Wongwang
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Wongwang 圓光 (or Wongwang Beopsa 圓光法士, "Wongwang Teacher of the Law") was the name of a renowned Buddhist monk, scholar, and teacher of the Silla kingdom during the reign of King Jinpyeong (r. 579–632). His layname was Seoul 薛 or Bak 朴. Like a great number of other Korean and Japanese Buddhist monks of the 6th-8th centuries, Wongwang traveled to China in search of a more thorough grounding in the sacred texts of Buddhism. In 589 Wongwang went to Sui China, where for eleven years he was educated in the major texts of both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism.
Wongwang returned to Silla in 600 and promulgated the Mahayana form of Buddhism. His method was to teach the faith to the common people free of complex jargon and employing common words.[1]
Wongwang is best known for his "Five Commandments for Secular Life" (sesok gye 世俗五戒), which later were attributed as a guiding ethos for the Hwarang. These five commandments were to serve as moral guideposts for the Buddhist layperson. They are an interesting fusion of the Buddhist beliefs and strong sense of patriotism that characterized Silla Buddhism. To Wongwang, viewing Silla as a true Buddha Land and under constant threat from the neighboring kingdoms of Baekje and Goguryeo, the defense of that land and a Buddhist piety were not at all contradictory. These five principles were as follows:
- Loyalty to one's lord (sagun ichung 事君以忠)
- Piety towards one's parents (sachin ihyo 事親以孝)
- Trust among friends (gyo-u isin 交友以信)
- Never retreat in battle (imjeon mutwae 臨戰無退)
- Be selective in the taking of life (salsaeng yutaek 殺生有擇)
The precise dates of Wongwang‘s life are unknown.
Wongwang‘s biography appears in the 13th century Haedong Goseungjeon.
[edit] References
- ^ Chae, Taeg-su, "The United Silla Period: the Golden Age of Buddhism." In The History and Culture of Buddhism in Korea (Seoul:Dongguk University Press, 1993), p. 81.
