Il-yeon (or Iryeon; 1206–1289) was a Buddhist monk and All-Enlightened National Preceptor () during the

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 ...

Dynasty of Korea. His birth name was either Kim Gyeong-myeong () or Jeon Gyeon-myeong (), and his

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

was Hoe-yeon (). He became a monk at Muryangsa Temple at the age of nine, and passed the Seon national examination at 22; at 54 he was given the rank of Great Teacher. When he was seventy-eight, King Chungnyeol offered him a position of rank and tried to make him National Preceptor, but Iryeon declined. The king again appointed him National Preceptor, and Iryeon came down to the capital Kaesong (then Gaegyeong), but soon returned to the mountains on the pretext that his aged mother was sick. On the eighth day of the seventh month in 1289, he held an interview with various monks, and then died. Iryeon is known as a prolific writer, and according to the inscription on his tombstone he wrote some 80 volumes on Buddhist topics. But today only one book of his survives: the ''

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

'', which is not mentioned in the inscription at all.

See also