전강영신 / 田岡永信 Jeongang Yeongsin (1898-1975)

ZEN MESTEREK ZEN MASTERS
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(Magyar átírás:) Csongang Jongszin
[a Kvanum szon csonghö iskola sajátos átírása szerint: Jun Kang = Dzsun Káng]

Jeongang Yeongsin (1898 ~ 1975)
https://web.archive.org/web/20120726202058/http://buddhism.org/board/read.cgi?board=SeonMasters&nnew=2&y_number=22

His dharma name was Jeongang and his ordination name was Yeongsin.

Career

Master Jeon-gang was born in 1893 in Gokseong, Jeollanam-do Province. At the age of seven, his mother passed away. His father then remarried, but he too also passed away when he was 13; his step-mother then abandoned not only him but her own son as well, remarrying into another family. To fill his empty stomach he was forced to take on a number of odd jobs hard to bear for one so young; he worked as a hunter's assistant, pumped bellows at a brass foundry, and also worked as a traveling merchant.

It was during that time when after meeting a monk one day, he ended up visiting a temple. When he turned 16, he began the life of a postulant at Haeinsa Monastery. There he formed an intimate friendship with Bongnyong, a novice monk two years his elder, who had a strong personality and was well learned. Bongnyong then ended up falling ill to a sudden disease and died. In the forlorn circumstances of having already gone through the difficulties of facing the deaths of his parents and sibling, he watched as Bongnyong, whom he had depended on and had been like family to him, was cremated and turned into a handful of ash. Seeing this, he felt deeply in his heart the transience of life and death.

Pledging to himself to use this opportunity to break free from the sufferings of life and death, he became absorbed in the “MU” hwadu. His devoted himself with such intensity that though he bled fiercely from his mouth and nose he would not stop his meditation. This ferocious pursuit of the truth continued for some eight years. Pale and close to death, the 23 year old Jeongang headed for his hometown of Gokseong to spend a season at Taeansa Monastery.

One night at Taeansa, as he was passing across the stepping stones while listening to the sound of water flowing through the valley, in a flash he felt the mass of doubt that had been inside of him dissolve and the cloud of life and death wash away. After this awakening, he sought out the Seon masters of his day, Hyewol, Bowol, Yongseong, Hanam, Mangong and others, and through many dharma debates with them he received from each approval of his complete enlightenment (inga).

From then on, Master Jeongang, who had taken on the position of Head Master of the Bogwang Seonwon (Meditation Hall) at Tongdosa at the age of only 32, presided over many different meditation halls (Seonwon) across the land, including the Bokcheon Seonwon at Beopjusa, the Donghwasa Seonwon, the Seonwon at Sudoam Hermitage, and cultivated numerous disciples.

Master Jeongang never showed a single flaw in his dharma discourses and teachings. In matters of dharma he never went easy on either masters or disciples. Still, his love for his disciples was exceptional.

For example, Master Songdam, the current head master of the Yonghwa Seonwon and a disciple of Master Jeongang, was practicing the discipline of silence in those days. But when the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, it became very difficult for him to maintain his silence in those circumstances. Thereupon, Master Jeongang took on the management of a store in the marketplace, allowing Master Songdam to safely take refuge in the attic of the store, and therefore made it possible for him to continue his special practice. Receiving such continuing unconditional help like this, Songdam completed ten whole years of this practice but had yet to bear even a hint showing that he had gained any enlightenment. Seeing this, Jeongang, who had treated Songdam better than his own son, finally beat him mercilessly. The following day, Songdam let out a lion's roar, and to pay back the kindness of his master, he has become a towering figure in the sangha, rising high to lead the lineage of the Korean Seon Buddhism of today.

In 1963, Master Jeongang established the Beopbo Seonwon at Yonghwasa in Incheon. Without distinguishing between monastics and lay followers, he served as a light to all practitioners, clarifying their minds through his dharma sermons. At the age of 77, in 1975, after 61 years in the sangha, at two o'clock in the afternoon on January 13th, after ascending the dharma platform, he entered nirvana at the completion of this short dharma sermon:

What is the suffering of birth and death?
Ha!!!
Nine times nine multiplied backwards is still eighty-one.

Though the master's body had already returned to the earth and wind, his formless dharma body remains to this day preaching the dharma, still remaining in the position of Head Master of Beopbo Seonwon; transferring the merit of his accomplished enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Master Sondgam was Master Jeongang's senior disciple and among his fifty or so other disciples were Masters Jeonggong, Jeong-u, Jeongmu, Jeongdae, and Jeongnak. In addition, these disciples also had another 200 disciples following them.

Doctrinal Distinction

Out of the many methods of Seon meditation, Master Jeongang especially emphasized the Patriarchal Seon transmitted through Live Phrase (hwalgu)investigation.

The Master said that the method of Seon meditation was the one genuine eternal truth and that this truth was the awakening to your original countenance. Moreover, he said that in awakening to one's original face and understanding the truth of no life and death, samsara cannot take root; awakening to this truth that samsara cannot take root and being assured of this enlightenment is what is meant by the “hwalgu Seon meditation method.”

In addition, he said that Seon meditation was drilling through a gongan (Jp. koan, Ch. gongan), impossible to be analyzed by intellectual understanding. Just as you can only truly know if a glass of water is cold or warm by drinking it, if you do not have any direct experience, you can never awaken to the truth of a gongan. In this way, Seon is a path of self-awareness to bring about awakening. It is not an objective perception, but rather the work of intuitive understanding, the accomplishment of awakening to the infinite creative power that resides within, through the process of one's exhaustive self-examination.

The representative hwadu that Master Jeongang used while cultivating his many disciples was the “panchi saengmo.” Panchi saengmo means “on a plank's (pan) teeth (chi), hair (mo) grows (saeng)” and originates from Master Zhaozhou's answer to the question, “What was the reason that Bodhidharma came from the west?” Master Jeongang said that when asking, “how could hair grow from teeth on a plank?” the place of totally unknowable doubt created by this hwadu was a place where neither illusion or desire could become attached.

It is totally taboo from the perspective of Seon to use as your own the analyses of the gongan by the old Patriarchs. This is due precisely to the fact that awakening can never be the simple imitation of others. Moreover, a gongan is not a riddle that can be solved through our intelligence nor can it be unwound through our logical analysis. Therefore Master Jeongang asserted that “First comes Seon meditation and second is also Seon meditation. Third, fourth, and fifth are also Seon meditation. The face of a true practitioner is the energy devoted vigorously to practicing Seon meditation for nothing other than solving the great matter of life and death.”

In addition, he said that it was wrong to search for Buddha or to exert energy in order to find Buddha, emphasizing that our own true nature was precisely the Buddha and that the Buddha did not exist separately, estranged from this true nature.

The master also completely exercised the practice of “freedom from possessions” (musoyu). Saying that true freedom never came in possessing things, he argued that such freedom could only be gained in musoyu. Telling his disciples, “after my death, don't save my remains,” he displayed his musoyu spirit to the very end, not wanting to leave even a single ash of his cremated body behind.

Jun Kang's kongans
by Zen Master Seung Sahn
In: The Whole World is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life
Tuttle, 1993.

222. Oriole and Stork

Zen Master Jun Kang composed a poem aloud:

An oriole sitting in the tree

becomes a flower.

A stork standing in the garden

becomes a patch of snow.

Then he said, "That is Buddha's mind. But if you attain Buddha from the poem, you will lose your body. If you don't attain Buddha from this poem, this stick will hit you thirty times. What can you do?"

After a moment of silence he said, "Already appeared."

1. Did you find Buddha in this poem?

2. "If you attain Buddha from this poem, you will lose your body. "Why?

3. After a moment he said, "Already appeared." What does this mean?

COMMENTARY: Originally no words, no body, no Buddha. Big mistake! Go drink tea.

223. No Nostrils

Sitting on the high rostrum before a large assembly of monks, Zen Master Jun Kang hit his Zen stick three times and said, "When our grandteacher Zen Master Kyong Ho got enlightenment he wrote a poem:

When I hear somebody say "no nostrils,"

I know three thousand worlds are my home.

Yong Nam Mountain in June -

A free man makes a peace song.

"The first and second lines are very good, but the last line has a mistake. If you find this mistake, you attain Zen Master Kyong Ho's mind. If you cannot find the mistake, you are a blind dog."

1. What did Zen Master Kyong Ho attain ?

2. Jun Kang said that the last line has a mistake. Where is it?

3. Zen Master Jun Kang said, "If you find the mistake, you attain Zen Master Kyong Ho's mind." What does this mean?

COMMENTARY: The clever man sees a rope and makes a snake out of it. The stupid man sees a rock and bows.

224. Hanging On a Vine

Zen Master Yong Sahn sent this story to all the Zen Masters in Korea, and asked them to write back with a response:

"A man was being chased by a wild elephant across a field. He stumbled into an old well, and as he was falling, grabbed hold of a vine which was hanging from the inside of the well. He looked down and saw three poisonous snakes at the bottom of the well, while above, the elephant was still waiting for him. A black mouse and a white mouse began gnawing on the vine just as honey from a plant growing on the side of the well began dripping into his mouth. If you were this man, how could you stay alive?"

Each Zen Master sent a reply:

Man Gong: "Last night I had a dream, so I woke up."

Hae Wol: "If you want to understand, you cannot understand. Only don't-know."

Hae Bong: "Buddha cannot see Buddha."

Yong Sahn: "Flower falls down, flax in the garden."

Bo Wol: "How do you fall into the well?"

Jun Kang: "Sweet!"

Ko Bong and Hyong Gak both wrote, "Aigo, aigo!"

Chung Soeng: Only laughing.

Hae Am: "Already dead."

Tan Ho: "Water flowing, never stopping."

1 If you were there at that time, how could you stay alive?

2. Which one is the best answer?

COMMENTARY: Be careful. Open your mouth, already a big mistake. Thinking, you lose your life. Just do it.

225. Half a Mu

One morning, Zen Master Jun Kang visited Zen Master Hae Bong at Mah Gok Sah Temple and said to him, "I don't like Joju's 'Mu.' I like half a 'Mu.' Please give me half a 'Mu.'"

Hae Bong said, "Mu!"

"That's not half a'Mu.'"

"Then what is half a'Mu?'"

Jun Kang said, "Mu!"

Laughing hard, Hae Bong said, "You are very clever."

1. Joju said "Mm," and that is a big mistake. Where is Joju's mistake?

2. If somebody asks you to give half a "Mu," what can you say?

COMMENTARY: Two mud cows, wrestling, fall into the ocean. Which one wins, which one loses? No news.

226. Originally Nothing

When Zen Master Jun Kang visited Zen Master Hae Am at the Diamond Mountain Ji Jang Bosal Temple, Hae Am asked him, "The Sixth Patriarch wrote 'Originally nothing,' and then got transmission. What did he get?" Jun Kang only clapped his hands three times.

1. What does "Originally nothing" mean?

2. Is Jun Kang's answer correct or not?

COMMENTARY: Mistake, mistake, mistake. A second offense is not permitted. You must ask the stone girl.

227. First Word

Zen Master Jun Kang visited Zen Master Yong Song and was asked, "What is the first word?"

"Yes!"

"No!" Yong Song replied.

Jun Kang clapped his hands and laughed.

Yong Song again said, "No!"

"I ask you, then, what is the first word?"

"Jun Kang!"

"Yes!" Jun Kang replied.

"That is the first word," Yong Song said.

1. What is the first word?

2. What is the last word?

COMMENTARY: If you open your mouth, the first word and last word both appear. If you close your mouth, they both disappear. Without any mouth, the first and last word are already clear.

228. Hair Grows on Wide Teeth

Zen Master Jun Kang always posed the following kong-an to his students: "A long time ago, someone asked Zen Master Joju, 'Why did Bodhidharma come to China?' Joju replied, 'Hair grows on wide teeth.' If you attain this you can see Bodhidharma's true face. If you don't understand this, you don't know Joju or Bodhidharma."

1. "Hair grows on wide teeth." What does that mean?

2. What is Bodhidharma's true face?

3. "If you don't understand this, then you don't know Joju or Bodhidharma." What does this mean?

COMMENTARY: The snake's beard grows for a thousand miles. The rabbit's horn grows and pierces the moon.

229. Thorny Jungle Everywhere

Zen Master Jun Kang gave a Dharma speech from the high rostrum, saying, "Upon his enlightenment, Zen Master Man Gong composed this poem:

Empty mountain, true energy without time and space.

White cloud and clear wind come and go by themselves.

Why did Bodhidharma come to China?

Rooster crowing in the morning,

Sun rising in the east.

Then Jun Kang said, "If you attain this poem, you attain the meaning of all the sutras. The last two lines are the most important: 'Rooster crowing in the morning, Sun rising in the east.'"

"If you find that point, then you find Bodhidharma's heart and the Buddha's head. So I ask you, where is Bodhidharma's heart and Buddha's head?"

After holding up the Zen stick in silence for a moment, he shouted, "KATZ!"

Then he said, "Thorny jungle everywhere."

1. What did you attain from Zen Master Man Gong's poem?

2. Zen Master Jun Kang said, "If you find that point, you find Bodhidharma's heart and the Buddha's head." What does this mean?

3. "Thorny jungle everywhere." What does this mean?

4. How do you get out of this thorny jungle?

COMMENTARY: Look, look! Big thief! Watch your pockets.

230. True Emptiness

Zen Master Jun Kang visited Zen Master Hae Wol, and was asked, "What does true emptiness and stillness mystic wisdom mean?"

Jun Kang replied, "Cannot hear, cannot see."

"No," Hae Wol said.

"Cannot hear, cannot see!"

But Hae Wol said, "Big mistake!"

1. What is emptiness and stillness mystic wisdom?

2. Where is Jun Kang's mistake?

COMMENTARY: Two stone girls face each other. Together they laugh, "Ha, ha, ha!"

231. Ma Jo's Circle

One day Zen Master Bo Wol asked Zen Master Jun Kang, "A long time ago, Zen Master Ma Jo said to the assembly, 'I have a circle. If you enter this circle I will hit you. If you do not enter this circle, I will also hit you. What can you do?' So I ask you, Jun Kang, if you had been there, how would you have answered?"

Jun Kang replied, "I don't like nonsense. How do you not get hit by Ma Jo's stick?"

Bo Wol answered, "Why are you holding Ma Jo's stick?"

1. If you had been there, how would you have answered Ma Jo's question?

2. Where is Jun Kang's mistake?

COMMENTARY: Your feet are walking on the ground. Your arms are moving back and forth.

PDF: Egyetlen szál virág az egész világ
365 buddhista, keresztény, taoista és zen példázat és kóan / [Szung Szán zen mester kérdéseivel és kommentárjaival, ... Stephen Mitchell előszavával];
[ford. Szigeti György]. [Budapest] : Farkas Lőrinc Imre Kiadó, 1997, XVII, 260 p.