Woncheuk was born in
Korea. The
Zhengzhang Shangfang reconstruction of the Middle Chinese pronunciation of his name is 圓測 /ɦˠiuᴇnťʃʰɨk̚/. Woncheuk () was also known as , which is a namesake attributed to the temple of the same name where he did his
exegesis. Woncheuk was initially a follower of
Paramārtha's (499–569)
Shelun school (攝論宗) and later lived at
Xi Ming Temple as a student of
Xuanzang. The Shelun school was known for its synthesis of Yogacara teachings with tathāgatagarbha thought and for its doctrine of a pure consciousness (
amalavijñāna). Woncheuk wrote various works on Mahayana Buddhism. His interpretations of Yogacara often differ from that of the school of Xuanzang and his student
Kuiji and instead promotes ideas closer to those of the Shelun school. Due to this, his work was criticized by the
Faxiang school of the disciples of Kuiji. Woncheuk's work contributed to the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. He influenced the development of the theories of
Essence-Function and the
Ekayāna (One Vehicle). His work was also influential on the development of the
Huayan school. While in Tang China, Woncheuk took as a disciple a Korean-born monk named
Dojeung (), who travelled to
Silla in 692 and propagated Woncheuk's exegetical tradition. His work was also influential on the Japanese branch of Yogacara, the Hosso school, since Hosso monks like Gyosin (c. 750), Genju (723–797), and Gomyo (750–834) relied on Woncheuk's works. Woncheuk is well known amongst scholars of
Tibetan Buddhism for his
Commentary on the Saṃdhinirmocana sūtra which was translated into Tibetan in the ninth century. ==Works==