The Dharma Master Chongsan of Won Buddhism: Analects and Writings

By Chongsan

Won Buddhism emerged in early twentieth-century Korea after a long period of anti-Buddhist repression. It is a syncretic tradition, a form of Buddhism strongly influenced by the Chŏson dynasty's Neo-Confucian ethical heritage and by Daoism. Seeking to deliver sentient beings from suffering and to create a just and ethical world, Won Buddhism stresses practical application of the dharma and service. It offers a vision of people as one family, morally perfected.

This book provides the first English translations of the writings of Chŏngsan (1900-62), the second dharma master of Won Buddhism, who codified the new religion's central doctrines. The translations here include Chŏngsan's discussion of Buddha-nature, described as a mind-seal and symbolized by the Irwŏnsang (a unitary circle); his synthesis of Confucian moral and political programs with Buddhist notions of emancipation from birth and death; and his expositions on realizing the ideal of all people as one family.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1438440235
• ISBN13: 9781438440231
• Release Date: January 2012
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher