This volume makes available in English the seminal treatises in Korea’s greatest interreligious debate of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. On Mind, Material Force, and Principle and An Array of Critiques of Buddhism by Confucian statesman Chŏng Tojŏn (1342–1398) and Exposition of Orthodoxy by Sŏn monk Kihwa (1376–1433) are presented here with extensive annotation. A substantial introduction provides a summary and … [Read More]
Booklist: Buddhism (page 3)
A Handbook of Korean Zen Practice: A Mirror on the Sŏn School of Buddhism
From the publisher’s website: Sŏn (Japanese Zen) has been the dominant form of Buddhism in Korea from medieval times to the present. A Handbook of Korean Zen Practice: A Mirror on the Sŏn School of Buddhism (Sŏn’ga kwigam) was the most popular guide for Sŏn practice and life ever published in Korea and helped restore Buddhism to … [Read More]
Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun
From the publisher’s website: The life and work of Kim Iryŏp (1896–1971) bear witness to Korea’s encounter with modernity. A prolific writer, Iryŏp reflected on identity and existential loneliness in her poems, short stories, and autobiographical essays. As a pioneering feminist intellectual, she dedicated herself to gender issues and understanding the changing role of women … [Read More]
An Encyclopedia of Korean Buddhism
Extract from the authors’ Preface: When it comes to the composition of this encyclopedia, nearly all parts relevant to Buddhism are contained: history, tradition, temples, architecture, paintings, sculptures, crafts, music, dance, tea, rituals, practice, Buddhist cultural terms, and so forth. It is not easy for about 560 items to accommodate the various kinds of Korean … [Read More]
Empire of the Dharma: Korean and Japanese Buddhism, 1877–1912
From the publisher’s website: Empire of the Dharma explores the dynamic relationship between Korean and Japanese Buddhists in the years leading up to the Japanese annexation of Korea. Conventional narratives cast this relationship in politicized terms, with Korean Buddhists portrayed as complicit in the “religious annexation” of the peninsula. However, this view fails to account for … [Read More]
The Dharma Master Chongsan of Won Buddhism: Analects and Writings
From the publisher’s website: The first English translations of the writings of Chŏngsan (1900–62), who codified the central doctrines of Won Buddhism. 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 … [Read More]
Korean Buddhist Nuns and Laywomen: Hidden Histories, Enduring Vitality
Explores the roles of Korean Buddhist nuns and laywomen from the fourth century to the present. Uncovering hidden histories, this book focuses on Korean Buddhist nuns and laywomen from the fourth century to the present. Today, South Korea’s Buddhist nuns have a thriving monastic community under their own control, and they are well known as … [Read More]
Ch’oui Uisun: The Liberal Son Master and Engaged Artist in Late Choson Korea
From the publisher’s website: Scholars of Choson Korea tend to view Buddhism negatively, or at best ignore it, and at present there is a lack of research on this crucial topic. Through appreciation of the life and thought of Ch’oui Uisun (1786-1866), this study is an attempt to recover and supplement the intellectual history of … [Read More]
Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism
An overview of Korean Buddhism and its major figures in the modern period. The first book in English devoted exclusively to modern Korean Buddhism, this work provides a comprehensive exploration for scholars, students, and serious readers. Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism focuses on three key areas: Buddhist reform, Zen revival, and the interrelationship of religion, history, and … [Read More]
Trial and Error in Modernist Reforms: Korean Buddhism under Colonial Rule
From the publisher’s website: This book examines the Korean Buddhist reform movement and how the modern construct of Buddhism developed under colonial rule. Park argues that Korean Buddhists reconstructed Buddhism as socially active and nationally viable by responding to, negotiating with, and resisting the influence of Western modernity and the Japanese colonial government. The need … [Read More]
One Korean’s Approach to Buddhism: The Mom/Momjit Paradigm
From the publisher’s website: Insights into the experience and philosophy of Buddhism from a Korean perspective. This book presents the author’s lifelong study and practice of Buddhism from a Korean perspective. With depth, sensitivity, and candor, Sung Bae Park discusses his country’s contribution to Mahayana Buddhism and also shares his personal experience. A monk in … [Read More]
Power of the Buddhas: The Politics of Buddhism During the Koryo Dynasty
From the publisher’s website: Buddhism in medieval Korea is characterized as “State Protection Buddhism,” a religion whose primary purpose was to rally support (supernatural and popular) for and legitimate the state. In this view, the state used Buddhism to engender compliance with its goals. A closer look, however, reveals that Buddhism was a canvas on … [Read More]
Selected Writings of Han Yongun: From Social Darwinism to ‘Socialism with a Buddhist Face’
From the publisher’s website: One of Korea’s most eminent Buddhists and political activists in the independence movement during the long years of Japan’s colonization of his country, Han Yongun, otherwise known as Manhae (1879-1944), was a prolific writer and outstanding poet, known especially for his poetry collection Nim ui ch’immuk (‘The Silence of the Lover’). … [Read More]
No River to Cross: Trusting the Enlightenment That’s Always Right Here
Publisher description: It is often said that enlightenment means “crossing over to the other shore,” that far-off place where we can at last be free from suffering. Likewise, it is said that Buddhist teachings are the raft that takes us there. In this sparkling collection from one of the most vital teachers of modern Korean … [Read More]
Buddhist Sculpture of Korea
From the publisher’s website: Buddhist culture and thought have had a tremendous impact on the lives and thought of Korean people ever since the religion was introduced to the Korean peninsula in the late fourth century. Most of the time, the religion received strong state support for the construction of temples and pagodas and the … [Read More]
Buddhist Architecture of Korea
From the publisher’s website: The easiest way to learn about Korea’s Buddhist culture is to visit the temples where the traditional practice of asceticism is still carried on today. People no longer live in other examples of traditional architecture, such as palaces and Confucian schools and academies; but in temples the monks and nuns eat, … [Read More]