An Introduction to Korean Buddhist Philosophy

Jin. Y. Park

University students interested in Korean Philosophy

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Humanities

Advanced

The course explores Korean Buddhist philosophy, covering materials from the beginning of the tradition in the 4th and 5th centuries through the 21st century.

1. Students will gain a basic understanding of Buddhist concepts such as ‘Karma.’

2. Students will be introduced to perennial questions through a Buddhist lens.

3. Students will learn about key Korean Buddhist figures in the distant past and from modern times.

Week 1

The Self and Others in Uisang’s Hwaeom Buddhism

1. Intimacy and Integrity Models

2. Four Foundational Buddhist Doctrines

3. One and Many

4. Buddhist Logic

5. The Named and the Nameless

Week 2

Wonhyo: The Self and the Limits of the Human Mind

1. Wonhyo-Yogācāra Buddhism

2. Wonhyo-Projection Only

3. Wonhyo-Womb of Tathāgata

4. Wonhyo-Two Hindrances

5. Wonhyo—Locus of Salvific Power and Buddhist Practice

Week 3

Meditation and Self-Transformation: Jinul’s Seon Buddhism

1. Bodhidharma and Bodhidharma’s Disciples

2. Mind is the Buddha

3. Gongan and Defamilarization

4. Hwadu Meditation: Live Words and Dead Words

5. Hwadu Meditation and Self Transformation

6. Hwadu Meditation: Liberation from Thinking

Week 4

Buddhism and Language

1. Buddhism and Language

2. Seon Buddhism and Language

3. Seon Buddhism and Language of Participation

4. Language, Thinking, and Power

5. Nothingness, Openness of Being, and the Recovery of the Self

Week 5

Envisioning Buddhist Ethics

1. Western Ethical Theories

2. Foundations of Buddhist Ethics

3. Ethics and Rules – Wonhyo’s Guide to the Meaning of Buddhist Precepts

4. Precepts and Social Rules

5. Goal-Oriented Versus Process-Oriented Ethics

6. Buddhist Wisdom and Ethics

7. Bodhisattva Path and Ethics of Tension

Week 6

Buddhism and Modernity: Baek Seonguk and Intercultural Philosophy

1. The Birth of Vocabularies

2. The Life

3. Buddhism as a Philosophy

4. The Subject and Object in Buddhism

5. Buddhist logic and social philosophy

Week 7

Buddhism and Gender–Kim Iryeop

1. Kim Iryeop and New Women

2. Turning—New Individualism and Religious Worldview

3. Buddhist self and the Great Self

4. Culture, creativity, and life

5. Re-envisioning Christianity, Life, and Love

Week 8

Buddhism and Social Engagement

1. Manhae-life and activities

2. Manhae’s Proposal for Buddhist Social Engagement

3. Manhae’s Buddhist social reform and its impact

4. Minjung Buddhism Background

5. Mingjung Buddhist Philosophy

Week 9

Buddhism, Institution, and Legitimacy

1. Violence of the Nation-State and Korean Buddhism

2. State Violence and Collective Karma

3. Reassessing Buddhist Social Engagement

4. Non-Duality and State Violence

5. Institutionality of Thought Tradition

6. Dharma Lineage, Gender, and the Violence of Institution

Week 10

Buddhist Existentialism

1. Gyeongheo Seongu: Life

2. Geyongheo’s Buddhist Thoughts

3. Existential Dimensions of Korean Buddhism

4. Life and Practice of Zen Master Hyeam

5. Existentialism and Freedom

6. Freedom, Philosophy, and Buddhist Practice

Korean Daoism

Hee-jung Seo Reich, Bo Xie, Lian he Deng, Hak-Mok Kim, Youn-Gyeong Kim

Learners interested in Korean Philosophy

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Humanities (Humanistic Studies)

Introductory

In weeks 2–3, the course offers an overview of the various Daoist sects that arose indigenously in China, laying the groundwork for week 4’s focus on the fundamental concepts of Daoist philosophy—especially those related to Laozi and Zhuangzi. Together these weeks establish a basic foundation for understanding Chinese Daoist thought.

In weeks 5–7, we examine how Daoist philosophy was received in Korea, particularly during the Joseon period. Although Joseon is generally considered a “Confucian nation,” these weeks highlight how Daoist studies coexisted with mainstream Confucianism. Building on these historical findings, weeks 8–9 explore how modern Daoist research in Korea has unfolded.

1. With a grounding in key Daoist concepts, learners will be able to explain the core ideas of Daoism.

2. Learners will be able to describe the relationship between early Daoism in China and Buddhism.

3. Learners will connect the titles and main points of Daoist texts studied in Joseon to their philosophical content.

4. Learners will locate Daoist influences that remain in modern Korean culture and explain them.

Week 1

The history of Daoist religion History

1. Introduction: Acceptance of Daoism and its Characteristics in Korea

2. The acceptance and development of Daoism in Korea

3. Korean acceptance and understanding of Daoist texts using the Daodejing: (1) Daodejing

4. The acceptance of Daodejing: Korean acceptance and understanding of Daoist texts using the Daodejing (2) The acceptance of Daodejing

5. Korean acceptance and understanding of Daoist texts using the Daodejing (3) How Joseon Confucian scholars perceived the DDJ

6. Conclusion

Week 2

The History of Daoist Religion(1)

1. Introduction

2. Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism (The Formation of Daoism)

3. The Transmission of Daoism to China

4. Celestial Masters Daoism(1)

5. Celestial Masters Daoism(2)

6. Celestial Masters Daoism(3)

7. Celestial Masters Daoism(4)

Week 3

The History of Daoist Religion(2)

1. School of the Highest Clarity(1)

2. School of the Highest Clarity(2)

3. School of the Highest Clarity(3)

4. School of the Highest Clarity(4)

5. School of the Numinous Treasure(1)

6. School of the Numinous Treasure(2)

7. School of the Numinous Treasure(3)

8. School of the Numinous Treasure(4)

9. Daoism in Modern China

10. Daoism Outside China

Week 4

道家哲学的基本概念与核心思想 (Lecture in Chinese)

1. Core Concept of Dao in Daoist Philosophy

2. Core Concept of Reversal (反)

3. Being and Non-Being (无 and 有)

4. Wuwei (无为) and Ziran (自然)

5. Xiaoyao You(逍遙遊, “Free and Easy Wandering”)

6. Qiwu Luni> (齊物論, “Treatise on the Equality of Things”)

7. The Concept of Transformation (化)

Week 5

An Overview of Laozi Studies in the Joseon Era

1. Opening: In the Hundred Schools of Thought, who are Laozi and Zhuangzi?

2. The introduction of Neo-Confucianism, conflicts between the Hungu Faction and the Sarim Faction

3. Factional splits among Sarim scholars, and exploring Laozi and Zhuangzi

4. Wang Bi’s Commentary on the Daodejing and Guo Xiang’s Commentary on the Zhuangzi

5. Wuwei Ziran(無爲自然) in the Wang Bi’s Commentary on the Daodejing

6. Wang Bi’s Daodejing Commentary and Guo Xiang’s Zhuangzi Commentary

7. Zhuangzi’s Xiaoyao and Qiwu from Guo Xiang

8. Closing

Week 6

Yi I, Park Se-dang, and Han Won-jin’s Daoist Thought

1. Opening - The Beginnings of Laozi and Zhuangzi Studies during the Joseon

2. Yi I’s Shun-eon (「順言」)

3. Park Se-dang’s Sinju Daodejing (「新註道德經」; New Commentaries on the Laozi) and Nanhwagyeong Juhaesanbo (「南華經註解刪補」; Edited Commentaries and Explications of the Zhuangzi)

4. Closing

Week 7

Seo myeong-eung, Hong Seok-ju, and Ganghwa School’s Studies of Laozi

1. Opening

2. Seomyeong-eung’s Dodeokjigui (「道德之歸」)

3. The foundation of traditional science–Taiji and the Yin-yang Five Elements plus Ganzhi(干支; sexagendary cycle)

4. Hong Seok-ju’s Jeongno (「正老」): background and purpose

5. The Ganghwa School’s Studies of Laozi

6. Closing

Week 8

Folk Daoism in Joseon

1. Opening: Daoist culture in Joseon – from the film “Along with the Gods” and Dongmyo

2. Folk Daoism in Late Joseon

3. The development and transformation of folk Daoism

4. The Gangpil sect in Late Joseon – Musangdan

5. Closing

Week 9

Tendencies and Prospects in Korean Daoist Studies, and Daoist Research in North Korea

1. Opening – Korean Daoism and Identity

2. Korean Daoist research in the 1980s

3. Korean Daoist research after 2000

4. North Korean Daoist research

5. Closing

Week 10

Understanding of Daoist literature after liberation from Japan using the example of the Daodejing

1. Opening

2. Interpretation from the Perspective of Traditional Exegetics

3. Interpretation from a Literary Point of View

4. Interpretation from a Religious Point of View

5. Interpretation from a Philosophical Point of View

6. Closing

The Spiritual & Religious Characteristics of Korean Confucianism

Young-chan Ro, Bongrae Seok, Suk Gabriel Choi, Jung-Yeup Kim, Donald Baker

Domestic and international learners interested in Korean philosophy

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Humanities (Humanistic Studies)

Advanced

This course is tailored to explore the various facets of Korean Confucianism, providing a deep understanding of spiritual and religious traditions in Korean Confucianism. We’ll delve into the unique characteristics of Korean Confucianism and the importance of Confucian ethics and morality, allowing for a deeper understanding of personal growth and development. From core concepts of Korean Confucianism to a thorough understanding of Neo-Confucianism and comparisons between different philosophical schools, this course covers a wide range of topics.

1. Learners will grasp the spiritual and religious characteristics of Confucianism in the context of Korean Confucianism.

2. Participants will dissect the distinctive facets of Confucian ethics rooted in the concept of “humanity,” not transcendent authority.

3. Understanding Confucianism’s aim as the realization of humanity, learners will comprehend the maturation and growth process towards becoming a “sage” or “superior person.”

4. Students will delve into Neo-Confucian concepts and philosophies, understanding their application in real-life contexts.

5. Learners will analyze diverse schools of thought, exploring philosophical debates and understanding their impact on the evolution of Korean Confucianism.

Week 1

Religious and Spiritual Dimension of Korean Confucianism

1. Why do we need to know about religion and spirituality?

2. Confucian way of life.

3. The concept of “spirituality” in the Confucian tradition

4. Confucian Secularity as the Sacred

5. Confucian Humanism

6. Morality and Spirituality

Week 2

The life and Thoughts of Yi Yulgok

1. The Person

2. Thought

3. Confucianism and neo-Confucianism

4. Toegye and Yulgok on Zhu Xi

5. Yulgok’s Approach

6. Conclusion

Week 3

Toegye Yi Hwang’s Neo-Confucian Philosophy of Mind and Moral Spirituality

1. Introduction: Toegye’s Neo-Confucian Philosophy of Mind and Moral Spirituality

2. Toegye Yi Hwang’s Life and Philosophy

3. Neo-Confucian li-gi Metaphysics

4. The Four-Seven Debate

5. Philosophical Significance of the Four-Seven Debate

6. Spirituality in Toegye’s Philosophy

7. Conclusion : Toegye’s Philosophy of Mind and Morality

Week 4

The Toegye School in Korean Neo-Confucianism : Mind, Morality, and Spirituality

1. Introduction: Toegye School (退溪學派)

2. Summary of Toegye’s Philosophy

3. Yi Hyeon-Il’s Philosophy of li: Bungae and ligi Gakbal

4. Jeong Si-Han’s Defense of Toegye’s Philosophy

5. Yi Sang-Jeong’s Philosophy of li

6. Yi Ik’s Philosophy of Mind

7. Yi Jin-Sang’s li Philosophy

8. Common Characteristics of the Toegye School

9. Conclusion: Toegye School and li Philosophy

Week 5

The Horak Debate on the Nature of Humans and Non-Humans

1. Introduction

2. On Mibal 未發 and Ibal 已發 of the Mind-heart (sim心)

3. On Nature, Original Nature, Psycho-physical Nature, and Five Constant Virtues (五常)

4. On Self-Cultivation

5. Conclusion

Week 6

Choe Hangi on Gi 氣, the Universe, Humans, and Human Mind

1. Introduction

2. Choe Hangi’s Idea of Gi, the Universe, and Humans

3. Mind as Singi 神氣

4. Cultivation

4. Conclusion

Week 7

The Religious Characteristics of Joseon-era Neo-Confucian Philosophies of Gi 1 - Hwadam

1. Introduction

2. Religiousness in classical Confucianism

3. Some General Characteristics of Religious Experience in the neo-Confucian Philosophies of Vital Energy (Gi).

4. Religiousness in Two Korean Philosophies of Vital Energy (Gi) of The Joseon Era

5. Seo Gyeongdeok : Introduction

6. The Religious Dimensions of Seo Gyeongdeok’s Philosophy of Vital Energy (Gi)

Week 8

The Religious Characteristics of Joseon-era Neo-Confucian Philosophies of Gi 2 - Damheon

1. Introduction

2. The Religious Dimensions of Hong Daeyong’s Philosophy of Vital Energy (Gi)

3. Conclusion

Week 9

Confucianism Confronts Western Philosophy and Religion

1. Introduction

2. Was Neo-Confucianism a philosophy or a religion?

3. Differences in Fundamental Assumptions

4. What does Substance mean?

5. Ontological and Temporal Differences

6. Contrasting Philosophies of Education

7. Contrasting Natural Philosophies

8. Contrasting Visions of Earth and the Human Body

9. Moral Objections to Western Learning

10. Western Learning Believers in Joseon

11. Conclusion

Week 10

Dasan Jeong Yakyong on Cultivating the Self to Lead Others

1. Introduction

2. Dasan as a radical thinker

3. Dasan as a practical thinker

4. The Daxue and Dasan

5. The First Cardinal Principle (goal) of Self-Cultivation

6. The Second Cardinal Principle of Self-Cultivation

7. The Third Cardinal Principle of Self-Cultivation

8. Investigating Things and Cultivating a Moral Character

9. Cultivating an Unselfish Mental Orientation

10. Properly Orienting the Heart-mind

11. Cultivating a Moral Self

12. Self-Cultivation and Peace on Earth

Modern Science and Korean Philosophy

Hwe-Ik Zang, Dae-Hyun Chung, Jungwon Lee, Jongduck Choi, Jae-hyun Jeoung, Sojeong Park

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Humanities

Advanced

In the 1980s, there was a boom in East Asian studies across various fields, accompanied by active research that sought to link modern science with Eastern thought. At the same time, however, a sobering self-critique emerged beneath the surface: that much of this work amounted to little more than a hasty attempt to connect an insufficiently examined “tradition” with a seemingly promising “modernity.”

More than forty years later, in contrast to the past, sustained efforts have been made to articulate new worldviews that can respond to the discoveries of modern science which can no longer be explained within the theories and cosmology of early modern science. Alongside the growing public interest in modern science within our intellectual sphere, fresh reinterpretations and new approaches to our own philosophical traditions have continued to emerge, generating a climate of remarkable intellectual vitality.

Through this course, we will reflect on the intellectual traditions of East and West while examining the encounter between philosophy and science. In doing so, the course seeks to demonstrate that Korean philosophy is not a relic of the past or a mode of thought confined to a particular region, but a living tradition that continues to speak meaningfully to our present age.

1. Understand the conceptions of the world, life, and human beings embedded in Korean traditional philosophy.

2. Comprehend the emerging views of the world, life, and humanity that are called for in light of developments in modern science, such as quantum mechanics and evolutionary biology.

3. Identify the points at which Korean philosophy intersects with modern science and recognize how such encounters can further enrich philosophical inquiry.

Week 1

Opening

1. Why Modern Science and Korean Philosophy?

2. Korean Philosophy as “Evolving Thought”

3. Traditional Thought in the East Asian Sinosphere and “Korean Philosophy”

4. Modern Science & Korean Philosophy

Week 2

Scientific Thought in Korean Traditional Philosophy

1. Opening

2. Differences between Eastern and Western Scholarship

3. Scientific Thought in Korean Traditional Philosophy: Jang Hyeon-gwang and Jeong Yak-yong

4. Linking Korean Traditional Philosophy and Western Science

5. The Contemporary Role of Daesaeng Jisik (Great Life Knowledge)

6. Closing

Week 3

The Korean Appropriation of Modern Scientific Thought

1. Opening

2. What Is Quantum Mechanics?

3. Can Korean Philosophy Contribute to Quantum Mechanics?

4. What Is Onsaengmyeong (Holistic Life)?

5. What Is Onjeonhan Am (Wholeness of Knowing)?

6. Closing

Week 4

The Two Paradigms of Science

(Chinese-Langugae Lecture)

1. Opening

2. Newtonian Physics: Substance, Fact, and Calculation

  1) Introduction to Newtonian Substance, Fact, and Calculation

  2) Existence — Newton’s Substantival Space and Time

  3) The Logical Order of Substantial Individuals

  4) A Singular Chain Theory of Causation

3. Quantum Physics: State, Relation, and Mystery

  1) From Individual to State

  2) Quantum Superposition and Entanglement

  3) The Unit of Relata in Quantum Logic

  4) At What Level Does the Quantum Logic of State Physics Provide an Explanatory Framework?

4. Closing

  1) From Individual to State

  2) Quantum Superposition and Entanglement

  3) The Unit of Relata in Quantum Logic

  4) At What Level Does the Quantum Logic of State Physics Provide an Explanatory Framework?

3. Closing

Week 5

The Two Currents of Philosophy

1. Philosophy of Substance and Truth

  1) Kant: Synthetic A Priori Judgments

  2) Frege: Truth, Meaning, and First-Order Logic

  3) Kim Ki-hyeon: The Philosophy of Event-Truth

2. Philosophy of State and Probability

  1) Postmodernis: Wittgenstein and Quantum Mechanics

  2) Jeong Dae-hyun: An Everyday-Language Analysis of the Concept of Knowledge

  3) Jang Hoe-ik: An Analysis of Descriptive Concepts

  4) Lee Jung-won: The Independence of “Something”

3. Closing

Week 6

Quantum Theory and Relationalism

1. Opening

2. Quantum Theory

  1) What Is Quantum Theory?

  2) What Does Quantum Theory Tell Us about the Reality of the World?

3. Rovelli’s Relational Interpretation

  1) Quantum Superposition and Measurement

  2) Quantum Entanglement and Probability

4. Hwe-Ik Zang’s Dispositional Interpretation

5. Resonances with Buddhist Thought

6. Closing

Week 7

Complexity Science and the Organic Worldview

1. Opening

2. Chaos Theory and the Middle World

3. Understanding Chaotic Phenomena

4. Understanding Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Phenomena

5. The Encounter between Complexity Science and Korean Philosophy

6. Closing

Week 8

Theories of Human Nature in Evolutionary Biology and Joseon Yangming Learning

1. Opening

2. The Debate over Levels of Selection in Evolutionary Biology and Adaptive Evolution

3. Theories of Human Nature in Joseon Yangming Learning

4. Human Nature Reconsidered: Joseon Yangming Thought and Biological Theories of Human Nature

5. The Complementarity of Evolutionary Biology and Joseon Yangming Learning

Week 9

Symbiotic Biology and Donghak’s Philosophy of Life

1. Opening

2. Modern Biology of Symbiosis

3. Humanistic Philosophy of Life: Yi Tak-o and Heo Gyun

4. The Ecological Philosophy of Equality in the Unity of All Things: The Philosophy of Life in Donghak

5. The Convergence of Symbiotic Biology and the Donghak Philosophy of Life

Week 10

The Problematic Function of the Li–Qi Framework in the Four-Seven Debate

1. Opening

2. Definitions of the Four-Seven Debate and the Li–Qi Theory

3. Key Issues and Interpretations of the Four-Seven Debate

4. The Clash between the Li–Qi Theory and Science

5. The Polysemy of the Concept of Li

6. Closing

Week 11

The Positive Role of the Li–Qi Theory in the Four-Seven Debate

1. Opening

2. The Li–Qi Theory as Transcendental Correlationism (Objective Correlationism)

3. Correlationist Tendencies in Modern Science and Philosophy

4. Is the Polysemy of the Concept of Li Necessarily Problematic?

5. The Polysemy of the Concept of Li

6. Closing

Week 12

Discussion 1

1. Opening

2. Differences between Eastern and Western Scholarship

3. Physics and Biology

4. Understanding the Li–Qi Theory and Emotions

5. Understanding Daesaeng Jisik (Great Life Knowledge)

Week 13

Discussion 2

1. Opening

2. The Role of Korean Philosophy

3. Understanding Quantum Mechanics

4. Korean Philosophy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence