Ko Un; Kimyoungsa: 704 pp., 25,000 won
After an interval of 16 years, Poet Ko Un, 78, has recently republished his novel “Zen” with stories on China’s Zen (Seon) masters seeking truth. The book contains the history of China’s six famed Buddhist monks including Bodhidharma who first spread Zen thought to China, followed by Dazu Huike and four other masters.
Against all odds, Bodhidharma, who was born in southern India, rushed to China eager to convey the Zen thought. His journey to China, which took place around the 470s via both sea and land, was plagued by tremendous hardships but he never gave up as he was full of compassion with a high degree of generosity and flexibility to embrace all people and environments.
He suggested a new direction of Buddhism from Hinayana (inferior vehicle) to Mahayana (great vehicle). Regarding the way of practicing Buddhism, he also recommended Zen methods of meditation instead of India’s conventional Vipassana. His practicing focuses on sudden enlightenment rather than the gradual way of reaching nirvana.
Bodhidharma’s way of practicing Buddhism was inherited by five successors who had commonly experienced extreme hardship in their attempts to gain enlightenment. Their endeavors were never futile to contributing greatly to enlightening the people in China and neighboring countries like Korea and Japan.
— SHIM JAE-YUN