Naong Hyegeun’s status and lineage in Joseon Buddhism

ABSTRACT

Among the three monks of the late Koryo, Baekwoon Gyeonghan, Taego Bowoo, Naong Hyegeun, it was Naong who stood with the populace and was worshipped widely until Joseon. Naong is a zen priest who went to Yuan dynasty and received certification of Jigong�zen and Imje-zen after he achieved enlightenment domestically through practicing Jogye-zen. However, Naong did not insist Imje-zen. He succeeded the idea of Bojo Jinul who established domestic Jogye-zen and performed both education and belief in the Pure Land to enlighten mankind. When Naong rebuilt Temple Hoiam and held a Buddhist lecture meeting, a lot of audiences flocked. The government sent Naong to Temple Youngwon in Miryang as the noblemen wanted to stop the restoration of Buddhism by removing Naong who was highly esteemed by monks and the public. But on the way to Temple Yeongwon, Naong died in Temple Silleuk in Yeoju. Naong left plenty of miracles and relics as he died, which further attracted people’s respect and passed down as the center of belief to monks and people in exclusion of Buddhism of Joseon. After the middle of Joseon dynasty, Buddhist community arranged lineage as each family scrambled to make a genealogy. Hyujeong’s descendants tried to organize the genealogy of Korean Buddhism focused on Imje-zen of China, cutting the flow of the idea and belief inherited since Buddhism was transmitted to the Korean peninsula. They endeavored to make the lineage of Imje-zen by switching the teacher of Hwanam Honsoo from Naong to Bowoo in the late Koryo and early Joseon. However, it was hard to connect to ‘Naong�Hwanam’ as Naong was widely recognized as the Three monks in Joseon Buddhism, ‘Jigong�Naong-Moohak’. And the fact that Taego and Hwanam was not worshipped as the founders of the religious sect in various rituals favored making a new line of Imje-zen masters in the late Koryo separate from the line of Jogye-zen masters passed down from Nine-mountains. While Zen priests made the genealogy of Taego insisting Imje-zen, the lineage of Jigong-Naong�Moohak which received absolute respect from the public still lasted. Naong’s presence settled deep inside the masses was not taken away and people’s services toward Naong remained in a variety of Buddhism rituals. Naong is worshipped as the certifying monk of Buddhist priests in many ceremonies along with Jigong and Moohak.