Jung Do-Jeon's critique of 14th-century-Buddhism in Korea

Jung Do-Jeon (1342-1398) is a Korean Confucius scholar, politician and general in Korea in the 14th century, who helped Sunggae Lee to found a new kingdom called Josun (which lasted for five hundred years and was the last kingdom before the modernized Korea), demising the Koryo dynasty whose religious political foundation was Buddhism.

Jung's political or scholarly vision is to establish a new country run by commonsense and ethics. His spirit is very much like a modern political view: the emphasis of human well being, and the role of education for promoting justice. Because of this practical mindedness, he is very critical of Buddhism in those days and the elites who are drunk with other-worldly salvation, while accumulating wealth and power for themselves. Temples and elites are richer and yet people are poorer.

One of his sharpest critiques of Buddhism is to reject "reincarnation," the core doctrine of Buddhism, according to which persons may continue to live after death with a new birth (reincarnation). So people are advised to make hard efforts to have a good re-birth after death. The implication is that they have to attach themselves to the religion of the day to secure a good reincarnation. This is where corruption of the religion starts.

Namely, concerns about the future salvation blinds them to realities of everyday life, and the religious elites use this for filling their own bellies. In this context, Jung challenges the absurdities of such an idea of reincarnation in his book Bulsee Japbyun. When he does, he uses examples of nature. The first example of his observation goes like this: 'We look at the beautiful flowers or leaves in the spring and see them fading and falling off to the ground. They return to the place where they were.'

Here Jung clearly rejects the idea of re-birth, saying like this: "How is it possible that we may expect to see the same fallen flowers or leaves coming back to life in the next spring?" Simply, old life is gone and new life is born! There is no realization that the old is coming back and born again. What comes out from the ground in the next spring is a new life, though old leaves or flowers provide for a new life by dying and decaying into the ground. What he says is a simple claim that reincarnation is impossible, as he observes in nature. Furthermore, in his view, wanting "reincarnation" is an unnecessary selfish desire by which in some sense people want to prolong their lives even after death.

The other example is: "How can we inhale the same breath that we exhale? Each time we exhale a breath but inhale a new one, not the same breath." The other example is about a spring or well that has the ever-springing waters, which are not the same waters evaporated and turned into the clouds.

I think his critique makes a very good sense even today when people are over-concerned about their life after death, while ignoring their responsibilities in the world and diminishing the value of life meant to live fully in this world. I am admired by Jung Do-Jeon's erudite scholarship on one hand and his sharp analysis of the world and politics on the other hand. He is a modernist in a sense; in his view the main propelling engine of society is not God or religion but the responsible "thinking" persons.

This poem written by Jung DoJeon when he first met Sunggae Lee.

	蒼茫歲月一株松 / 아득한 세월에 한 그루 소나무 生長靑山幾萬重 / 푸른 산 몇 만겹 속에 자랐구나. 好在他年相見否 / 잘 있으시오. 훗날 서로 뵐 수 있으리까? 人間俯仰便陳蹤 / 인간 세상이란 잠깐 사이 묵은 자취인 것을.
	— 정도전, 《제함영송수 (題咸營松樹)》

This poem written by Jung DoJeon before he died (or was killed).

	操存省察兩加功 / 조심하고 조심하여 공력을 다해 살면서 不負聖賢黃卷中 / 책 속에 담긴 성현의 말씀 저버리지 않았네. 三十年來勤苦業 / 삼십 년 긴 세월 고난 속에 쌓아 놓은 사업 松亭一醉竟成空 / 송현방 정자 한 잔 술에 그만 허사가 되었네.
	— 정도전, 《자조》