Korea Journal of Buddhist StudiesISSN:1598-0642(Print)불교학연구회

Wonhyo’s Daeseung Gisinron Byeolgi (Special Exposition on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith) is unique in its style compared to other commentaries. It gives no explanations on not a little parts, while discussing in detail on special issues in some paragraphs. His another commentary to the same text, the Daeseung Gisinron So (Commentary on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith) explains all the parts of the text. The Byeolgi also has some strange explanations where some paragraphs don’t match the others. This disaccord might have been occurred by later interpolation of the paragraphs. The Byeolgi has close relations with Fazang’s Dasheng Qixinlun Yiji (The Commentary on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith). As the explanations on special topics which Yiji (The Commentary on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith) passes the full explanations to the ‘different book (別記)’ are found in the Byeolgi, it has been thought that the ‘different book (別記)’ in the Yiji refers to the Byeolgi and the former was influenced by the latter. But as the ‘different book (別記)’ in most of the Chinese Buddhist works refers to a different work of the same author, the ‘different book (別記)’ in the Yiji should also be regarded as one of Fazang’s work. As such, the Yiji cannot be said to be influenced by the Byeolgi. Rather, to the contrary, the possibility of the latter’s being influenced by the former is high. The frequent use of the term of ‘thusness’s arising according to the circumstances’ in the Byeolgi also raises the possibility of its being influenced by the Yiji. While Fazang uses the term of ‘thusness’s arising according to the circumstances’ very often in his works, it appears rarely in Wonhyo’s. The meaning of the term is also different between them. Only the Byeolgi uses the term often and in accordance with Fazang’s meaning. Regarding these things, the Byeolgi in present form cannot be Wonhyo’s first exposition on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith earlier than the So, but a new compilations which has not a little additional explanations influenced by the Yiji.