Woncheuk
Woncheuk | |
Korean name | |
---|---|
Hangul | 원측 |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Woncheuk |
McCune–Reischauer | Wŏnch'ŭk |
Woncheuk (Korean: 원측; MR: Wŏnch'ŭk, c. 613–696) was a Korean Buddhist monk who worked in seventh century China.[1] Woncheuk was a follower of Paramārtha (499-569) and the Shelun school of Yogacara. This school defended the view that there was a ninth consciousness called the "pure consciousness" (amalavijñāna), as opposed to just the eight consciousnesses of classical Yogacara. This position had been rejected by Xuanzang and Kuiji.[2] Woncheuk later became a student of Xuanzang (ca. 600–664) and worked in his translation team.[1] Woncheuk's works attempt to reconcile the two traditions of East Asian Yogacara and often diverges from the interpretations of Xuanzang and Kuiji in favor of the views of Paramārtha.[1]
Woncheuk's work was revered throughout China and Korea, even reaching Chinese rulers like Emperors Taizong, Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu of Zhou.[3] Woncheuk's exegetical work also influenced Tibetan Buddhism and the greater Himalayan region.
Biography
[edit]Woncheuk was born in Korea. The Zhengzhang Shangfang reconstruction of the Middle Chinese pronunciation of his name is
Woncheuk was initially a follower of Paramārtha's (499-569) Shelun school (
Woncheuk's work contributed to the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. He influenced the development of the theories of Essence-Function and the Ekayāna (One Vehicle). His work was also influential on the development of the Huayan school.[1] While in Tang China, Woncheuk took as a disciple a Korean-born monk named Dojeung (Chinese:
Woncheuk is well known amongst scholars of Tibetan Buddhism for his Commentary on the Saṃdhinirmocana sūtra which was translated into Tibetan in the ninth century.[1]
Works
[edit]Choo (2006: p. 123) lists Woncheuk's three extant works:
- the Commentary on the Heart Sutra (traditional Chinese:
般若心經 贊 ), which is the first commentary on Xuanzang's translation of the Heart Sutra - the Commentary on the Samdhinirmocana-sutra (Korean: Haesimmilgyo, traditional Chinese:
解 深 密 經 疏, Sanskrit: Gambhīrasaṃdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā), which is the largest extant commentary on that sutra—called “the Great Chinese Commentary” by the eminent Vajrayana scholar Je Tsongkhapa - the Commentary on the Benevolent King Sutra (traditional Chinese:
仁王 般若 經 疏).[6]
Woncheuk also wrote a commentary to the Cheng weishi lun, but this has not survived.[1]
Choo (2006: p. 125) holds that though the Heart Sutra is generally identified as within the auspice of the Second Turning of the Dharmacakra (Sanskrit), Woncheuk in his commentary provides an exegesis from the Third Turning:
Within the Mahāyāna doctrinal classification, the Heart Sūtra belongs to the Buddha's Second turning of the Wheel, the Emptiness period of Dharma, and most extant commentaries approach it from the perspective of the Mādhyamika doctrine of the Emptiness period (Chung, 1977:87). However, Wonch'uk interprets the Heart Sūtra from the Yogācāra perspective, and his Commentary therefore offers the reader a unique opportunity to examine the Mādhyamika doctrine of emptiness from the Yogācāra perspective.).[7]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Buswell, Robert E. (2004). Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 'Wŏnch'ŭk', p. 903. Volumes 1,2. Macmillan Reference.
- ^ a b "Woncheuk 원측". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ Benjamin Penny (2002), Religion and Biography in China and Tibet, p. 110
- ^ Wiktionary sv
圓 and測 - ^ Muller, A.C. "Quick Overview of the Faxiang School
法相 宗 ". www.acmuller.net. Retrieved 2023-04-24. - ^ Choo, B. Hyun (2006). "An English Translation of the Banya paramilda simgyeong chan: Wonch'uk's Commentary on the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra)." cited in: International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture February 2006, Vol. 6, pp. 121–205. 2006. International Association for Buddhist Thought & Culture. Source: [1] (accessed: February 2, 2009), p. 123
- ^ Choo, B. Hyun (2006). "An English Translation of the Banya paramilda simgyeong chan: Wonch'uk's Commentary on the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra)." cited in: International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture February 2006, Vol. 6, pp. 121–205. 2006. International Association for Buddhist Thought & Culture. Source: [2] (accessed: Monday February 2, 2009), p. 125
References
[edit]- Choo, B. Hyun (2006). "An English Translation of the Banya paramilda simgyeong chan: Wonch'uk's Commentary on the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra)." cited in: International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture February 2006, Vol.6, pp. 121–205. 2006 International Association for Buddhist Thought & Culture. Source: [3] (accessed: February 2, 2009)
- Chung, Byung Cho (1977). "Wonch'uk ui Banya Simgyeong Chan Yon-ku (The Study of Wonch'uk's Commentary on the Heart Sūtra)." The Journal of Korean Studies. No.9, Winter. Seoul: II Ji Sa.