Wŏnhyo's View of This World
The term "mundane realm" refers to the space in which sentient beings abide. In early Buddhism, this mundane realm was regarded as an obstacle to be avoided and overcome. As Mahāyāna Buddhism spread, however, buddhas and bodhisattvas were venerated as beings abiding in that mundane realm a...
| Published in: | Journal of Korean religions |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Hawai'i Press
2017
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| In: |
Journal of Korean religions
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| Further subjects: | B
Wŏnhyo
B Yŏlban chongyo B supra-supramundane B supramundane B nirvāṇa of nonabiding B nirvāṇa without remainder B mundane realm |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The term "mundane realm" refers to the space in which sentient beings abide. In early Buddhism, this mundane realm was regarded as an obstacle to be avoided and overcome. As Mahāyāna Buddhism spread, however, buddhas and bodhisattvas were venerated as beings abiding in that mundane realm and having a thorough insight into it without being defiled by it. This respect for them then led to the notion of "supra-supramundane," which mandates that practitioners transfer their merits to the mundane realm without being stuck in the pursuit of the "supramundane." Wŏnhyo (617–686), who is well known for his unhindered acts (K. muae haeng 無礙行), established firm doctrinal foundations for the notion of "supra-supramundane." Influenced by the scholarship of the Dilun master Huiyan (523–592), Wŏnhyo identified the cognitive hindrance, mentioned in the Awakening of Faith, as the fundamental ignorance that discriminates the mundane from the supramundane. Such an attitude is also discernible in his Yŏlban chongyo. In that text, he does not consider the nirvāṇa without remainder to be an extinction of mind and body; he identified it as a unity of a sentient being's suchness with the dharma-body of buddhas. He also criticizes the Hīnayāna attachment to the nirvāṇa without remainder and upholds the idea of the nirvāṇa with remainder, which underscores active involvement in the mundane realm. He finally emphasized the nirvāṇa of nonabiding. His view of nirvāṇa is closely related to his view of this world in which he recognizes the value of bodhsattvas' salvific activities. |
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| ISSN: | 2167-2040 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Korean religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/jkr.2017.0003 |