Buseoljeon (The Tale of Buseol)
Main text of Buseoljeon (The Tale of Buseol)This is the main text of the Buseoljeon (The Tale of Buseol), a novel-style record about the accomplishment of Monk Buseol, the founder of Wolmyeongam Hermitage located in Junggye-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun.
Cover of Buseoljeon (The Tale of Buseol)This is the cover of the Buseoljeon (The Tale of Buseol), a novel-style record about the accomplishment of Monk Buseol, the founder of Wolmyeongam Hermitage. One copy of the manuscript (written in Chinese characters) was designated as Jeollabuk-do Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 140.
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Location236-180, Naebyeonsan-ro Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryRegional Overview
- Korean「부설전」
- Chinese浮雪傳
- FieldHistory / Premodern
- Contents TypeArts / Literary Work
- Background Location236-180, Naebyeonsan-ro Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- The tale of the life of Buseol, a Buddhist monk who lived as an ascetic at Wolmyeongam Hermitage in Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- Buseoljeon, or The Tale of Buseol, is a manuscript written in Chinese about the life of Buseol, a Buddhist monk who dedicated himself to the pursuit of truth, and who is also known to have founded the Buddhist hermitage called Wolmyeongam, currently located at #236-180 Naebyeonsan-ro, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Composition
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Buseoljeon is a single-volume manuscript written in Chinese.
- Content
- In the village of Hyanga, during the reign of Queen Jindeok (r. 647-654) of Silla, there lived a child named Jin Gwang-se, who was precocious and abhorred the killing of living things. He left home at an early age to lead the ascetic lifestyle of a Buddhist monk, and became well-versed in the dharma teachings. Also known by the courtesy names of Cheongsang and Uisang, as well as the dharma name of Buseol (“Floating Snow”), Jin, together with his fellow monks Yeongjo and Yeonghui, elected to lead a life of asceticism and the pursuit of eternal truth at Myojeogam Hermitage, which they built below Beobwangbong Peak on Byeonsan Mountain. They then embarked upon a journey to Odaesan Mountain, the home of Manjusri Bodhisattva, staying briefly at the home of Gu Mu-won in Dureung to teach him of the Buddha’s teachings.
The host’s daughter, Myohwa, who was deeply attracted to his sermons, fell in love with him, and determined to live with him for the rest of her life. Although he was an ordained monk and thus required to observe the vow of celibacy, Buseol chose to be faithful to the bodhisattva’s mercy rather than the precepts, and married her. His two fellow truth seekers congratulated him on his marriage with a verse before continuing on their journey to Odaesan Mountain.
Upon his return to the outside world, Buseol had two children, a boy and a girl named Deungun and Wolmyeong, during fifteen years of married life, and resumed the life of an ascetic in an annex of his house, calling himself Byeongbu, or ‘Sick Man’. He attained a certain level of enlightenment within five years, and was then reunited with his old companions, Yeongjo and Yeonghui. He sought to compare his achievement as an ascetic with that attained by his fellows by conducting a test that involved hanging three bottles filled with water and hitting them with a stick. The two bottles hit by his fellow monks broke as soon as they were hit, releasing the water immediately, while the water in Buseol’s bottle remained still in the air even after he had broken the bottle. Yeongjo and Yeonghui were greatly impressed by the level of enlightenment achieved by Buseol in his life as an ordinary layman. Buseol’s achievement also inspired many other ordinary people, and compelled his two children, Deungun and Wolmyeong, to become ordained as priests.
Buseol wrote a hymn praising the virtues of Buddhahood before attaining parinirvana with the music of immortality resounding around his deathbed. His two children also attained parinirvana while their mother, Myohwa, founded the Temple of Buseol (Buseorwon) before dying at the venerable age of 110. Their two sons were also honored with the construction of hermitages bearing their names, Deungunam and Wolmyeongam, by the eminent monks living in the Temple of Buseol.
- Characteristics
- The manuscript of The Tale of Buseol was designated as Tangible Cultural Heritage of Jeollabuk-do No. 140 on June 20, 1992. This story of a devout layman named Buseol and his family, written in the traditional format of a monk’s biography, is widely regarded as a work of the eminent monk Yeongheo (1541-1609) as it is contained in Volume 3 of The Collected Writings of Yeongheo (Yeongheojip).
- Historical Significance
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The tale of Buseol is generally regarded as a Buddhist biography because its protagonist is a real historical figure. It presents a classic example of the cycle of life practiced by bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism, the attainment of enlightenment by living an ascetic life at a mountain retreat, exclaustration, the practice of the bodhisattva, and the attainment of enlightenment by a layperson. The merit of the story as a literary heritage lies in the fact that it focuses on the practices and eventual enlightenment of a layperson, rather than that of an ordained priest leading a monastic life in the depths of a mountain.
- See Also