Kim Jeong-hui - Buddhism

Buddhism

It seems that Kim Jeong-hui was accustomed to frequenting Buddhist temples from his childhood onward. There are indications that the sudden death in or around 1805 of several of those he had been close to drove him to deepen his Buddhist practice. Among his calligraphic work, a number of copies of Buddhist Sūtras and other texts survive and he wrote name boards for halls in Daeheung-sa, Bongeun-sa and other temples. The reformists of the Practical Learning tradition often showed an interest in either Catholicism or Buddhism, as part of their reaction against the rigidly secular Neo-Confucianist philosophy.

He was especially close to the Ven. Cho-ui Seonsa (草衣禪師, Uiseon (意恂, 1786–1866) and Baekpa Daesa (白坡大師, Geungseon 亘璇, 1767–1852).

In 1815, Cho-ui first visited Seoul and established strong relationships with a number of highly educated scholar-officials, several of whom had been to China, who became his friends and followers. These included the son-in-law of King Jeongjo (正祖 r. 1776-1800), Haegeo-doin Hong Hyeon-Ju 海居 道人 洪顯周 (1793–1865) and his brother Yeoncheon Hong Seok-Ju 淵泉 洪奭周 (1774–1842), the son of Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, Unpo Jeong Hak-Yu 耘逋 丁學游 (1786–1855), as well as Kim Jeong-Hui and his brothers Sanchon Kim Myeong-Hui 山泉 金命喜 (1788–1857) and Geummi Kim Sang-Hu 琴糜 金相喜 (1794–1861). It was most unusual for a Buddhist monk, who as such was assigned the lowest rank in society, to be recognized as a poet and thinker in this way by members of the Confucian establishment. As a monk, Cho-ui was not allowed to enter the city walls of Seoul and had to receive visits from these scholars while living in Cheongnyangsa temple 淸涼寺 outside the capital’s eastern gate or in a hermitage in the hills to the north.

Kim Jeong-Hui had initiated a controversy with the other celebrated Seon Master Baekpa Geungseon (白坡 亘璇, 1767–1852) who had written the Seonmun sugyeong (禪文手鏡 Hand Glass of Seon Literature). In his Baekpa Mangjeungsipojo (白坡 妄證十五條 Fifteen Signs of Baekpa’s Senility), Kim wrote, “The truth of Seon is like a light new dress without stitching, just like a heavenly dress. But the dress is patched and repatched by the inventiveness of humans, and so becomes a wornout piece of clothing.” Baekpa had written that certain traditions were superior to others, and Kim considered such quibbles to be a waste of time as well as a misunderstanding of the nature of Seon. Nonetheless, when Baekpa died at Hwaeom-sa Temple in 1852, Kim wrote an epitaph for him: 華嚴宗主白坡大律師大機大用之碑.