Description:
This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to Korean Buddhism through twenty-five key primary texts spanning the seventh to twenty-first centuries. All have been expertly translated by leading scholars in the field.
The volume introduction provides an overview of major themes that illuminates the diverse sources that follow. The texts, each prefaced by a brief introduction and list of recommended reading, delve into core Buddhist teachings, meditation practice, pilgrimage, intercultural exchanges, and interreligious conflict. Several touch on contemporary concerns, such as social engagement, colonialism, moral psychology, conflict resolution, and Buddhism's contribution to women's liberation and engagement with marginalized communities. Others present insights into the ways in which Buddhism becomes distinctly Korean and the effects of modernity and colonialism on Korean Buddhism, in addition to overarching concerns like the nature of reality and embodying truth in our lives.
Accessible and wide-ranging, Korean Buddhism: Selected Readings from Primary Texts serves not only students and those relatively new to the subject, but also scholars interested in the intersection of Korean religious thought and global philosophy. It is an essential resource for Korean religious studies, Buddhist studies, and spiritual exploration alike.Brief description: Eun-su Cho (Ph.D., Buddhist Studies, University of California, Berkeley) has been professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at Seoul National University in Korea since 2004. She previously served as assistant professor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. Cho has published on a wide range of topics, from Indian Abhidharma Buddhism to Korean Buddhist thought and history, including "The Uses and Abuses of Wŏnhyo and the 'T'ong Pulgyo' Narrative," "Wŏnhyo's Theory of 'One Mind' A Korean Way of Interpreting Mind," and "Repentance as a Bodhisattva Practice--Wŏnhyo on Guilt and Moral Responsibility." She also co-translated Jikji: The Essential Passages Directly Pointing at the Essence of the Mind and edited an anthology on Korean Buddhist nuns, Korean Buddhist Nuns and Laywomen: Hidden Histories, Enduring Vitality (SUNY Press, 2011).