The Gyeyul ( and Yul jong 律宗, or

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions rema ...

in Sanskrit) school, founded by the Korean monk Gyeomik who went to India in 526 CE to learn

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...

and study the Vinaya, is the

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic of ...

n name applied to a branch of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

that specializes in the study and implementation of śīla (yuljang 律藏) the ''"moral discipline"'' or ''""Buddhist ethics"''. It derives directly from the Indian ''Vinaya School''.Korean Buddhism has its own unique characteristics different from other countries
koreapost.com, Jun 16, 2019. Gyeomik went to India from

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jumon ...

to study the trepitaka vedatta at "Sangana Vinaya Temple", translated the text into a book called "yulmun" in Korea, and transmitted the

from India to Korea. When Baekje, which is one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

, the translated text and the Gyeyul monastic order were lost. Vinaya monk

Jajang Jajang (590–658) was a monk born Kim Seonjong, into the royal Kim family, in the kingdom of Silla. He is credited with founding the temple of Tongdosa in 646 CE, near in what is now Busan, South Korea, and played a significant role in th ...

(590–658 CE), born in

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

as a

true bone Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...

(jin'gol) aristocrat, revived the Gyeyul order and built the

Woljeongsa Woljeongsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. Woljeongsa was founded in 643 by the Silla monk Jajang. History The Origin of ...

temple in 643 of

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1200 years to the Later Silla National Master Do ...

of Korean Buddhism on the eastern slopes of

Odaesan Odaesan, also known as Mount Odae-san or Mount Odae (), is a major cluster of mountains and national park in eastern Gangwon Province, South Korea, standing at the junction of Gangneung City, Pyeongchang County and Hongcheon County. It stands a ...

in Pyeongchang County. In 641 CE, Jajang and his disciple Seungsil travelled to

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

China where he received bone relic of Buddha's crown,

Śarīra Śarīra is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the B ...

relics and an honorary robe. He also visited

Yunju Temple Yunju Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in Fangshan District, southwest of Beijing and contains the world's largest collection of stone Buddhist sutra steles in the world. Yunju Temple also contains one of only two extant woodblocks for t ...

where he stayed until his return to Silla in 643 CE.Gim Yeongsu, 2016
Sheaves of Korean Buddhist History: Joseon Bulgyosa
Korean Buddhism Library.

History

When Buddhism first came to

in 384, it was introduced by a

Serindia The term Serindia combines '' Seres'' (China) and India to refer to the part of Asia also known as Sinkiang, Chinese Turkestan or High Asia. See main entry under Xinjiang. The art of this region is known as '' Serindian''. See also *Chindia Ref ...

n monk named

Marananta Malananta (fl. late 4th century) was an Indian Buddhist monk and missionary who brought Buddhism to the southern Korean peninsula in the 4th century. Multiple romanizations of Malananta's name may be found, including Meghananda (मेघा� ...

, Buddhism was quickly embraced but largely unknown. So, a Korean monk named Gyeomik (겸익, 謙益) was sent to India to bring back more information. He is said to have traveled to India via the southern seas, studied Sanskrit and then came back to Baekje accompanied by another Indian monk, Paedalta (Vedatta?) and with many texts on the

and

Abhidharma The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...

. Gyeomik translated these texts into Korean along with help from his disciples Tamuk and Hyerin and thus founded the Vinaya School in Korea.

Notes

Schools of Buddhism founded in Korea {{Buddhism-stub