Taego Order

The Taego Order or Taego-jong is the second largest order in Korean Seon, the Korean branch of Chan Buddhism.

Characteristics

Seonamsa is one of the head monasteries of the Taego Order, which includes over 8,000 monastics and 3,100 temples.

What distinguishes the Taego Order from other forms of Korean Buddhism like the Jogye Order of Seon is that it allows ordained priests to marry, although nuns must remain celibate. This custom of married priests is a remnant of Korea under Japanese rule. However, not all Taego priests are married. This order also includes traditional monks. Monks tend to remain more separate from society and live in mountain temples, whereas the married clerics are more like parish priests, though this is not always the case.

According to the Patriarch of the Taego Order Overseas Parish, Venerable Dr. Jongmae Kenneth Park, the Taego and Jogye orders follow the same Prātimokṣa, the vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka also followed in Vietnam and China. There are 250 bhiksu precepts, 348 bhiksuni precepts, and 10 śrāmaṇera and śrāmaṇerī (novice) precepts. However, celibacy is optional for men.