Kihwa (Hamhô Tûkt'ong)
General Observations
It is Kihwa (�Șa, Hamhô Tûkt'ong �������� 1376-1433) to whom we now turn, as the major Korean commentator to the SPE, and whose exegesis is translated in full in this work. Kihwa is the inheritor of a Sôn tradition whose practices were derived mainly from the Imje school, which he received through his teacher Muhak, who was in turn taught by Hyegûn, both of whom had traveled to Yüan China to receive direct instruction from Chinese Lin-chi masters. The high quality and broad scope of Kihwa's writings would lead him to be later recognized as one of Korean Buddhism's most important scriptural commentators, as well as one of the best poets and essayists of the combined Koryô and Chosôn periods.
Kihwa's Life
Kihwa was born with the name Yu Su-i (�����) into an aristocratic family less than two decades before the demise of the Koryô at the hands of Yi Sônggye (�����j; T'aejo; r. 1392-1398). His father was a government minister in charge of the reception of foreign emissaries, and Kihwa was educated at the prestigious Sônggyun'gwan (���ϊ�) Confucian academy. In the course of his studies at this institution, Kihwa is regarded as having attained to a remarkable level of proficiency in Chinese philosophy and literature, as his biographer goes to unusual lengths to convey the extent to which he was esteemed by his professors.
Entering the academy as a youth, he was able to memorize more than a thousand phrases daily. As time passed, he deeply penetrated the universality of the single thread, clarifying the meanings of the classics and expounding their content. His reputation was unmatched. Grasping the subtlety of the transmitted teachings, all their meanings were disclosed in his explanations. He was possessed of a sonorous voice and graceful beauty, like flowers laid upon silk brocade--even such metaphor falls short of description. People said that he would become the minister truly capable of transmitting the heavenly mandate, thus extending upward to the ruler and bringing blessings down to the people. In his grasp of the correct principles of society he had no need to be ashamed even if he were to appear before the likes of Chou and Shao.
Admitting the hyperbole that is inevitably seen in the biographical sketches written by disciples of eminent teachers, we must nevertheless pay attention to what is contained in this passage as (1) there is not, in the entire corpus of Korean Sôn hagiographies, an appraisal of scholarly (Confucian) acumen comparable to this, and (2) this strong assessment of Kihwa's early abilities is corroborated in the degree to which he, later in his Buddhist career, took such a strong interest in, and showed such unusual ability in literary/philosophical/exegetical pursuits.
According to the same biographical sketch, at the age of twenty-one, Kihwa was profoundly affected by the death of one of his close friends such that he abandoned his Confucian studies and began a quest for enlightenment through the Buddhist path. After various wanderings and encounters with other teachers, he arrived, in 1397, at Hoeam temple (
�w�⎛), where he came under the tutelage of Muhak Chach'o, the National Preceptor of the generation, who instructed him in Imje soteriological methods. His initial training with Muhak was followed by the period of wandering study and practice that was common for Korean Sôn monks. In the spring of 1404 he returned to Hoeam-sa, where he entered into a period of isolated, intensive practice in a small hut in the mountains. It is during this period that he had his first major awakening experience. The Haengjang says:One night, while taking a refreshing walk to conquer the demon of sleep, suddenly, without intention, he blurted out a verse, saying: "Walking, walking, suddenly I turn my head. Lo! The mountain rock pierces the clouds!" Another day, he entered the privy and when he came out, he 'dropped the wash bucket' saying: "There is only this single affair of reality--if there is a second, then it cannot be true. These words themselves--how empty!"
After this Kihwa returned to an itinerant life, staying at various monasteries, practicing and teaching. In 1414 he came to Yônbong-sa at Mt. Chamo, where he stayed for a time in a small hermitage called "Hamhô" (���� lit. "nourishing emptiness"), working unstintingly at the triple practice of morality, meditation and wisdom. During this stay at Mt. Chamo he also led a number of study sessions on the commentaries of five masters who had expounded the Diamond Sutra. After this time, he seems to have passed through another stage of enlightened freedom, as his biographer reports this major change in his lifestyle:
From this time he never spent a long period of practice stuck in any particular place but allowed his mind to follow its own destiny "wandering free and easy" among the nooks and crannies of the mountains and streams. How could he have a destination at a particular place? Only if strongly invited would he spend the night. He grasped the innermost mind of each person, and his reputation spread throughout the land. Valuing deeply the mind of every person, he responded perfectly to their needs.
In 1420 Kihwa traveled to Mt. Odae in Kangnûng. This was a dharma-filial pilgrimage for him, since the patriarchs of his lineage were descended from Odae. While in this region, he paid respects to the image of Hyegûn. Here Kihwa seems to have had a third deepening of his enlightenment. As the biographer reports:
He stayed at this hermitage for two nights. One night, in a dream, he was approached by the spirit of a monk who addressed him saying, "You will be called Kihwa, styled Tûkt'ong." Kihwa bowed his head and received this with reverence. Suddenly waking from the dream, his body and spirit were refreshed and calm and he experienced an exalted condition of purity. The next day he went down to Wôljông temple. He threw away his staff, cast off his shoes and peacefully took up residence in a single room. From this time forth he continuously nurtured the embryo of the Tao. When hungry, he ate. When thirsty he drank, just enjoying the passage of time.
His disciples reported that after this time Kihwa's whole presence and demeanor were transformed such that his influence on those around him became powerful yet effortless. Despite his enlightened "freedom and ease," Kihwa was engaged in a series of difficult tasks toward the end of his life, as he was compelled to defend the Buddhist church against the increasingly strident attacks from the Neo-Confucian element that had inexorably moved into the center of political power.
Also, in the early autumn of 1421, he was summoned by the king to teach and perform rituals in the royal temple. While the Chosôn kings had started out with rather strong anti-Buddhist inclinations, it seems that T'aejo (r. 1418-1450) had softened his personal stance toward Buddhism in his later years. Kihwa spent three years as personal tutor to the king and his family, but in the autumn of 1424, he petitioned the throne for his retirement. He spent the last several years of his life once again traveling, studying and teaching at the various mountain monasteries of Korea. He ended his wanderings in the autumn of 1431 when he returned to Pongam-sa of Mt. Huiyang in Yongnam, where he supervised the refurbishing of the temple. The repair work done, Kihwa calmly observed the conditions of the times to the end of his life. On the twenty-fifth day of the third month of 1433 he came down with a sickness that lasted to the first day of the fourth month. During the first half hour after 3:00 PM he arose from meditation saying:
How void and empty! Originally there is not a single thing. The spiritual luminosity pervades and penetrates perfectly throughout the ten directions, but there is neither mind nor body to undergo birth and death. Past and future go and return without the slightest hindrance.
A moment later he continued, saying: "About to depart, I raise my gaze to the ten directions of the vast heavens where there is no path to the Western Paradise." Upon this, Kihwa passed away.