Cultivating Original Enlightenment

摘要

Wonhyo (Weonhyo, meaning 'dawn light', 617-686) is the most cherished figure in Korean Buddhist tradition. He was born during the period of the Three Kingdoms in Silla which absorbed the other two (Koguryo and Paekche) by 668. Buddhism, which became Silla's state religion in 527, was understood at the court as a force for developing the country and achieving unification. At large it was characterised by a variety of sects and schools of thought brought from China.