Wonhyo's career last from the end of
Korea's Three Kingdoms era to the dawn of the
Unified Silla kingdom (668–935). Wonhyo extensive work was vital for the reception of Mahayana Buddhism in Korea and as such he is a central figure in the development of
Korean Buddhism. Ultimately, Wohnyo's analysis of conflicting interpretations of Buddhist doctrine and doctrinal disputes is thus centered on language and on the relationship between names and meanings (which are neither identical nor remain static/fixed). Thus one can say that Wohnyo saw all Buddhist doctrines as a harmonious interpenetrating reality, and as such he often called his philosophy "interpenetrated Buddhism" (''t'ong pulgyo,'' 通佛教). • “true-thusness”, which is intrinsically pure and unchanging
Thusness (Tathātā, 眞如), the ultimate reality, the true nature of the mind, which is without concepts or discrimination, without arising or ceasing. • “arising-and-ceasing”, which is impure, impermanent, subject to cause and effect and manifests as all forms of
samsara and delusion. This is the mind of everyday reality, the mind of suffering (
dukkha) and the mind of the
six realms. As such, the One Mind is the
non-dual source of all phenomena, the source of both samsara and
nirvana, and it contains both purity and
ignorance and
defilement. The ''Awakening of Faith's'' One Mind teaching is one of the central principles which Wonhyo uses to harmonize the various Buddhist teachings. Another important and related doctrine which Wonhyo relies and expands upon is the Chinese theory of
essence-function (體用, Chinese pinyin:
tǐ yòng, Korean:
che-yong) which is also found in the Awakening of Faith. Essence here refers to pure
Suchness, the ultimate reality, i.e. the One Mind; while function refers to all relative phenomena (dharmas). These two aspects are seen by Wonhyo as non-dual, as part of a harmonious whole.
Original enlightenment and Buddhist practice Wonhyo also wrote on and developed the related theory of
original enlightenment (
Chinese: 本覺;
pinyin:
běnjué,
Korean:
bongak), which sees
enlightenment as
immanent in the mind, though it has to be discovered through purifying the mind and practicing the six
paramitas. Indeed, for Wohnyo, the ultimate principle (Dharma), the essence or One Mind, is nothing but the principle of enlightenment itself which penetrates the minds of all sentient beings. According to Wohnyo, liberation or enlightenment means to truly know that all phenomena are the One Mind which is already immanent within the mind of sentient beings. It is thus to understand that we already are enlightenment. As such, enlightenment is also called "returning to the original source". Thus, for Wohnyo, nothing new is attainment in enlightenment, one merely recognizes what is already there. How does one reach or return to the original enlightenment? For Wohnyo, this happens through the process of "actualizing enlightenment" through which a Buddhist practitioner can move away from the state of non-enlightenment towards the enlightened source (though in reality, these two states are non-dual, not completely separate, but are like waves and the ocean). To actualize enlightenment and let go of ignorance and duality, religious practice is required. As one practices, original enlightenment reveals itself as ignorance and the defilements are gradually eliminated. Indeed, it is through the power of original enlightenment itself that the mind is purified in the process of actualizing enlightenment. Wonhyo's held that it was possible to apply these deep principles in one's personal everyday life. As such, he met with commoners and elites alike and taught people according to their needs. For the commoners he generally taught a flexible teaching which included Buddhist metaphysics and the simple
Pure Land practice of reciting the name of
Amitabha with a sincere mind intent on
bodhicitta. == Works ==