Jinul

Jinul was a Korean Buddhist monk of the Goryeo period and the most influential figure in Korean Seon (Zen). Dismayed by the worldliness of the Buddhist establishment, he formed a retreat community devoted to meditation and wisdom, eventually based at the temple now called Songgwangsa. He is known for reconciling meditative Seon with doctrinal study, and for teaching 'sudden awakening followed by gradual cultivation'. Secrets on Cultivating the Mind, a short guide written around 1203–1205, sets out this path. The Jogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist order, regards him as a founding figure.

Key ideas

• The mind is originally Buddha: empty and calm in essence, yet always numinously aware.
• Awakening to one's own nature is sudden, but the habits of a lifetime must then be removed by gradual cultivation.
• Meditative concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā) should be cultivated together, each supporting the other.
• Doctrinal study (Gyo) and meditation (Seon) are complementary paths to the same realisation, not rivals.
• For capable students, investigating the key phrase of a koan (hwadu) offers a shortcut to awakening.

Major works

• Secrets on Cultivating the Mind (Susim gyeol) (c. 1203–1205)
• Encouragement to Practice (1190)
• Excerpts from the Dharma Collection and Special Practice Record with Personal Notes (1209)

In the Book corner

• Secrets on Cultivating the Mind c. 1203–1205 · Intermediate
  A short guide to Seon (Korean Zen) practice by Jinul, the most influential Seon master of the Goryeo period, written between about…

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