Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and ideological positions of the Chikchi, a Korean Zen text. Originally composed of two fascicles, the book was published with metal type in 1377 and in woodblock print in 1378. The metal type print only remains. in its second fascicle, which is currently preserved in the La Bibliotheque nationale de France, registered in the Memory of the World by the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World list. However, the woodblock print remains in two fascicles, including the teachings of Buddhas, recorded sayings, enlightened verses, and transmission records of more than one hundred patriarchs and masters of India, China, and Korea. The role of the Chikchi shines more in modern times. As a rare book in Korea and as the oldest extant book printed with metal type in the world, it has a great significance in the world history of printing culture. The Chikchi also has originality in terms of soteriology, ideological flexibility, an open interpretation of Buddhist teachings, and an integration with Confucianism, thus suggesting its possible contribution to a better understanding of the characteristics of Korean Buddhism in particular and, by extension, East Asian Buddhism in general.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper1 is to examine the historical and ideological positions of the PaegunHwasang Ch’orok Pulcho Chikchi Simch’e Yojŏl 白雲和抄錄佛祖直指心體要節 (Excerpts from the Essence of Mind Directly Pointed out by the Buddhas and Patriarchs, hereafter, Chikchi or Jikji 直指),2 a Sŏn 禪 (Chan/Zen)3 text of medieval Korea (918–1392),4 when Buddhism was the most popular in Korea history.Originally consisting of two fascicles, first and second, the Chikchi was written by PaegunKyŏnghan (白雲 景閑, 1298–1374)5 in 1372.6 The book was printed in two editions: a metal typeThis paper was originally presented at the conference in celebration of the retirement of Professor John B
As a rare book in Korea and as the oldest extant book printed with metal type in the world, it has a great significance in the world history of printing culture
Most of the Buddhist canonical texts mentioned in the Chikchi, which included the Huayan Jing (華嚴經 Flower Garland Scripture), were those emphasized in the Mahāyāna Buddhist community, but early Buddhist texts were not referred to, which historically led Koreans to focus more on the Sinicized form of Buddhism
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and ideological positions of the Paegun. Consisting of two fascicles, first and second, the Chikchi was written by Paegun. Regarding the romanization of terms in Korean, mainly two types are being used in academia, and they are the McCune–Reischauer system and the revised system. The woodblock print was published in 1378, and both fascicles remain in Korea, allowing us to know its full contents In this context, academic research on the Chikchi itself is limited There are few examples of comments attached to Zen texts, but the Chikchi includes twenty comments of Paegun on certain Zen words, constituting 1/15 of the total 282 public cases (Ch. gong’an 公案, K. kong’an) in the book There are few examples of comments attached to Zen texts, but the Chikchi includes twenty comments of Paegun on certain Zen words, constituting 1/15 of the total 282 public cases (Ch. gong’an 公案, K. kong’an) in the book (S. Hwang 1997, p. 37)
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