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#3875 - Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - Editor: Jerry Katz
The Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
The history and art of printing, Buddhism, and nonduality come together in this article from the Korea Times.
Jikli: An Invaluable Text of Buddhism By Kim Jong-myung
Contributing Writer Kim
Jong-myung is a professor of religion at the Academy of Korean
Studies. ? ED.
Korea is a country rich with world heritage properties. In
particular, Korea invented the movable metal type in the 13th
century and prides itself on being a country that values
intellectual property. “Jikji,” whose full title is
“Baegun Hwasang Chorok Buljo Jikji Simche Yojeol”
(Master Baegun’s Excerpts from the Buddhas’ and
Patriarchs’ Direct Pointing to the Essence of Mind), is one
such property.
The oldest extant metal type printer in the world and registered
on UNESCO’s Memory of the World list in 2001, “Jikji”
is a Seon (Zen) text compiled by the Korean monk Baegun in 1372.
The final page of “Jikji” says, “Printed and
distributed at Heungdeok Temple outside Cheongju County in the
seventh month of 1377.”
“Jikji” was printed in two versions: the metal type
edition printed at Heungdeok Monastery in 1377 and the
xylographic version printed at Chwiam Temple in 1378. It is the
metal type edition that is registered on the Memory of the World
list. This metallic version was originally composed of two
volumes, but now only the second volume exists, missing the first
leaf. Nevertheless, it is still possible to infer its full
content because the two volumes of the xylographic version still
survive to this day. “Jikji” is still being used in
monastic education in contemporary Korea. An English edition was
published in 2005.
However, the metallic edition of “Jikji” does not
reside in Korea, but in the National Library of France (La
Bibliotheque Nationale de France) in Paris. Collin de Plancy, who
served in Korea as a diplomat, is thought to have brought “Jikji”
back with him to France at the beginning of the 1900s. Its
existence there first became known to the public in 1901, when
Maurice Courant, a specialist in East Asian Studies, published
“Supplement to Korean Bibliography” (Supplement a la
Biblioqraphie Coreenne). Henri Vever, a jewel seller and old book
collector, purchased “Jikji” and donated it to the
National Library of France in 1911. In 1972, Dr. Park
Byeong-seon, who worked in the East Asian Section of the National
Library of France, identified “Jikji” for the first
time as the oldest metal type printing in the world.
In recognition of “Jikji,” the Cheongju Early Printing
Museum was established in Korea in 1992. UNESCO also launched the
Jikji Prize, which is for individuals and groups who have
contributed to the eradication of illiteracy, in 2005.
“Jikji” is composed of dharma teachings, hymns,
eulogies, epitaphs, prose and poetry by the seven Buddhas, 28
Indian patriarchs, 110 Chinese Chan (Zen) monks and one Silla-era
Korean monk. Its key concepts include non-duality, no-false mind
and non-attachment to words.
The essential teaching of “Jikji” is sudden
enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation: First, one should
attain sudden enlightenment regarding the nature of existence,
including the self; and after that, one needs to practice to get
rid of dualistic way of thinking. Finally, if one’s thoughts
come to be consistent with one’s actions, one can attain
complete awakening and thus becoming a Buddha.
Unlike Western metal type printings that played a significant
role in the publication of books for practical use as well as
scientific texts, thus serving as the basis of the flowering of
scientific civilization, “Jikji” has been used
primarily as a text for monks.
However, “Jikji” holds its own distinctive
characteristics, in particular, on theoretical matters. First of
all, its purpose is to teach the notion of no false thought,
which is the idea that we can attain enlightenment and free
ourselves from the dualistic way of thinking. In essence, the
Buddha and sentient beings are not separate; enlightenment and
delusion are not separate; birth and death are not separate, etc.
“Ganhwa seon,” which emphasizes the observation of
“hwadu,” or the topic of meditation, has been a
dominant Buddhist doctrine in Korea since the fourteenth century.
“Jikji” regards hwadu not as the only way to the
Buddhist goal but merely as a skillful means to attain it.
In addition, the text emphasizes that what is important is not
material possessions but a “pure mind.” Regarding this,
it describes a conversation between Emperor Wu (464-549) of Liang
China and Master Bodhidarma, the first patriarch of Chinese Chan
Buddhism. The emperor was proud of his Buddhist activities,
including the construction of monasteries. The Bodhidharma’s
response was this: “You have not a scrap of merit.” The
Master’s response has a thread of connection with the spirit
of the late Master Beobjeong, who emphasized no attachment to
anything (“mu soyu”).
“Jikji” also takes an open-minded stance toward
Buddhist precepts. The Seon text rejected the perfunctory
observation of such rules and even permitted wine and meat ? both
taboos in Korean Buddhism ? for sacrificial rites.
It says, “One day Reverend Fenyang Wude said to the
assembly, ‘Last night I dreamt of my late parents and I
looked for alcohol, meat and paper money to offer in sacrifice,
which I could not avoid, following lay customs. I placed these in
order as a sacrifice to them.’” This means that “Jikji”
interprets Buddhist precepts according to circumstances.
A 1997 issue of Newsweek claimed that Gutenberg’s invention
of metal type printing in 1455 was the greatest human achievement
of the past 1,000 years. Published 78 years before Gutenberg’s
invention, “Jikji” stands as the oldest significant
relic of the history of printing culture in the world and remains
a source of pride for Koreans as an important part of their
intellectual culture.
jmk@aks.ac.kr
The article is from
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/04/135_63447.html