Yongseong

Baek Yongseong Jinjong (Korean: 용성 진종, Hanja: 龍城 震鍾, 1864—1940) was an important Korean Buddhist master who helped propagate Buddhism in Korea. Primarily grounded in the Seon tradition, he also set about teaching others of Pure Land Buddhism and undertook massive studies and translation efforts of the Buddhist Tripitaka. He was also one of thirty-three national representatives present at the March 1 Movement of 1919, the representative of the Korean Buddhist community. The March 1 Movement is said to have marked the first significant beginning of the Korean Independence Movement, which sought to reach autonomy from Japanese occupation.

Biography

Yongseong was born Baek Sanggyu in Namwon, Jeolla-do, Korea on May 8 of the Lunar calendar in 1864. As a boy he was very quiet and was educated from a young age, writing his first classical Chinese lyric poem by age nine. He entered his first monastery in 1877 at Deokmil-am, but was withdrawn by his parents not long after entering. In 1879, at age fifteen, he was ordained a sunim by the Venerable Hwanwol at Haeinsa in Hapcheon in South Gyeongsang and was given the ordination name Jinjong. He then traveled to see Venerable Suwol, who instructed Yongseong on the practice of dharani. Not long after, it is said that he had an "awakening experience" following six days of Seon meditation at Bogwangsa in Yangju. Not satisfied with his own awakening, he began his "investigation" of the MU koan under Seon master Muyung.