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

Buddhist scholars, monks, nuns, and lay believers in contemporary Korea have regarded the attainment of enlightenment as the ultimate goal of Buddhism. However, the term enlightenment has remained undefined and even mystified there. In addition, conventional understanding of enlightenment is no longer effective in contemporary society characterized by openness and diversity, thus demanding us to redefine the concept.While reexamining traditional definitions, contents, objects, motives, classes, criteria, and paths with regard to enlightenment, this paper explores a new goal of Korean Buddhism in the present age and its soteriology in line with Chinul (1158-1210)'s theory of sudden awakening and gradual cultivation.This paper argues that sudden awakening should be defined as a correct recognition of the nature and function of one's self and outer objects in modern times; sudden enlightenment should be followed by gradual cultivation, which means to materialize the content of sudden awakening into social action; and Korean Buddhists should take aim at pursuing individual perfection as a democratic citizen while making an effort to solve impending problems in the global village, including human rights and environmental issues, in accordance with Early Buddhism.