Wŏnhyo (; ; 617 – 686, meaning: "Dawnbreak") was one of the most important philosophers and commentators in East Asian Buddhism and the most prolific scholar in Korean Buddhism. As one of the most eminent scholar-monks in East Asian history, his extensive literary output runs to over 80 works in 240 fascicles. His most influential commentaries are those on buddha-nature texts like the *Vajrasamādhisūtra, the Awakening of Faith, and the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra.
Wonhyo's work was foundational for all of Korean Buddhism and also influenced Buddhism in other East Asian nations. Chinese masters who were heavily influenced by Wonhyo include Huayan masters like Fazang, Li Tongxuan, and Chengguan. The Japanese monks Gyōnen, Zenshu and Joto of the Kegon school were also influenced by him.
Biography
thumb|alt=|Bogwangjeon hall at [[Bunhwangsa, Gyeongju which is a dedicated shrine to Wonhyo.]]
Wonhyo was born in Amnyang (押梁), (modern Gyeongsan, South Korea). Wonhyo spent the earlier part of his career as a monk studying under various Korean Buddhist teachers and living in Hwangnyongsa Temple. Startled by the experience of believing that a gruesome liquid was a refreshing treat, Wonhyo was astonished at the power of the human mind to transform reality. As he reflected on this, he had a deep insight into how the world is a creation of mind and directly experienced the Yogacara principle of "mind-only" (cittamatra). Due to this insight, he did not feel it necessary to travel to China since all phenomena are ultimately not outside our own mind. At other times he lived alone in the mountains or along rivers, wrote various works and gave lectures on Buddhism and taught the people to chant the Buddha's name. Wohnyo later married and had a son, Seol Chong, who is considered to be one of the great Confucian scholars of Silla.
Wohnyo's collaboration with Uisang directly led to the establishment of the influential Hwaeom (Korean Huayan) school as a major stream of thought in Korea.
Philosophy
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. As noted by Charles Muller "except for the works of the extraordinarily prolific translators such as Kumārajīva (344–413) and Hsüan-tsang (596–664), this is probably the largest literary output by a single scholar in East Asian Buddhist history."
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra (Daehyedo gyeong jong-yo 大慧度經宗要)
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Lotus Sutra (Beophwa jong-yo 法華宗要)
- Expository Notes to the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith
- Praise of Amitabhaʼs Realization of His Nature
- System of the Two Hindrances
- Commentary to the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Sutra on the Ascension of Maitreya
- Commentary on the Discrimination between the Middle and the Extremes
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra
- Critique of Inference
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Sutra of Immeasurable Life (Muryangsugyeong jong-yo 無量壽經宗要)
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Nirvana Sutra (Yeolban jong-yo 涅槃宗要)
- Exposition of the Vajrasamādhi-sūtra.
- Commentary on the Flower Ornament Sutra (Hwaeom- gyeong so byeong seo 華嚴經疏并序)
- Doctrinal Essentials of the Flower Ornament Sutra
- Commentary on the Amitâbha Sūtra (Amitagyeong so, 阿彌陀經疏)
- Personal Notes on the Fundamentals of Bodhisattva Precepts in the Brahmāʼs Net Sutra
- Essentials of Observing and Transgressing the Code of Bodhisattva Precepts
Wonhyo's twenty-three extant works are currently in the process of being translated into English as a joint project between Dongguk University and Stony Brook University. The University of Hawaii Press is publishing them in five volumes. There are currently two volumes of this project published:
- Wonhyo's Philosophy of Mind, Edited by A. Charles Muller and Cuong T. Nguyen (2012)
- Cultivating Original Enlightenment: Wonhyo's Exposition of the Vajrasamadhi-Sutra, Translated with an introduction by Robert E. Buswell Jr. (2007)
Legacy
The International Taekwon-Do Federation pattern "Won-Hyo" is named in Wonhyo's honor. This pattern consists of 28 movements.
The World Taekwondo Federation has a Hyeong or pattern named Ilyeo for 9th Dan black belt which means the thought of the Buddhist priest of Silla Dynasty, Wonhyo.
Wonhyo Bridge across the Han River in Seoul is named after him.
Wonhyo Pilgrimage Project
In 2011, retired Canadian journalist Tony MacGregor walked across the Korean Peninsula in an attempt to understand the awakening experience of Wonhyo. Legend says that Wonhyo walked across the peninsula in the 7th century and found enlightenment in a cave on the western side of the peninsula. MacGregor's journey, which involved staying at mountain monasteries and talking to monks, was the first in over 1,000 years to honor Wonhyo's accomplishment. A documentary film of the walk was completed and a project to establish a permanent pilgrimage trail is currently being developed.