The only Sangha sect in contemporary South Korea is the “Jo-Gye order,” which inherits the Rinzai school and focuses on Huayan thought. The main temple in the fourth parish of the Jo-Gye order is Wol-Jeong temple, which manages more than 60 branches and 8 small branches. The main mountain of Wol-Jeong temple is “Wutai Mountain,” which is the Asian center of Manjushri and Huayan faith. During the Goryeo period, “the fundamental congruence of the meditative and doctrinal approaches(禪教一致)”and “integration of the Koan Zen and Huayan Zen” were promoted by Zen Master Či-Nul(1158-1210). This thought directly influenced the contemporary Korean Zen monk Tan-Heo(1913-1983) in Wol-Jeong temple. He emphasized “the fundamental congruence of the meditative and doctrinal approaches” and “sect unification movement.” Because Master Tan-Heo went through the Japanese colonial policy of forcing Korean Monks to marry and splitting the Bhikkhu lineage, he used the concept of unity between Zen and doctrinal approaches to promote the Sangha purification movement. Tan-Heo’s theory of Hoitong(會通) is based on the modernization of the Korean monks' education, including the establishment of Wutai Mountain Monastery and Sam-bon Monastery in 1956. In addition, Tan-Heo improved the courses and quality of Jo-Gye Sangha University with “equal cultivation on Meditation and Wisdom,” “Interpenetration of the Three Teachings,” and “Hyunto(懸吐) Interpretation.”
Similar to South Korea, the Buddhist community in Taiwan carried out their own version of “de-Japaneseization” and restoration of their Bhikkhu lineage after World War II. The community also rebuilt the traditions of precept transmission and promoted Sangha education in the 1950s. Zen Master Sheng-Yen(1931-2009), who established Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies and Dharma Drum Mountain, is a famous example of the promotion of the Zen of Chinese Buddhism by “the integration of Zen and Doctrinal approaches.” Master Sheng-Yen obtained a Ph.D. from Risho University in Japan, specializing in the late Ming Dynasty Tiantai thoughts of Master Ou-Yi Zhi- Xu(1599-1655), and rooted his teaching concepts in the Lotus Sutra and Tiantai Studies. Beginning in 1979, Master Sheng-Yen moved to Taiwan and the United States to teach meditation. In 1989, he established the Dharma Drum Mountain Sangha, and he established the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan Buddhism in 2005. His Zen Teaching style and internationalization of Chan Buddhism are based on the fundamental congruence of the meditative and doctrinal approaches(禪教一致). His ideas integrate Tiantai, Huayan, Zen and Pure Land thought and inherit the two major Zen traditions of Rinzai and Soto, reorganizing the guiding Instructions for the Study of Chan.
After Japanese colonial rule, both South Korea and Taiwan used the concept of unity between Zen and doctrinal approaches to reform and modernize their Sanghas' education. This article will compare the integration theory and the methods used by Wol-Jeong Temple’s Tan-Heo and Dharma Drum Mountain’s Sheng-Yen in order to further explore how East Asian Zen monks used Zen and education to restore traditions and revive doctrinal motivations and forms of meditation in the post-
