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

In his approach to Hwaŏm philosophy and practice, the Koryŏ monk Ŭich’ŏn (1055-1101) was heavily influenced by Chinese Huayan masters, notably Chengguan (738-839), the fourth patriarch of Chinese Huayan. As a result, he was very critical of preceding Korean Hwaŏm masters: especially of Kyunyŏ (923-972), but probably of Ŭisang (625-702) as well. However, as he was the founder of his tradition, it was impossible for Ŭich’ŏn to openly criticize Ŭisang. Ŭich’ŏn’s remaining writings also do not discuss Ŭisang’s thought at all. In this article I will therefore focus on the spelling of Ŭisang’s name in Ŭich’ŏn’s writings: rather than the conventional forms 義相 or 義湘 that are used in most sources, and also by modern scholars, he consistently used the spelling 義想. This was not for taboo reasons as previously surmised, but rather because Ŭich’ŏn found the use of the character 相 inappropriate, for a variety of reasons. One of these was that it was commonly used to refer to the Yogȃcāra tradition (Sangjong 相宗), in contrast to the 性宗 (Sŏngjong), referring to Hwaŏm and other traditions centered on tathāgatagarbha doctrine. Although 相宗 was originally used by Huayan scholars in a derogatory sense, Chengguan reevaluated it positively, arguing that Huayan scholars should also study Yogȃcāra. Ŭich’ŏn was clearly critical of previous Korean Hwaŏm masters, including Ŭisang, who eschewed this tradition, and thereby remained mired in an intellectual, discursive approach to Buddhism rather than a well-rounded approach that sought to rise above discursive approaches.