The Scriptures of Won Buddhism

Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms Amitābha (S.) [ ]: The buddha of Measureless Light, boundless life, and enlightenment. aśura (S.) [ ]: Fallen gods or demons, beings in one of the six realms of existence [ ]. beneficence [ ]: The benefits produced by things. The term ‘‘grace’’ is avoided in this translation because its meaning implies mercy (like divine grace), clemency, lenity, and charity, which have little to do with the favors done to one by the fourfold beneficence (of heaven and earth, parents, brethren, and laws). bodhisattva (S.) [ ]: One who aspires to the attainment of buddhahood and devotes himself or herself to altruistic deeds, especially deeds that cause others to attain enlightenment. chagŏp (K.) [ ]: Production of karma. Since the Sanskrit term ‘‘karma’’ means ‘‘action’’ or ‘‘deed,’’ ‘‘karma production’’ means ‘‘production of action.’’ Thus threefold karma [ ] should mean acting with body, mouth, and volition. However, production of karma means more than just acting; it implies that one sows the good or evil seeds the fruits of which one cannot but reap in accordance with the law of karma. Karma, good or evil, follows one like a debt until it is paid off. Sot’aesan has used this crucial term in this sense throughout the Pulgyo chŏngjŏn [ ] and Wŏnbulgyo kyojŏn [ ]. chagŏp ch’wisa (K.) [ ]: Literally, ‘‘taking what is right and forsaking what is wrong while producing karma.’’ For brevity this is translated as ‘‘mindful choice in karmic action.’’ chongbŏpsa (K.) [ ]: Head dharma master, the highest priest elected by the Supreme Council in the Won Buddhist order (like the pope in the Catholic church). chŏngjŏn (K.) [ ]: ‘‘Correct Canon’’; in the canon of Won Buddhism, book 1 of The Scriptures of Won Buddhism. chŏngsin (K.) [ ]: The spiritual and moral life in general as used in the founding motto of Won Buddhism; unfolding the spirit [ ]. When used in the context of Zen meditation, it means the mental state that is clear and calm, with no discrimination or attachment. chŏnmu ch’ulsin (K.) [ ]: A devotee who has left his or her home to devote his or her life to the mission of the Won Buddhist order. Ch’ŏndogyo (K.) [ ]: The religion founded by Ch’oe Che-u [ ; 1824–1864], teaching the unity of heaven and humankind. 369 ch’ŏnjiŭn (K.) [ ]: The favors or beneficence of heaven and earth, without which one cannot exist. Chŭngsan’gyo (K.) [ ]: A Korean indigenous religion founded by Kang Il-sun [ ; 1871–1909]. ch’ulga (K.) [ ]: Literally, ‘‘leaving home’’; transcending the boundary of concern for one’s own self, family, clan, and state, and taking all sentient beings as one’s own body and the whole universe as one’s own home. In Won Buddhism ch’ulgawui [ ] is the dharma stage where one has reached such a moral perfection. compassion [ ; S. karun ˙ ā]: A Buddhist technical term meaning sympathy of the Buddha for sentient beings who suffer and the will to end their suffering . consciousness [ ; S. vijñāna]: The eight consciousnesses include visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, mental, governing, and storehouse consciousness. defilement [ ; S. kleśa]: The passions and ignorance that cause one to wander in saṁsāra and keep one from reaching enlightenment. delusion [ ; S. moha]: Ignorance, stupidity, or blindness. dependent origination: See ‘‘twelvefold dependent origination.’’ dharma (S.) [ ]: The teaching given by the Buddha; the moral principles; the truth; the all-encompassing principle that governs all manifestations of things and events; transcendental reality. In plural form, ‘‘dharmas’’ denotes things, phenomena, events, attributes, or beings. The expression ‘‘Buddha-dharma’’ in this work means the teachings of the Buddha as Sot’aesan originally intended to mean. dharma realm [ ]: See dharmadhātu. dharmadhātu (S.) [ ]: Literally, ‘‘the realm of dharmas’’; the nature or essence of dharmas, which is the unifying, underlying reality as the ground of all things, both noumenal and phenomenal. dharmakāya (S.) [ ]: The dharma-body, or the body of reality, which is formless, unchanging, transcendental, and inconceivable; synonymous with ‘‘suchness’’; the cosmic body of the Buddha; the essence of all beings. In Won Buddhism, Dharmakāya Buddha is the object of religious worship; a circular symbol, Irwŏnsang, is used as its sign. dhyāna (S.) [ ]: meditation, abstraction, trance. doubt [ ]: A technical term in Zen Buddhism used to signify the unremitting inquiry into a hwadu/ŭidu for an awakening. This has nothing to do with the skeptical mental state. dragon: A mythical snakelike being (S. nāga), usually said to be living in the...