Biography
Master Kim, TaeWan.(金泰完)
<Academic Career>
•1988: Graduated from the Department of Philosophy, Dongguk University.
•1993: Graduated with a Master’s degree from the Department of Philosophy, Busan National University. Focus: Buddhist philosophy. Title of Master’s Thesis: “Nagasena’s View of Buddhism in Milindapanha”.
•2000: Graduated with a Ph.D from the Department of Philosophy, Busan National University. Focus: Chinese Seon(中國禪). Title of Doctoral Thesis: “A Study of Chinese Seon 中國 祖師禪 硏究. *Abstract is attached at the end.
•1992~2004: Published 15 research papers about Buddhist philosophy and Seon.
•1992~2004: Member of a study group reading original Chinese texts of Buddhism.
•1995~2005: Lectured on Oriental philosophy and Chinese writing at Busan National University, SillaUniversity, Dong-Eui University and Gyeongsang National University.
<Seon Practice>
•1993 : Met Master Park, HongYoung and participated in his lecture.
•1996 : One day in summer, when master Park said “This is Seon!” and tapped the floor with his finger, in that moment, enlightenment rose in his mind.
(extracted from “Master Kim’s Journey to the Self.”)
One summer day, a few minutes after the Seon Master Hunsan(Buddhist name of Master Park, HongYoung) started his Dharma talk, he shouted, “Seon is no other than This! This is Seon!” while pounding the floor. At that moment, it seemed to me that the things stuck in my chest passed off like a flash. During the flash, I felt what had been clogged up suddenly disappear and said to myself, “Oh, what he has been trying to say so far is no other than this!” I couldn’t understand any Dharma talks that I had heard until then. But, when the flash passed off, it seemed to me what had been recorded in my mind started to play at once and I could understand all Dharma talks. I felt as if what had been tangled started to resolve. Since it happened in an instant and was a sudden experience at that moment, I couldn’t say anything about it. After that moment, I could understand what he said.
•1998: Began to talk about Seon to some students who attended his university class and who had taken an interest in Seon after school hours.
•2001. 2~2002. 1: Wrote a column “Seon Lessons through Ta-hui’s Letters(大慧書狀)” in the Buddhist newspaper “Hyunbulnews(現代佛敎新聞).”
•2002. 2~2003. 1: Wrote a column “Seon Lessons through Quotations from Lin-chi(臨濟語錄)” in the Buddhist newspaper “Hyunbulnews(現代佛敎新聞).”
•2001. 12 : People who had read his column began to call on him and talk with him.
•2002. 1: Began to speak Seon Dharma talks to people who had read his column and called on him using such teaching materials as, “The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch(六祖壇經),” “Quotations from Ma-tsu(馬祖語錄),” “Ta-hui’s Letters(大慧書狀),” “Quotations about Mind from Yuan-wu(圓悟心要),” “Quotations from Lin-chi(臨濟語錄),” “Quotations from Huang-po(黃檗語錄)” and so on.
•2002. 3: Began to speak on Buddhist Seon Dharma talks at Gwangju in Gyeonggi-do.
•2002. 8: According to Master Hunsan’s recommendation and due to his assistance, Musim Seon Center(無心禪院) opened at Namsan-dong in Busan. Began to teach about Seon in Suwon in Gyeonggi-do.
•2003. 1~2004. 12: Wrote a column “‘Precept of Faith(信心銘)’ viewed from the Seon Perspective,” in the Buddhist magazine Seonwon(禪苑) which is the bulletin of Seonhakwon(禪學院).
•2005: One spring night, as he was walking along the river, for no apparent reason, his mind suddenly disappeared.
(extracted from “Master Kim’s Journey to the Self.”)
Then, one evening, I was walking alone along the terrace land on a small river in Busan, drenched in Dharma. When I was passing under a bridge of the river, I suddenly felt my mind disappear. As the mind disappeared, there was nothing referred to as Dharma. Everything felt empty like the air. Even if the physical body of mine still walked, saw, heard, felt, thought like the previous one, nothing was a hindrance because all things—such as the body, sense, and thinking—was like the air. Now, I felt a focus that was crystal clear, the gap disappeared and everything became perfect oneness. As there is no mind and Dharma, I didn’t get caught with anything, whether it was objects or thinking.
That evening, when I arrived at home, I didn’t feel annoyed unlike on other days, even if I was with my family. Though I was with other people, I felt free as if there was no one but the air. As there seemed to be no one, including me, there was no mind and world. I couldn’t think about anything, even about the practice and Dharma. My mind felt free and refreshed. As the mind disappeared at last, it was released from all restraints. In fact, previously, even if I was always awake here and now, the desire arising from the mind and the conflicts colliding with the mind were annoying. Since there was mind, there were goals that I should achieve. There had been hindrances and scruples before. Then, one day, the mind disappeared so there were no people, no world, no truth, no practice, no enlightenment. Nothing, not even a tiny dust mote could be a hindrance. For the first time I could understand the layman Pang’s(龐居士) words, “A mote of dust cannot be seen in the whole world,” and the Sutra’s expression, “As there is no Buddha, who can get enlightenment, what enlightenment is there?”
•2008. 1: Musim Seon center moved from Namsan-dong to Haeundae in Busan, where he continues to give Seon Dharma talks.
•2008. 7: Began to give Seon Dharma talks in Seoul.
•2017. 4: Began to give Seon Dharma talks in Daegu.
<List of Writings and Translations>
Writings
•Practice and Idea of the Patriarch’s Seon
<祖師禪의 實踐과 思想>(藏經閣) Janggyeonggak. 2001. 2.
•Seon Lessons through Ta-hui’s Letters
<書狀工夫>(如是我聞) Yeosiamun. 2002. 11.
•Diamond Sutra from the Seon Perspective
<선(禪)으로 읽는 금강경(金剛經)>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2015. 7.
•This is It!
<바로 이것!>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2005. 5.
•‘In Praise of Mahayana’ Viewed from the Seon Perspective
<선으로 읽는 대승찬(大乘讚)>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2008. 1.
•A Guide to Seon
<참선(參禪)의 길잡이>(무사인) Musainbooks. 2008. 6.
•‘Precept of Faith’ Viewed from the Seon Perspective
<선으로 읽는 신심명(信心銘)>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2010. 4.
•Prajnaparamita Sutra Viewed from the Seon Perspective
<선으로 읽는 반야심경(般若心經)>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2011. 9.
•Seon: The Founder of Ganhwa-Seon Vol.1-2
<간화선(看話禪) 창시자(創始者)의 선(禪)>上,下.(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2011. 12.
Translations with Notes
•Quotations from Lin-chi(臨濟語錄)
<임제어록>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2015. 2.
•Quotations from Ma-tsu(馬祖語錄)
<마조어록>(침묵의 향기) Chimmukbooks. 2005. 7.
•Diamond Sutra(金剛經)
<금강경>(무사인) Musainbooks. 2008. 6.
•Songs of Enlightenment: Translation with Notes of Several Songs Written by Seon masters.
<깨달음의 노래>(무사인) Musainbooks. 2008. 6.
•Translation and Commentary of the Seonmun-nyeomsong and its Explanatory Notes(禪門拈頌拈頌說話) Vol.1-10.
(This research comes under the translation and annotation of the national classical literature. The original text, translated and annotated in this work,is “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong And Its Explanatory Notes(禪門拈頌拈頌說話會本) which has been regarded as one of the most important documents in Korean Seon Buddhism. “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong And Its Explanatory Notes” is comprised of two parts, “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong,” and “An Explanatory Notes Of The Seonmun-Nyeomsong.” “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong” compiled by Jingak-Hesim(眞覺慧諶), the Most Reverend Monk of the ancient Korean kingdom(高麗), is a book which has 1463 phrases of kongan(公案) or hwadu (話頭) and references, comments, songs, criticisms, reviews about those phrases. “The Explanatory Notes Of The Seonmun-Nyeomsong” written by Buddhist monk Gakwoon(覺雲) who was a disciple of Jingak-Hesim, is the whole interpretation of “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong.” In this work,we have translated Chinese into Korean and annotated all of “The Seonmun-Nyeomsong And Its Explanatory Notes” resulting in about a 5000-page manuscript.)
<선문염송염송설화 1-10>(육일문화사. 4명 공역) yukilbooks. 2009. 9. Joint translation.
•A Translation and Annotation on the ‘Ta-hui Tsung-kao’(大慧宗杲) Text: Vol. 1-6.
<대혜보각선사어록(大慧普覺禪師語錄)>(소명출판사) Somyeongbooks. 2011. 3.
•Quotations from Bodhidharma(達摩語錄)
<달마어록>(침묵의 향기) chimmukbooks. 2012. 12.
<Abstract>
A STUDY ON THE CHINESE SEON
The Seon(禪) is a realization of enlightenment. The target of enlightenment in Seon is Buddha-nature or mind. Therefore, to explain Seon, we must interpret what Buddha-nature or mind is and how we can realize the enlightenment of it. The history of the Seon sect in China is divided into three main periods. The first period (5C-8C) was from Bodhidharma(菩提達摩), the first patriarch of the Seon sect, to Hung-jên(弘忍), the fifth patriarch. The second period (8C-11C) was from Hui-nêng(慧能), the sixth patriarch, to the five or seven southern Seon schools(五家七宗). The third period (11C- ) was from Tsung-kao(宗杲), a promoter of the topic of conversation Seon(看話禪), and Hung-chih(宏智), an advocate of silent contemplation(黙照禪).
The view of mind-nature in the first period was that mind is made up of true nature and untrue images. Thus, enlightenment is realized by discarding untrue images and the way to discard untrue images was to sit still and to watch those images. This way was a step-by-step method of the realization of enlightenment(漸修法) and was introduced from India.
Hui-nêng(慧能), the sixth patriarch of the Seon sect in China, was the first teacher of the second period and a pioneer of the new Chinese Seon. He transformed the Indian meditation Dhyana into the Chinese Seon. The teachings of Hui-nêng was a new view of mind-nature—that mind is only one. So, true nature and untrue images are not different but exactly the same, namely, non-dualism. Enlightenment in his school(頓悟法) was suddenly and unexpectedly realized with questions and answers about Seon or mind or Buddha-nature. In his school, any fixed practice was not required. Thus, the Seon in the second period was new and different from the step-by-step method of meditation in former times and from Dhyana in India.
The enlightening process of Chinese Seon has four basic parts: the Mind (or ground), the learnings of a disciple (or seeding), the teachings of a master of Seon (or watering), in addition to the coincidence of necessary conditions. The Mind (ground) is the one and only ground on which the enlightening process occurs. The learnings of a disciple (seeding) are the determination and longing through which he will behold the Buddha-nature within himself. The teachings of a master of Seon (watering) are the instructions of the truth about the Mind and a direct showing of the Mind, as well as, the coincidence of necessary conditions resulting in the realization of a disciple’s beholding the Buddha-nature within himself.
Now, saying it once more, if a disciple is determined to realize the enlightenment, he is to come to see a master of Seon and be awaked by him. At this time, the master of Seon tells him the truth about the Mind and shows him the Mind directly by making use of various means. Through these means, the master of Seon will offer to the disciple an opportunity to behold the Buddha-nature within himself. At the same time, the disciple should long to grasp the truth about the Mind and behold the Buddha-nature within himself. Finally, there must exist the coincidence of necessary conditions if he is to realize the enlightenment. This is the enlightening process in Chinese Seon.
The purpose of realizing enlightenment in this way is that the true nature of the Mind can be found out thoroughly in this way. Methodologically, the Mind may be divided into the outward mind and the inward mind. The outward mind shows itself through seeing, hearing, feeling, perceiving, recognizing and all of those sorts of things. The inward mind is the subject of seeing, hearing, feeling, perceiving, recognizing, etc., but is not the object of all them. Therefore, it cannot show itself through those sorts of things. An ordinary man can know the only outward mind showed through perceptions, etc., thus he is bound to that shown mind (that is to say, the phenomenal world), but cannot know the inward mind (that is, the beginning of the phenomenal world). He is, so to speak, not aware of the beginning, but only aware of the end and bound to the end.
But the inward mind and the outward mind are not two different minds but the same One Mind. In other words, the phenomenal world and the beginning of the phenomenal world are not two different worlds but is One World. Therefore, by way of indicating the outward mind showing itself through seeing, hearing, feeling, perceiving, recognizing, and all those sorts of things, the master can make his disciple realize the inward mind. To realize the inward mind is to behold the Buddha-nature within himself.