The most revered figure in Joseon-era Korean Buddhism, known both as a profound Seon master and as the warrior-monk who organized Buddhist militia (seungbyeong) to resist the Japanese invasion of 1592 (Imjin War). His treatise Seon'ga gwigam (Mirror for Seon Students) became the standard primer for Korean Seon practice, synthesizing Seon, Gyo (doctrinal study), and Yeombul (Pure Land recitation) into a unified curriculum still used today. At age 73, when the Japanese invasion began, King Seonjo called upon him to rally monks as soldiers; he mobilized thousands across the peninsula. He traced his lineage through Taego Bou to the Chinese Linji school, though Ahn (2019) has challenged the historicity of the intermediate links in this lineage chain. Attested in Jorgensen (2015): provides a full English translation and study of the Seon'ga gwigam.
References: Wikipedia | Jorgensen (2015)
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