Philosopher
Uicheon
1055–1101
Also known as Ŭich'ŏn, Ŭichŏn
Goryeo monk, traditionally the founder of Korea's Cheontae (Tiantai) school, who sought to harmonise all Buddhist teachings and hailed Wonhyo as the master of reconciliation.
Uicheon studied Huayan (Hwaeom) and Tiantai (Cheontae) Buddhism in both Korea and China, and tradition credits him with founding Goryeo’s Cheontae school, though some scholars doubt that he founded an independent lineage, so strong were his Hwaeom ties.
His work on doctrinal harmony drew on the integrating frameworks of the Huayan masters Chengguan and Zongmi and of Wonhyo, whom he presented as Korea’s first Cheontae scholar. Where Chinul, a century later, unified practice and doctrine from the side of Seon meditation, Uicheon did so from the side of doctrine.
Key ideas
- Harmonising doctrines and practice
- Uicheon saw deep similarities between Huayan and Tiantai teaching, and argued, following Chengguan, that their ways of ranking the teachings were structurally aligned.
- Everything reflects the whole
- Both schools share a vision of reality in which all phenomena interpenetrate, each moment and each thing reflecting the whole; this was the metaphysical basis for his project of reconciling doctrines.
- Equal regard for all teachings
- At first he did not think all teachings equally worth studying, but under the influence of Wonhyo’s idea of reconciliation (hwajaeng) he came to treat all Buddhist teachings with equal regard.
Influences
Where these links come from
- Uicheon drew on Wonhyo. Source: Lucy Hyekyung Jee, Korean Buddhism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Uicheon drew on Chengguan. Source: Lucy Hyekyung Jee, Korean Buddhism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Uicheon drew on Zongmi. Source: Lucy Hyekyung Jee, Korean Buddhism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Terms on this page
- hwajaeng
- Reconciling disputes (和諍): Wonhyo’s way of harmonising rival Buddhist doctrines, holding that disputes arise from language and that each school grasps part of the Buddha’s teaching.
Sources
- Lucy Hyekyung Jee, Korean Buddhism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy