Muyŏm
Muyŏm
800 – 888
Muyŏm (無染, 800–888) is the founder of the Sŏngjusan school, one of the Nine Mountain Schools of Korean Seon, and one of the most influential figures of late Silla Buddhism[1]. Born to a noble family of the True-Bone aristocracy, he travelled to Tang China around 821 and trained under Magu Baoche, a heir in the Mazu Daoyi line[1]. After more than two decades in China — long enough to be regarded by his Chinese hosts as a fully Chinese master — he returned to Silla in 845 and established Sŏngjusa on Mount Sŏngjusan in the Boryeong region. Muyŏm's lineage produced thousands of students, his temple became a major training centre, and his Mugŏlbong Munpŏp ('Tongueless Sermon') is preserved as a touchstone of early Korean Sŏn rhetoric — its insistence that the dharma is finally beyond words mirrored the teaching style of his Hongzhou-line master and grounded the Korean reception of Chan in the same direct-pointing tradition[2].
Names
Teachers and lineage of Muyŏm
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
- sayingThe Teaching of No-Mind
Muyeom taught: 'When there is no mind (무심, 無心), there is also no dharma to seek and no ignorance to remove. This is not a vacancy or a blankness. It is like a great mirror that reflects everything without clinging to any image. Mountains appear; the mirror does not become a mountain. Waters appear; the mirror does not become water. This is no-mind. This is the original face of all beings. Do not add understanding on top of it — understanding is the screen that hides it.'
When Muyeom studied under Magu Baoche in Tang China, he came one day and bowed three times before the master. Magu said: 'Why do you bow?' Muyeom said: 'Out of respect for the Dharma.' Magu said: 'Where is the Dharma?' Muyeom was silent for a long time, then said: 'I cannot find it anywhere.' Magu said: 'Precisely. Now go wash your bowl.' At that moment Muyeom understood and composed himself. Later, when he returned to Silla and was asked about the transmission, he said: 'Magu gave me bowl-washing. I gave him my three bows. Both sides are empty-handed. That is the transmission.'
Other masters in Seon
Master Record Sources
- biographyThe Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea — Robert E. Buswell