Kyongho

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KY?NGH?

Ky?ngh? S?ngu (1849–1912) was among the few important S?n (C^HANschool) Buddhist leaders in nineteenth-century Korea. His rise to eminence took place at a time when Buddhist institutions were in cultural and political decline after almost six hundred years of Confucian domination.

In 1879, after secluding himself in a hut for several months in order to practice intense kongan (K?AN) meditation, Ky?ngh? became enlightened. Subsequently his fame spread far and wide and hundreds of followers gathered to receive his instructions. In the following decades he revived S?n practice greatly and set up different monasteries as training centers. Ky?ngh? also contributed to the renaissance of Korean Buddhism by organizing Buddhist societies on behalf of the laity.

Ky?ngh? passed away in his hermitage on Kapsan in 1912. His lineage of S?n was continued by several Kyo important disciples, all of whom have left their imprint on contemporary Buddhism in Korea.

Ky?ngh? did not write any major works, but he left behind a large number of instructions for meditation, exhortations to practice, and occasional pieces, as well as many songs and poems in praise of S?n in particular and Buddhism in general. Among these his Odo ka (Song of Enlightenment) is the most important. Much of this material was compiled posthumously by his disciples and subsequently published. Ky?ngh? also compiled a manual for S?n practitioners entitled S?nmunch'waryo (Important Points of S?n Buddhism), which is still in use today.

See also:Chan School; Korea