Seongcheol - Life - Supreme Patriarch of The Jogye Order

Supreme Patriarch of The Jogye Order

Ushering in a revival of the Seon tradition of intense meditation and strict monastic lifestyle, Seongcheol spearheaded the reformation of modern Korean Buddhism from the rubbles of Japanese colonialism into an epicenter of meditation training. During his tenure as patriarch of Haeinsa, the temple transformed into a training ground for meditation, sutra studies, and Vinaya studies, attracting monks from all over the country. The meditation center averaged approximately 500 monks per biannual retreat, which was unheard of since the days of Hui Neng and Ma Tzu.

During the 1970s, the political climate became even more militaristic and dictatorial, eventually leading to a purge of many Buddhist monks suspected of political involvement. With his increasing reputation as a living Buddha both by the lay and the monastic, the Jogye order looked toward Seongcheol and nominated him as the next Supreme Patriarch of the order. "If I can help reform and improve Korean Buddhism, I will humbly accept" was the response he gave. His inauguration speech brought him from a little known monk, only known by monks and devout lay people, into the limelight as the official leader of Korean Buddhism, bringing his teachings to the entire nation:

Perfect enlightenment pervades all, serenity and destruction are not two

All that is visible is Avalokiteshvara, all that is audible is the mystical sound

No other truth than seeing and hearing

Do you understand?

Mountain is mountain, water is water.

원각이 보조하니 적과 멸이 둘이 아니라.

보이는 만물은 관음이요 들리는 소리는 묘음이라.

보고 듣는 이 밖에 진리가 따로 없으니

시회대중은 알겠는가?

산은 산이요 물은 물이로다.

Declining all formal ceremonies as Supreme Patriarch from inauguration to his death, Seongcheol never left the mountains, stating that a monk's true place was in the temple. There was initially a huge protest against his semi-hermetic policy, but this was eventually replaced by sense of respect that had been lacking since the Joseon period, and helped to vastly improve the image and treatment of monks in Korea.

During his years as patriarch of Haeinsa and as Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye order, Seongcheol's reputation kept growing. Amongst monks, he was famous for being a very strict teacher, being called the tiger of Kaya mountain. When monks would nod off to sleep during meditation, he would beat them with wooden sticks while yelling, "Thief, pay for your rice!" (referring to the donations of the lay, and the monks' debts to society and therefore his duty to practice to the utmost of his abilities).

He was also known for his unique three thousand prostrations. After the Korean war, Seongcheol built a small cave-hermitage near Anjungsa temple and named it Cheonjegul. Around this time, many people came to pay their respects to him, and to further guide the pilgrims in their practice, Seongcheol first started using his famous 3000 prostrations. Nobody could visit with him unless the person completed 3000 prostrations in front of the statue of the Buddha in the main hall. Later, some lay people would accuse Seongcheol of arrogance, but he maintained that this practice was used to help guide practitioners in their own practice by helping them destroy their ego and more easily attain one-mindedness (N.B.: the 3000 full prostrations are actually a mainstay of the Korean Buddhist training regimen, performed at most temples in Korea on a monthly basis. It would take approximately eight to twelve hours, depending on the experience of the practitioner, and the technique is used frequently to "clear the mind," instill a sense of humility, and increase the awareness and focusing power of the practitioner). As his fame and reputation grew, the prostrations became more necessary as more and more people asked to meet with him. What was unique was that this requirement was uniform, i.e., he would never make any exceptions regardless of the person's wealth, fame, or power. A famous anecdote serves to illustrate the daunting task of the 3000 prostrations and Seongcheol's strict adherence to his own rules. When Park Chung-hee, the president of Korea, was opening up the new highway between Seoul and Pusan, he happened to visit Haeinsa. Hearing that the president was visiting, the head administrative monk quickly sent word to Seongcheol to come down from his hermitage to greet the president. But true to form, Seongcheol demanded the president go to the main Buddha hall and perform the 3000 prostrations before meeting with him. Park refused and the two never met.