The Seonyo gi (禪要記) of Baekpa Geungseon (白坡亘璇, 1767-1852) is a personal annotation (Sagi 私記) to Gobong Wonmyo Seonsa Seonyo 高峰原妙禪師禪要 (hereafter, Seonyo 禪要). As a guidance to the practice of Ganhwa Seon, Seonyo has been considered an important recorded sayings (語錄) by many Seon practitioners. Nevertheless, the Seonyo and its personal annotations have not been much studied. This thesis includes an annotated translation of a manuscript of Seonyo gi (D 219.7 긍53 ㄱㄱ2), which is stored in the library of Dongguk University, and a manuscript of the Seonyo sagi 禪要私記, which is provided by the Archives of Buddhist Culture(ABC) of Buddhist Academy, Dongguk University, was used as a contrasting copy. The Seonyo sagi, which is currently reserved in Wongaksa Temple (圓覺寺), was originally transcribed at Seonamsa Temple (仙巖寺) in the 15th year(1849) of King Heonjong’s reign. For the convenience of readers, page numbers follows that of the Seonyo gi and the front and back sides are marked with above and below (上下) just as in the traditional way.
Based on the translation, the research part of Ⅰ, 2. ‘Gobong Wonmyo’s Seonyo 禪要 and Baekpa Geungseon’s Seonyo gi 禪要記 is divided into 1) ‘Gobong Wonmyo’s Life and Seonyo 禪要’ and 2) ‘The life of Baekpa Geungseon and Seonyo gi 禪要記’. 3. ‘The main concept of Seonyo gi 禪要記 and Baek-pa’s point of view’ is divided into 1) ‘Baekpa’s position on the Seon thoughts of Seonyo 禪要’ and 2) ‘three types of Seon of Seonyo gi 禪要記’. 4. ‘Characteristics of Baekpa Geungseon Seon thoughts’ consistes of 1) ‘The view of reconcilation centered on Josa Seon (祖師禪)’, 2) ‘The view of mutual communication as ‘Perfact Base and Perfact Use(大機大用)’’, 3) ‘The view of upwards and downwards (向上向下) as consummate intergration’ and 4) ‘The view of the three types of Seon as the stages of Ganhwa seon cultivation’. Based on this, the doctrinal thought of Seonyo gi has been examined based on the Seonyo, and it has been demonstrated that Seonyo gi is written by comparing each concepts of the Seonmun sugyeong 禪文手鏡 by Baekpa, who said that Seon literature is just like a hand mirror, to each sentences and phrases of Gobong’s Seonyo.
In discussing Baekpa’s thought, the three types of Seon are often mentioned, but the main point of his thought may be seen ‘Perfact Base and Perfact Use(大機大用)’ of Josa Seon. As can be seen from the title of his inscription in Seonunsa Temple (禪雲寺), Baekpa’s core view may be said ‘Perfect Base and Perfect Use.’ ‘Perfact Base’ can consummately responses (圓應) only along with ‘Perfact Use’, and ‘Perfact Use’ also can be straightforward (直截) when it becomes ‘Perfact Base’. Therefore, these are of the same nature. When a teacher treats delusions straightforward by ‘Perfect Use’ for a student who has ‘Perfect Base’, the teacher’s ‘Perfect Base’ appears; when the student consummately responses to the teacher, the student’s ‘Perfect Use’ shows. Although ‘Perfact Base’ and ‘Perfact Use’ are distinguished, ‘Use’ cannot be outside of ‘Base’, and vice versa So ‘Perfact Use’ is in ‘Perfact Base’ and vice versa. Likewise, ‘Perfect empty(眞空)’ cannot be achieved without ‘Profoundly things (妙有)’, and vice versa.
Baekpa spread out all the concepts and ideas as if they were separated and divided, but what he ultimately argued is that one truth is differently taken by those with variant spritual abilities and comes to bedivided into three types of Seon and thereby unfolded in different ways. Each of them acts as a means of the other, and thus the three types of Seon ultimately constitutes a expedient means for reconcilation, not a discriminatory division. In the core of his three types of Seon lies the Perfact Base and Perfact Use (大機大用), and it ultimately leads to the Perfact Base and Perfact Use. This is the main axis of the Baekpa Geungseon’s thought.
Compared to Seonyo, which emphasized the importance of practicing Hwadu Seon centered on the three main points of Ganhwa Seon, Baekpa explained Ganhwa Seon through the three types of Seon practices in association with Gobong’s views. Baekpa assigned a beginner’s intellectual enlightenment attained through the practice of Hwadu with discernment of thoughts to Uili Seon (Reason Seon 義理禪); the encounter with the original self by Gobong’s break of the Hwadu to Yeolae-Seon (Tathagata Seon 如來禪); and the perfect enlightenment by attaining the great achievement of first step towards improvement to Josa Seon (Patriarch Seon 祖師禪).
Baekpa demonstarated that the practical orders or soteriological steps of Ganhwa Seon was explained in the three types of Seon by returning the contemporary emphasis on Linji and Ganhwa Seon to Josa Seon. Although the teacher showed the truth as Josa Seon, a first-time student (beginner) who could not understand it immediately should fall into the category of Uili Seon, where Hwadu was studied with reason and discernment of thoughts. So one truth comes to take three distinct types of Seon--Josa Seon, Yeolae Seon, and Uili Seon. The reason why Baekpa presented the three types of Seon was not to show differences, but rather to show that the truth ultimately leads to the only Seon, namely, Josa Seon, through expedients of the distinct steps of Ganhwa Seon practice In the end, Baekpa discussed the three types of Seon to focus on reconcilation, not discrimination, and this is the main point of Baekpa Geungseon’s Seon thoughts.