Buddhist Theory of Negation; Korean Buddhism; Korean Taoism; Mom/Momjit; One Mind; Wonhyo
摘要
Wonhyo can be viewed from two perspectives: 1-the visible appearance, or momjit, of his words and 2-the deeper essence, or mom, which reflects his message. These words, mom and momjit, reflect an ancient East Asian paradigm which refers to the nonduality of the body or essence (mom) and its functions or operations (momjit). These terms have often been translated in the West as "essence" and "function." It is vital that the reader interpret Wonhyo`s writing from this deeper perspective. In order to do so, the reader himself must change, from being a person of momjit to one of mom. This paper examines the first paragraph of the first chapter of Wonhyo`s noted Commentary on the Vajrasamadhi Sutra. The chapter itself is entitled "A Statement of Its Main Idea." Here Wonhyo discusses the "one mind" by means of a series of negations and affirmations. I have argued that his affirmations are essentially negations of his previous negations, making the point that he is basically negating himself. This is a crucial requirement for any religious practitioner. Everything must be negated, including the practitioner. Wonhyo concludes this paragraph by saying "... though negating nothing, there is nothing not negated ...." I have examined this phrase, arguing that it reflects a nature-oriented, Taoist perspective, rather than a Buddhist view which should represent the position of the practitioner. I would prefer to re-translate the phrase by stating "... negation is negated ...." In my view, this more accurately reflects the Buddhist position, in which there is no possibility of affirmation whatsoever. Thus even negation itself is negated.
