was merely regarded as the disciple of the founder.