Wonch'uk was a Korean Buddhist monk who did most of his writing in China though his legacy was transmitted by a disciple to Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

. One of the two star pupils of Xuanzang

Xuanzang

Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...

, his works and devotion to the translation projects was revered throughout China and Korea, even his fame reached Chinese rulers like Taizong, Gaozong, and Empress Wu. His exegetical work was also revered and greatly influenced Tibetan Buddhism and the greater Himalayan region.

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

Wonch'uk (alternate nomenclature in Chinese: Yuáncè) also known as Ximing-fashi (西明法師) which is a namesake via attribution from the temple of the same name where he did much exegetical work. Alternate orthography is Woncheuk.

Biography

Korean born, he lived at Ximing Temple and studied at the commencement of the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 with the great translator and exponent of Yogacara

Yogacara

Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...

, the well-travelled Xuanzang

Xuanzang

Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...

. Through Xuanzang's tutelage, he focused upon the study of the Consciousness-only doctrine. Woncheuk authored commentaries on early Indian and Mahāyāna

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 literature. Wonch'uk died in China, in a temple in Loyang. Woncheuk is well-known amongst scholars of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

 and the Himalaya for his Commentary on the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra. Whilst in Tang, Wonch'uk took as a disciple a Korean-born monk named Dojeung (道證) (n.d.), who travelled to Silla in 692 and propounded and propagated Wonch'uk's exegetical tradition there where it flourished.

Choo (2006: p. 125) holds that though the Heart Sutra

Heart Sutra

The Heart Sūtra is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra. Its Sanskrit name literally translates to "Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom." The Heart Sūtra is often cited as the best known and most popular of all Buddhist scriptures.-Introduction:The Heart Sūtra is a member of the Perfection of...

 is generally identified as within the auspice of the Second Turning of the Dharmacakra

Dharmacakra

The Dharmachakra , lit. "Wheel of Dharma" or "Wheel of Life" is a symbol that has represented dharma, the Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment, since the early period of Indian Buddhism. A similar symbol is also in use in Jainism...

 (Sanskrit), Woncheuk in his commentary provides an exegesis from the Third Turning:

Within the Mahāyāna doctrinal classification, the Heart Sūtra belongs to the Buddha's Second turning of the Wheel, the Emptiness period of Dharma, and most extant commentaries approach it from the perspective of the Mādhyamika doctrine of the Emptiness period (Chung, 1977:87) However, Wonch'uk interprets the Heart Sūtra from the Yogācāra perspective, and his Commentary therefore offers the reader a unique opportunity to examine the Mādhyamika doctrine of emptiness from the Yogācāra perspective.).

Woncheuk contributed to the development of the Dharmic discourse of Essence-Function

Essence-Function

Essence-Function is a key concept in Korean Buddhism. The Awakening of Mahayana Faith, attributed to Aśvaghoṣa , employs Essence-Function. Essence-Function forms a fundamental syncretic and ecumenical application in the philosophy of Wonhyo...

 and Ekayana

Ekayana

Ekayāna is a Sanskrit word that can mean "one path" or "one vehicle". The word took on special significance as a metaphor for a spriritual journey in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad...

.

Extant works

Choo (2006: p. 123) lists Woncheuk's three extant works, namely:

• the Commentary on the Heart Sutra (般若心經贊, Banya paramilda simgyeong chan), which is the first commentary on Hsüan-tsang's translation of the Heart Sutra
  Heart Sutra
  The Heart Sūtra is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra. Its Sanskrit name literally translates to "Heart of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom." The Heart Sūtra is often cited as the best known and most popular of all Buddhist scriptures.-Introduction:The Heart Sūtra is a member of the Perfection of...
  
  ;
• the Commentary on the Samdhinirmocana-sutra (解深密經疏, Hae sim-mil gyeong so), which is the largest extant commentary on that sutra—called “the Great Chinese Commentary” by the eminent Tibetan Buddhist scholar Tsongkhapa;
• the Commentary on the Benevolent King Sutra (仁王般若經疏, Inwang banya gyeong so).

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• List of philosophical topics
• List of China-related topics
• List of philosophers
• List of Buddhists