The significance of acceptance of 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing(大顚和尙注心經)』 in the late Goryeo period
Authors:   Korean Institute for uddhist Studies, Cho Myungje 
Published: September 2022

『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 is the most published and valued annotation book in Korean Buddhism. Previous research on 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 has remained at the level where bibliographic research on identifying the author of the book as well as clarifying the meaning of several editions is presented.
The received idea that the author of the book was DadianBaotong[大顚寶通] in the Tang dynasty, needs to be re-examined. On the basis of the review of the preface record of 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 as well as the fact that lots of phrases of the Chan Sect in the Song dynasty were cited in the book, it is reasonable to conclude that the author was DadianLiaotong[大顚了通], who belonged to the line leading to the CaoDong sect[曹洞宗]'s TouziYiqing[投子義靑]-FurongDaokai[芙蓉道楷]-ChzntiWeizhao[闡提惟照]-DadianLiaotong. In short, it is clear that 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 was written before Zhang Jiucheng[張九成]'s annotation, which was written between the end of Northern Song and the beginning of Southern Song dynasty.
The background of Dadian's writing of 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 is related to the intellectual trends of the CaoDong sect after the Northern Song period. It is worth noting that a number of scripture annotations, including 『Bore boluomiduo xinjing(般若心經)』 and 『The Diamond Sutra(金剛經)』, were written in the CaoDong sect. In addition, the CaoDong sect also presented Songgojip(頌古集) and Pyungchangrok(評唱錄) as Gongan chan[公案禪] became popular.
The result of examining what kind of zen monk’s works were quoted in the 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 also shows the characteristics of the trend that was prominent in the CaoDong sect. For example, Dadian cited a lot of Odosong(悟道頌) and Gongan of the monks of Shitou(石頭) sect, and valued Songgo(頌古) works that were championed by the CaoDong sect in the Song period. In addition, unlike other annotation documents, which consisted of didactic stories, the 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 was written in the way that Dadian carefully selected and cited the zen monks’ Chakeo(著語) during the Song period.
It is possible that 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 was handed down to Goryeo in the 12th and 13th centuries in the process of vast acceptance of zen monk’s works in the Song period. However, was first published and enthusiastically received at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, when the Shidafu[士大夫] increasingly levelled criticism at Buddhism.
In order to respond to such trend, the Buddhist community proposed the Consistency of Three Religion(三敎一致論), that is, Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 had a deep influence on the Quanzhenjiao[全眞敎] during the Song and Yuan period. The book was accepted in earnest at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty as it had content consistent with the theory of unity.
In addition, there was an intellectual demand for the critique of Gongan[公案] amid the popularity of Ganwhaseon(看話禪) at the end of Goryeo dynasty. It is also worth noting that the writings of zen Buddhist monks were more widely accepted than those presented in the non-Zen Buddhism[敎宗] during the time when Zen Buddhism led the Buddhist world. In conclusion, the acceptance and popularity of 『Dadian he shang zhu xin jing』 from the late Goryeo Dynasty to the Joseon Dynasty can be attributed to this ideological trend.