The author is the founder and chief editor of Blue Pine Books.
摘要
Ha Dongsan (1890-1965) served as the highest patriarch of the Jogye Order, the largest denomination of Korean Buddhism, from November 3, 1954 to August 12, 1955 and again from August 13, 1958 to April 11, 1962. His life and ideas discussed in this book were extremely influential in the formation of the current order. Korean Buddhism was radically changed by Japanese Buddhism during the Japanese occupation period, 1910 - 1945. Ha Dongsan led the Purification Buddhist Movement, 1954 - 1962 and as a spiritual leader and the highest patriarch successfully recovered celibate monasticism and vegetarianism of traditional Korean Buddhism from Japanized Korean Buddhism. This book is the first academic work that extensively discusses the two seemingly-contradictory key issues of modern Korean Buddhism, ecumenism and sectarianism of Imje (Chn., Linji; Jpn., Rinzai) Seon. The author regards current Korean Buddhism as a crossroad between the ecumenical Dharma lineage of Sino-Korean ecumenists and the sectarian Dharma lineage of Sino-Korean Imje Seon Buddhism established in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392 - 1910, which adopted Neo-Confucianism as its state ideology and persecuted Buddhism. He logically analyzes how Ha Dongsan understood and solved the issues, and comprehensively discusses the life and ideas of this important Buddhist.
