Argues that the Buddha was one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of all time. This book intends to serve as an introduction to the Buddha's thought, and hence even to Buddhism itself. It also argues that we can know far more about the Buddha than it is fashionable among scholars to admit.

It analyzes Seon from the western philosophical perspective by comparing and contrasting Seon with the German philosopher Heidegger’s ontology. Koh Hyeonggon 高亨坤 (1906–2004) was one of the first generation scholars in the field of Korean philosophy, who served as a professor in the department of philosophy at Seoul National University, after graduating from Keijo Imperial University. He was a pioneer who attempted to understand Buddhism from the western philosophical perspective, studying Seon Buddhism while majoring in Husserl and Heidegger. The Seon ui segye (The World of Seon) is his magnum opus that represents his philosophy of unifying the East and the West. The Seon ui segye (1994) consists of nine chapters. The main parts are first three chapters: chapter 1, “General Explanation”; chapter 2, “Presnece of Being”; chapter 3, “Ontological Explanation of Seon.” Chapter 4 to chapter 7 are “The Beginning and Development of Haedong Jogyejong,” “Examination of Hwaeom sillon,” “Chusa’s ‘Baekpa mangjeung 15 jo’ (Fifteen Points of Baekpa’s Delusion),” and “Chusa’s Seon,” dealing with the history of Korean Seon school, Bojo Jinul’s view of Seon practice, and the Seon debate in the nineteenth century. Chapter 8, “Seon Dialogue,” and chatper 9, “Modern Thought’s Transformation and Seon Thought,” interprets Seon and compares it with modern philosophy. This English translation focuses on chapter 3, “Ontological Explanation of Seon,” which investigates Seon through Husserl’s phenomenology and Heidegger’s ontology from the perspective of the presence of Being, along with the translator’s introduction.

On history of Buddhism in Asia, Buddhist philosophy, vajrayana traditions, ethics and literary criticism.

It is a translation of the Silla master Uisang’s 義湘 (625-702) lecture compiled by his disciple Jitong 智通 (655-?) in the question-answer format on major topics of Hwaeom doctrines. Uisang, after learning from the second Chinese Huayan patriarch Zhiyan 智儼, laid the foundation of Silla Hwaeom by building Buseoksa 浮石寺 Temple and teaching students. His works include the Hwaeom ilseung beopgyedo 華嚴一乘法界圖 (Chart of the Dharma-realm of the One Vehicle of Hwaeom) and the Baekhwa doryang barwon mun 白花道場發願文 (Vow at the White Lotus Enlightenment Site). Jitong, one of Uisang’s ten main disciples, coming from low social status, compiled the Chudong gi 錐洞記, which recorded Uisang’s 90-day lecure on the Hwaeomgyeong in Chudong on Sobaeksan Mountain. The Hwaeomgyeong mundap is often regarded as a different edition of the Chudong gi, through which Uisang’s thought can be seen. The Hwaeomgyeong mundap records 160 questions and answers in two volumes. It was known as the third Chinese Huayan patriarch Fazang 法藏 who also studied with Uisang. However, Japanese and Korean scholars began to argue that it was Uisang’s work in the 1980s and, recently, Uisang’s authorship was finally confirmed. Along with the Hwaeom ilseung beopgyedo, it reflects Uisang as the Hwaeom thinker who also emphasized practice, including his view on the theories of seonggi 性起 (nature origination) and yeon’gi 緣起 (dependent origination). It shows some of the features of Korean Hwaeom studies, also having a huge influence in Japan. The appendix of this English translation includes the images of the original text that professor Kim Cheon-hak at Dongguk University owns.