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Page ii SUNY series in Korean Studies Sung Bae Park, editor Page iii The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Korean Buddhism's Guide to Meditation (With Commentary by the Son Monk Kihwa) Translated and with an Introduction by A. Charles Muller State University of New York Press Page iv Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1999 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other­ wise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address the State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 Production by Marilyn P Semerad Marketing by Dana E. Yanulavich Library of Congress Cataloging­in­Publication Data Ta fang kuang yuan chueh hsiu to­lo liao i ching. English & Chinese The Sutra of perfect enlightenment: Korean Buddhism's guide to meditation; with the commentary by the Son Monk Kihwa / A Charles Muller. p. cm. — (SUNY series in Korean studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0­7914—4101­6 ISBN 0­7914—4102­4 (pbk.) I. Muller, A. Charles, 1953­ . II. Kihwa, 1376­1433. Taebanggwang won'gak sudara youi kyong sorui. English. 1999. III. Title. IV. Series. BQ2232.E5 M85 1999 294.3'85­dc21 98­39738 CIP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Page v CONTENTS Preface vii Abbreviations and Conventions xi Introduction 1 What Is the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment? 3 Chinese Origins and Effects 4 The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment in Korea Before Kihwa 16 Kihwa (Hamho Tukt'ong) 24 The SPE after Kihwa: The Choson Period 35 The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Today 37 Overview of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment 40 Translation 49 Kihwa's Introduction 51 1. Mañjusri Bodhisattva 70 2. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva 86 3. Universal Vision Bodhisattva 100 4. Vajragarbha Bodhisattva 121 5. Maitreya Bodhisattva 136 6. Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva 153 7. Power and Virtue Unhindered Bodhisattva 166 8. Voice of Discernment Bodhisattva 182 9. Purifier of All Karmic Hindrances Bodhisattva 198 10. Universal Enlightenment Bodhisattva 217 11. Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva 228 12. Most Excellent of Worthies Bodhisattva 240 Appendix: Kihwa's Revised Edition of the Sutra 247 Notes 287 Works Cited 307 Index 317 Page vii PREFACE I first came across the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (SPE) at the outset of my graduate studies in East Asian Buddhism at the University of Virginia, where, in the course of my reading of late T'ang and Sung Ch'an works, I found the sutra cited with frequency. Some further investigation led me to understand that the SPE was one of the most important documents in the history of the Ch'an tradition—that it had long served as a definitive guide to meditation practice, and that it had been studied and extensively commented on by a number of Ch'an luminaries, not least of whom was Tsung­mi, the influential T'ang dynasty scholar­monk. Knowing this, I wondered at the fact that aside from a 1962 translation by Charles Luk, there was almost nothing else to be found on the sutra in the English language. My interest thus aroused, I began to study the text in earnest, along with its various commentaries and its historical background—and began my initial work at the English translation presented here. In 1988, I began the second stage of my graduate studies career in the program in Korean Studies at SUNY Stony Brook, where I had the opportunity to work in some depth on the SPE together with Sung Bae Park, one of the world's foremost authorities on Korean Buddhism. It was in this circumstance that I was introduced to the major Korean commentary on the SPE, that by the Koryo­Choson monk Kihwa. Reading Kihwa's commentary, I found both its literary style and its religious insight to be exceptional, to the point where reading the commentary was in many places more satisfying than the sutra itself, and so I became newly absorbed in the study of the sutra in conjunction with this commentary. Further investigation revealed that the SPE held an even more prominent place in Korean Son than it had in Chinese Ch'an, as from roughly the time of the thirteenth century it had been installed as one of the basic texts used in the Korean monastic educational system, Page viii a position from which it would never be displaced. This work also led me to deeper investigation into the oeuvre of Kihwa, one of the most influential scholar­monks in Korean Buddhist history. I ended up doing my dissertation on Kihwa, and presently have other projects in progress concerning his works. Upon completing my dissertation, I was fortunate enough to receive a grant allowing me a period of concentrated and secluded study in Korea, during which time I returned with full attention to the SPE and Kihwa's commentary, finally completing my draft translation of the combined text. It is my hope that this combined translation and commentary will provide a valuable resource for students and scholars of East Asian meditative Buddhism who wish to deepen their understanding of its foundational philosophical and soteriological theories, as well as broaden their understanding of what is implied by the concept of "Ch'an/Son/Zen practice." This work should also help to deepen general scholarly knowledge about Korean Son, especially the role that scriptural study has played in that tradition. And since the situation of the shameful neglect of Korean Buddhist materials has still not changed that much since it first began to be noted in Western scholarship a decade or so ago, I hope that this translation, as well as the introduction, which contains an extensive discussion of certain aspects of Korean Buddhist history, will help in a small way to correct this deficiency. Finally, this translation should also serve as a useful guide to those who are pursuing Ch'an/Son/Zen practice, as it is packed full of concrete advice on Buddhist philosophy, meditation, monastic conduct, and so forth, presented in a format that simply cannot be found in presently existing works on Zen in Western languages. Up to the present, Zen practitioners in the West have had little other than koan collections or the sermons of their local teachers to serve as their guide, so this work should help to fill in this gap. In studying the SPE, such practitioners will have access to the instruction of one of the most authoritative and enduring meditation manuals in the entire tradition. I have to thank, more than anyone else on the completion of this work, my longtime mentor at SUNY Stony Brook, Sung Bae Park, who from the time of our first meeting during my undergraduate days to the completion of my graduate studies has sparked, energized, and continually helped me to reclarify my interest in, and understanding of, East Asian Buddhism. It is he who led me to the treasure­trove of the field of Korean Buddhism, and I look forward to working with him further in the vitally important task of opening up this area of knowledge to the English­speaking world. I am also indebted to Robert Siegel, the managing editor of the Korean Studies series at Stony Brook, who in overseeing the early production Page ix of the manuscript, offered valuable suggestions for its improvement. I would also like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Jin Young Park, who carefully checked my translation, and saved me from much possible embarrassment. Valuable corrections and suggestions on the introduction were made by my colleague here at Toyo Gakuen, Brian McVeigh. The main part of the translation was completed during my stay in 1994 at the Academy of Korean Studies, with the generous financial support of the Korea Foundation, and I would like to thank both of these organizations for their support. Finally, much thanks are deserved by my wife Maki, who has supported me in countless ways during the long process of finishing this work. Cover Art: Calligraphy—"Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment" by Masatsugu Miyaji (Osaka, Japan) Page xi ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS AMF — Treatise on the Awakening of Mahayana Faith (Ta­sheng ch'i­hsin lun ) CYC— Compilation of Yung­chia of the Ch'an School (Ch'an­tsung Yungchia chi ) DS — ) HPC —­Han'guk pulgyo chonso (The Collected Texts of Korean Buddhism ) SHM — Sutra of the Heroic March Samadhi (Suramgama­sutra, Shouleng­yen ching ) SPE — Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (Yüan chüeh ching ) T — Taisho shinshu daizokyo Z — Dai nihon zokuzokyo Terms that are originally of Sanskrit origin but that are now included in English language dictionaries will not normally be diacriticalized, unless the situation calls for it. For example, the term sutra will not be diacriticalized in general circumstances, nor will it be diacriticalized in English titles of scriptures, such as Platform Sutra. But it will be diacriticalized in the context of the Sanskrit title of a text, such as Vajrasamadhi­sutra. Chinese readings of Sino­Korean logographs are romanized in the Wade­Giles system and Korean is romanized with McCune­Reischauer. In the case where both readings are given, the Chinese is listed first and Korean second. For example: chieh/kye. Page 1 INTRODUCTION Page 3 What Is the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment? The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (Ch. Yüan chüeh ching [SPE]) 1 is a Buddhist scripture that has its origins within the Ch'an and Hua­yen circles of learning, probably composed in China around the beginning of the eighth century.

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