Samyeongdang (1544–1610), also known by his

dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

Yujeong, was a Korean Buddhist monk during the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

era. He is sometimes identified by his pen name, Song-un. He was born to a family of the Im clan in

Miryang Miryang (perhaps pronounced as Milbeol using Idu script), formerly also spelled as 推火郡 (probably pronounced as Milbeol or Miribeol using Idu script), Milbeol (密伐) and Milseong (密城), is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Ko ...

Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingdom ...

. After the deaths of his mother in 1558 and his father in 1559, he became a monk at Jikjisa on Hwangaksan in

Gimcheon Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. In ancient ...

Life

In 1561, he passed the ''seon-gwa'', the specialized

gwageo The ''gwageo'' or ''kwago'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge of the Chinese clas ...

(civil service examinations) for

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

. He corresponded with various scholars of the time including Pak Saam, Heo Hagok, and Im Baekho. In 1575, he was recommended as head of the Seon order, but refused and instead traveled to

Myohyangsan The Mount Myohyang (Hangul: 묘향산 - "''Mysterious Fragrant Mountain''") is a mountain in North Korea. It is named after the mystic shapes and fragrances found in the area. It is a sacred site as, according to legend, it was the home of Kin ...

. There he was instructed by preceptor

Hyujeong Hyujeong (, 1520-1604), also called Seosan Daesa (서산대사, 西山大師) was a Korean Seon master. As was common for monks in this time, he travelled from place to place, living in a succession of monasteries. Buddhist monks had been forced t ...

. He went on to pass three years at Bodeoksa on

Mount Kumgang Mount Kumgang () or the Kumgang Mountains is a mountain massif, with a peak, in Kangwon-do, North Korea. It is located on the east coast of the country, in Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, formerly part of Kangwŏn Province, and is part of the ...

, and later traveled through

Palgongsan Palgongsan, also Palgong Mountain, and previously called Gongsan during the Goryeo dynasty, is a mountain in southeastern South Korea, lying on an outlier of the Taebaek range. It stands on the northeastern border between Daegu metropolitan ...

, Cheongnyangsan, and

Taebaeksan Taebaeksan, also known as Mount Taebaeksan or Mount Taebaek, is a South Korean mountain with several important peaks of the Taebaek mountain range (in Western-style geography), or the Taebaek Jeongmaek Range (in Korean-style geography). It is an ...

. With the start of the

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in 1592, Yujeong joined his teacher Hyujeong's

righteous army Righteous armies, sometimes called irregular armies or militias, are informal civilian militias that have appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance. The first righteous armies emerged during th ...

of monks. After Hyujeong retired due to his age, Yujeong took over the leadership of the army. He led the army into battles at

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

and

Uiryeong County Uiryeong County () is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Uiryeong County has a population of 27,550 (2019) and is one of the least populated counties in South Korea. History In 1938, Lee Byung-chull, a resident of Uiryeong, fo ...

in 1592, set up mountain fortresses through Gyeongsang in 1594, and joined in battle again at

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

and

Suncheon Suncheon () (''Suncheon-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is a scenic agricultural and industrial city of around 250,000 people near Suncheon Bay. It is located in the southeastern corner of Jeollanam-do, just over an hou ...

. In 1604, after the end of the war, he traveled to Japan on

Seonjo of Joseon Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

's orders to forge a peace accord with

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

, and returned with 3500 Koreans who had been taken prisoner. Yujeong's diplomatic missions established a resilient foundation for a series of major Joseon missions to Japan. After his death in 1610 on

Haeinsa Haeinsa (해인사, 海印寺: Temple of the Ocean Mudra) is a head temple of the Jogye Order (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗) of Korean Seon Buddhism in Gayasan National Park (가야산, 伽倻山), South Gyeongsang Province, ...

, Yujeong was enshrined in the Pyochung Seowon in

and at Suchungsa in Nyongbyon. He continues to be remembered in modern times, with numerous statues and other memorials around Korea. He has been cited together with

as an example of a "patriotic-minded" Buddhist by the North Korean Buddhist Federation. Yujeong's writings are preserved in the ''Samyeongjip'' () and ''Bunchungseo Nallok'' ().

Notes

References

* Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). ''The Land of Scholars : Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism.'' Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books.
OCLC 60931394
* Walker, Brett L
"Foreign Affairs and Frontiers in Early Modern Japan: A Historiographical Essay,"
''Early Modern Japan.'' Fall, 2002, pp. 44–62, 124-128. *

External links

Samyeongdang Memorial Association

{{Authority control 1544 births 1610 deaths Joseon Buddhist monks Korean Buddhist monks Foreign relations of the Joseon dynasty 16th-century Korean people Pungcheon Im clan Seon Buddhist monks Zen Buddhism writers Year of death unknown 16th-century Korean philosophers

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links