Humbling oneself to spread Buddhism

Wonhyo was a Buddhist monk, but he became intimate with Princess Yoseok and begot a son named Seol Chong. He then returned to a secular life and spent his days singing and dancing in villages like a clown. His appearance may have looked bizarre for a former Buddhist monk, but his song, which he wrote by putting a melody to the Buddhist doctrine, was sung by everyone in the country. His compositions made it easy for the people of Shilla to remember Buddha’s teachings and devote their hearts to Buddhism. This is how Wonhyo spread Buddhism among ordinary people and helped establish it as the people’s religion.

Gaining enlightenment after drinking the water in a skull

Wonhyo was born in North Gyeongsang Province in 617 during King Jinpyeong’s reign. His childhood name was Seol Seo-dang. Unlike his father, who was a high-ranking court official, Wonhyo’s dream was to become a hwarang, a member of Shilla’s youth military corps known for their martial arts skills and scholarly pursuits.

Upon seeing so many young lives being lost, however, he became doubtful about the meaning of life and went to Hwangryong Temple in Gyeongju, the capital of Shilla, to enter the Buddhist monkhood at age 31. The Buddhist name he received then was Wonhyo, which meant “the first dawn.” He promised to live up to his name and bring Buddhism to the entire kingdom of Shilla. He traveled to famed Buddhist temples around the country, gaining a reputation as a bright and devout Buddhist monk.

Wanting to learn more about his faith, Wonhyo went to study in China in 650 at age 34, but he was soon mistakenly arrested as a Goguryeo spy and imprisoned for a month. But his desire for deeper learning did not die, and ten years later at age 45 he again attempted to go to China. On his way to China from Gyeongju in southeastern Shilla, he saw the devastation of war and poverty suffered by ordinary people, and experienced a new way of life.

When he reached Hwaseong in today’s Gyeonggi Province, he had to stay at a cave overnight. During the night he felt thirsty and he drank some water from what he thought was a gourd ladle. When the morning came, he saw that the sweet, cool water that quenched his thirst in the dark was actually dirty water pooled in a skull. That is when he had an epiphany that how humans feel about anything in this world was completely in their minds. Objects in themselves were neither clean nor dirty, neither good nor bad.

Seeking true freedom

No longer seeing any need to study in China, Wonhyo returned to Shilla and worked to popularize Buddhism. At the time, Buddhism was considered a religion for the aristocrats, for the scriptures were written in Chinese and Buddhist monks’ sermons were too difficult for ordinary people to understand. It was Wonhyo, who spread Buddhism to the lowly people through song and dance.

Wonhyo’s teachings can be summarized into “hwajaeng,” or the logic of harmonization, the oneness of the heart, which is based on reconciling different interpretations and accepting those differences. He showed true oneness by preaching to both common people as well as the noblemen.

He also wrote books on Buddhist laws and principles. His later years were spent mostly on writing and his works were renowned for being concise and unbiased, two characteristics which helped bring different Buddhist sects together. He died at age 70 in the year 686, but his “hwajaeng” ideology comforted the masses, who were devastated by war, and helped build the foundation for Buddhism in Shilla. Wonhyo is still revered as a Great Buddhist Monk Wonhyo for trying to accept differences and reconcile various opinions in a harmonious way.