JINUL
He joins sudden awakening to the nature of mind with gradual cultivation that relies on that awakening to clear residual habits, developing concentration and wisdom together.
Other names and spellings
지눌 · 보조 지눌 · 보조국사 지눌 · 知訥 · Chinul · Bojo Jinul · Pojo Chinul
Core ideas
Works & sources
Jinul, Secrets on Cultivating the Mind (Susim gyeol) — short direct quotation from Robert E. Buswell Jr.'s translation
JINUL, a first reading
Jinul was a Goryeo Sŏn monk who read doctrinal learning together with meditation practice and helped shape a durable framework for Korean Sŏn Buddhism. He asked how a moment of awakening can be joined to the life that follows it.
Sudden awakening and gradual cultivation: what does it mean?
Sudden awakening recognizes directly that the nature of one's own mind is originally lucid and no different from a buddha's mind. Gradual cultivation acknowledges that long-acquired habit energies and afflictions remain and must be cleared on the basis of that awakening. These are not rival options. Awakening discloses the direction; cultivation embodies it through the joint development of concentration and wisdom. The teaching belongs to a Buddhist path toward liberation, not merely a modern technique for improving habits.
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