Moguja Susimgyeol Beobeo

This is a woodblock edition, recarved in 1500 (the sixth year of King Yeonsan) at Bongseosa Temple on Gayasan Mountain, of the Susimgyeol (Secrets on Cultivating the Mind) written by Moguja Jinul (1158–1210). The text had originally been annotated with oral glosses by Bihyeonhap and translated and explained by Sinmi, then published by the Sutra Publication Office during the reign of King Sejo. The Susimgyeol is a work in which Jinul sets out the essentials of cultivating the mind, the core of Seon meditative practice. It clarifies the nature of the "mind of empty, still, numinous awareness" that underlies mental cultivation, and, in the form of nine questions and answers, expounds the theory of sudden enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation as the system of mind cultivation, together with the theory of the balanced cultivation of concentration and wisdom as its concrete method of practice. Bound together after the Susimgyeol are four Dharma talks, including one by the Yuan-dynasty monk Mongsan Deok'i, likewise translated and annotated by the Venerable Sinmi, and published together with the Susimgyeol at Bongseosa Temple. The colophon by Deunggok of Haeinsa Temple and the publication record of the Susimgyeol at the end of the volume show that the work was carried out under the direction of Gyeongmin of Bongseosa Temple on Gayasan Mountain, with Gyeongdam and Yunjeong serving as the woodblock carvers. The woodblocks cut at that time are still kept at Haeinsa Temple today. This book is a recarved edition of the Sutra Publication Office print, executed with great care. Although the original woodblocks survive, this particular printing appears to have been made soon after the blocks were carved, since its condition is excellent. It is also valued as important material for the study of Korean Buddhist Seon thought, the Buddhist history of the Joseon period, and bibliography.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seocho-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산