Sudden Awakening and Gradual Cultivation: The Soteriology of Bojo Jinul in Korean Zen (Seon) Buddhism (Part 2)

Abstract

According to the soteriological Principle of Bojo Jinul, although the awakening experience of the original mind or the true nature of the self can occur suddenly, such experiences have not yet fully evolved into a complete fundamental human view of empirical phenomena. That is to say, within the context of human life, discriminatory thinking continues to have an effect on human existence, and that effect cannot suddenly be extinguished after such awakening. Such is the problem of the gap between knowing and practicing according to that knowledge.

Due to such problem, Bojo Jinul's philosophy emphasizes the need for continuing practice to understand these discriminative thinking in themselves and to fill the gap between knowing and practice. Therefore, “gradual cultivation” or continuing practice is an important concept for filling such gap in order to complete the awakening experience as a fundamental view of the original mind.