Uicheon (28 September 1055 – 5 October 1101) was a

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

Royal Prince as the fourth son of King Munjong and Queen Inye from the

Incheon Yi clan The Incheon Yi clan (Hangul: 인천 이씨, Hanja: 仁川李氏) is a Korean clan. Historically known as the Gyeongwon Lee clan or Inju Lee clan, it was one of the most powerful clans in the early Goryeo period due their status as in-laws of the ...

.https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0043423 He was the younger brother of

Sunjong Sunjong, the Emperor Yunghui (; 25 March 1874 – 24 April 1926), was the second and the last Emperor of Korea, of the Yi dynasty, ruling from 1907 until 1910. Biography Crown Prince of Korea Sunjong was the second son of Emperor Gojong a ...

, Seonjong, and

Sukjong Sukjong () is the temple name of several Korean kings. It can refer to: * Sukjong of Goryeo (1095-1105) * Sukjong of Joseon Sukjong of Joseon (7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720) was the 19th King of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, ruling from 1674 un ...

. He was also a writer and Buddhist monk who founded the Cheontae school 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 ...

. He lived at Ryongtongsa in

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

for much of his life and was buried there, where his tomb can be found today. At age 11, he volunteered to become a Buddhist monk. In 1065, he studied at the Yeongtong Temple (영통사, 靈通寺) under Buddhist monk Nanwon (난원, 爛圓) who was his maternal relative and studied the Buddhist and Confucian canons. From 1073 to 1090, he collected

Tripiṭaka ''Tipiṭaka'' () or ''Tripiṭaka'' () or ''තිපිටක'' (), meaning "Triple Basket", is the traditional term for ancient collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures. The Pāli Canon maintained by the Theravāda tradition in ...

commentaries from Korea, China, the Khitan Empire and Japan, which were published as the "Goryeo Catalog of Sutras" (or "Goryeo Supplement to the Canon"). He visited the Liao and

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

dynasty as a pilgrimage to its Buddhist holy places, met their high priests and listened to their sermons, even became a ''guksa'' for Liao's 8th emperor, Yelü Chala before return to his country. After this, Uicheon became the head of many Korean temples at that time.

Works

*''Sinpyeonjejonggyojangchongnok'' vol. 3 (신편제종교장총록 3권) *''Sinjipwonjongmullyu'' vol. 22 (신집원종문류, 新集圓宗文類 22권) *''Seokwonsarim'' vol. 250 (석원사림, 釋苑詞林 250권) *''Daegakguksamunjib'' vol. 23 of deeds and poems (대각국사문집, 大覺國師文集 23권 행적과 시 문집) *''Daegakguksawoejip'' vol. 13 (대각국사외집, 大覺國師外集 13권) *''Ganjeongseongyusiknondangwa'' vol. 3 (간정성유식론단과, 刊定成唯識論單科 3권) *''Cheontaesagyouiju'' vol. 3 (천태사교의주, 天台四敎儀註 3권)

References

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica
Korean scholars of Buddhism Goryeo Buddhist monks 1055 births 1101 deaths 11th-century Korean philosophers 11th-century Buddhist monks Cheontae People from Kaesong {{Korea-reli-bio-stub

Works

See also

References

External links