Essay Abstract

Kim, Ho-gui

Jikji is an abbreviated title of the Korean Buddhist text called Baegun hwasang chorok buljo jikji simche yojeol (“Essential Passages Directly Pointing at the Essence of the Mind by Master Baegun”). Authored by Master Baegun Gyeonghan (1298–1374), a Buddhist monk from the Goryeo period, Jikji consists of two volumes. The title indicates that Master Baegun, a disciple of the Chinese Chan master Shiwu Qinggong (1298-1374), received a title called Buljo jikji simche yojeol from his teacher and expanded it by adding his own commentaries as well as an additional collection of excerpts from the analects of the most revered Buddhist monks. Categorized as a jeondeung rok (“Record of the Transmission of the Lamp”), a collection of biographies of Buddhas and masters in the line of transmission of Chan, Jikji records the lives of 145 Seon masters and their teachings.

Jikji goes beyond the narrative of a more typical jeondeung rok, which lists only the names of the masters considered as lineage holders within a particular Chan school and their direct words, as Master Baegun selected masters more widely across from different Chan lineages and included two or even three commentaries to a particular entry if deemed necessary. He also penned 14 commentaries to Buljo jikji simche yojeol entrusted to Master Baegun by his teacher Shiwu Qinggong upon his death. As a result, Jikji does not confine itself to the scope of a traditional jeondeung rok but also serves as a guide for gongan (more commonly known by its Japanese rendering, kōan) meditation for the future generations of Seon practitioners.