Korean Buddhism


Book Description




Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism


Book Description

An overview of Korean Buddhism and its major figures in the modern period.




From the Mountains to the Cities


Book Description

At the start of the twentieth century, the Korean Buddhist tradition was arguably at the lowest point in its 1,500-year history in the peninsula. Discriminatory policies and punitive measures imposed on the monastic community during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) had severely weakened Buddhist institutions. Prior to 1895, monastics were prohibited by law from freely entering major cities and remained isolated in the mountains where most of the surviving temples and monasteries were located. In the coming decades, profound changes in Korean society and politics would present the Buddhist community with new opportunities to pursue meaningful reform. The central pillar of these reform efforts was p’ogyo, the active propagation of Korean Buddhist teachings and practices, which subsequently became a driving force behind the revitalization of Buddhism in twentieth-century Korea. From the Mountains to the Cities traces p’ogyo from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. While advocates stressed the traditional roots and historical precedents of the practice, they also viewed p’ogyo as an effective method for the transformation of Korean Buddhism into a modern religion—a strategy that proved remarkably resilient as a response to rapidly changing social, political, and legal environments. As an organizational goal, the concerted effort to propagate Buddhism conferred legitimacy and legal recognition on Buddhist temples and institutions, enabled the Buddhist community to compete with religious rivals (especially Christian missionaries), and ultimately provided a vehicle for transforming a “mountain-Buddhism” tradition, as it was pejoratively called, into a more accessible and socially active religion with greater lay participation and a visible presence in the cities. Ambitious and meticulously researched, From the Mountains to the Cities will find a ready audience among researchers and scholars of Korean history and religion, modern Buddhist reform movements in Asia, and those interested in religious missions and proselytization more generally.




Empire of the Dharma


Book Description

Kim explores the dynamic relationship between Korean and Japanese Buddhists in the years leading up to the Japanese annexation of Korea. Conventional narratives portray Korean Buddhists as complicit in the religious annexation of the peninsula, but this view fails to account for the diverse visions, interests, and strategies that drove both sides.




Polishing the Diamond, Enlightening the Mind


Book Description

"Polishing the Diamond, Enlightening the Mind" is an offering of concise teachings, stories, and meditations from one of Korea's most revered living Buddhist masters. It is at once a testament to the vitality of Korean Buddhism today and a timeless expression of the transformative role the Buddha's teachings can play in a person's life.




The Way of Korean Zen


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This is a collection of sermons from one of Korea's greatest Zen masters, with instruction in meditation techniques.




The Compass of Zen


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A simple, exhaustive—and often hilarious—presentation of the essence of Zen by a modern Zen Master of considerable renown In his many years of teaching throughout the world, the Korean-born Zen Master Seung Sahn has become known for his ability to cut to the heart of Buddhist teaching in a way that is strikingly clear, yet free of esoteric and academic language. In this book, based largely on his talks, he presents the basic teachings of Buddhism and Zen in a way that is wonderfully accessible for beginners—yet so rich with stories, insights, and personal experiences that long-time meditation students will also find it a source of inspiration and a resource for study.




Korean Buddhism


Book Description

Korean Buddhism by Frederick Starr is about Tongbulgyo ("interpenetrated Buddhism"), a form that sought to harmonize previously arising disputes among scholars (a principle called hwajaeng 和諍). Excerpt: "I found much interest in the country. I studied the people and their daily life; I visited many of the famous points of interest and beauty; I have studied somewhat into Korean history. Nothing, however, has more interested me than the study of Korean religions, particularly Buddhism. When asked to give some public lectures this summer, I consented gladly to speak for three evenings on the subject of Korean Buddhism. My three lectures will deal with History—Condition—Art."




Korean Religions in Relation


Book Description

Instead of simply being another survey of the three dominant religions in contemporary Korea—Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity—this unique book studies them in relation to each other in terms of assimilation, accommodation, conflict, and exclusion. The contributors focus on major issues that have historically challenged the relations between the three religions from the Goryeo period to the present and how each religion has responded to them. The essays bring a new perspective to the study of Korean religions, one that is especially pertinent in the current age of religious pluralism with all its tensions.




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