Taehyŏn

Taehyŏn on the DRL

Ordained (Monks and Nuns) • Other Authors

English Phonetics	Taehyŏn
Sort Name	Taehyŏn

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Religious Affiliation

Yogācāra

Biographical Information

Taehyǒn. [alt. T ’aehyǒn] (C. Daxian/Taixian; J. Daiken/Taigen XS/XS) (d.u.; fl. c. mid-eighth Century). In Korean, "Great/Grand Sagacity"; Silla-dynasty monk during the reign of king Kyǒngdǒk (r. 742-765) and reputed founder of the Yuga (Yogācāra) tradition in Korea; also known as Ch’ǒnggu Samun ("Green Hill [viz., Korea] śramaṇa" ) and often referred to as Yuga cho, "Patriarch of Yogācāra," due to his mastery of that school's complex doctrine. As one of the three most productive scholars of the Silla Buddhist tradition, Taehyǒn is matched in his output only by Wǒnhyo (617-686) and Kyǒnghǔng (fl. c. eighth century). Although renowned for his mastery of Yogācāra doctrine, his fifty-two works, in over one hundred rolls, cover a broad range of Buddhist doctrinal material, including Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, Hwaǒm (C. Huayan zong), and bodhisattva-precept texts. It is presumed that Taehyǒn was a disciple of Wǒnch’cūk's (613-696) student Tojǔng (d.u.), and that his scholastic positions were therefore close to those of the Ximing school, a lineage of Faxiang zong thought that derived from Wǒnch’ūk; their connection remains, however, a matter of debate. Taehyǒn’s Sǒng yusik non hakki ("Study Notes to the Cheng weishi lun [*Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra]") (six rolls), the only complete Korean commentary on the Cheng weishi lun that is still extant, is particularly important because of its copious citation of the works of contemporary Yogācāra exegetes, such as Kuiji (632-682) and Wǒnch’ǔk. Taehyǒn appears to have been influenced by the preeminent Silla scholiast Wǒnhyo, since Taehyǒn accepts in his Taesǔng kisin non naeǔi yak tamgi ("Brief Investigation of the Inner Meaning of the Dasheng qixin lun") Wǒnhyo's ecumenical (Hwajaeng) perspective on the "Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna." Although Taehyǒn never traveled abroad, his works circulated throughout East Asia and were commented upon by both Chinese and Japanese exegetes. His Pǒmmang kyǒng kojǒkki ("Record of Old Traces of the Fanwang jing" ), for example, was widely consulted in Japan and more than twenty commentaries on Taehyǒn’s text were composed by Japanese monks, including Eison (1201-1290) and Gyōnen (1240-1321). Unfortunately, only five of Taehyǒn's works are extant; in addition to the above three texts, these are his Yaksa ponwǒn kyǒng kojǒkki ("Record of Old Traces of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra" ) and Pǒmmang kyǒng posalgyebon chongyo ("Doctrinal Essentials of the Bodhisattva's Code of Morality from the ‘Sūtra of Brahmā's Net'"). (Source: "Taehyǒn." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 886–87. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

Links

Wiki Pages

• Taehyŏn on the DRL
• Taehyŏn on the LIB
• Taehyŏn on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Taehyǒn. (alt. T’aehyǒn) (C. Daxian/Taixian; J. Daiken/Taigen 大賢/太賢) (d.u.; fl. c. mid-eighth Century). In Korean, "Great/Grand Sagacity"; Silla-dynasty monk during the reign of king Kyǒngdǒk (r. 742-765) and reputed founder of the Yuga ( Yogācāra ) tradition in Korea; also known as Ch’ǒnggu Samun ("Green Hill [viz., Korea] śramaṇa" ) and often referred to as Yuga cho, "Patriarch of Yogācāra," due to his mastery of that school's complex doctrine. As one of the three most productive scholars of the Silla Buddhist tradition, Taehyǒn is matched in his output only by Wǒnhyo (617-686) and Kyǒnghǔng (fl. c. eighth Century). Although renowned for his mastery of Yogācāra doctrine, his fifty-two works, in over one hundred rolls, cover a broad range of Buddhist doctrinal material, including Yogācāra, Madhyamaka , Hwaǒm (C. Huayan zong), and bodhisattva-precept texts. It is presumed that Taehyǒn was a disciple of Wǒnch'ǔk's (613-696) student Tojǔng (d.u.), and that his scholastic positions were therefore close to those of the Ximing school, a lineage of Faxiang zong thought that derived from Wǒnch'ǔk; their connection remains, however, a matter of debate. Taehyǒn's Sǒng yusik non hakki ("Study Notes to the Cheng weishi lun [*Vijñaptimãtratāsiddhi-śāstra]”) (six rolls), the only complete Korean commentary on the Cheng weishi lun that is still extant, is particularly important because of its copious citation of the works of Contemporary Yogācāra exegetes, such as Kuiji (632-682) and Wǒnch'ǔk. Taehyǒn appears to have been influenced by the preeminent Silla scholiast Wǒnhyo, since Taehyǒn accepts in his Taesǔng kisin non naeǔi yak tamgi ("Brief Investigation of the Inner Meaning of the Dasheng qixin lun” ) Wǒnhyo's ecumenical (Hwajaeng) perspective on the "Awakening of Faith According to the Mahāyāna." Although Taehyǒn never traveled abroad, his works circulated throughout East Asia and were commented upon by both Chinese and Japanese exegetes. His Pǒmmang kyǒng kojǒkki ("Record of Old Traces of the Fanwang jing” ), for example, was widely consulted in Japan and more than twenty commentaries on Taehyǒn's text were composed by Japanese monks, including Eison (1201-1290) and Gyōnen (1240-1321). Unfortunately, only five of Taehyǒn's works are extant; in addition to the above three texts, these are his Yaksa ponwǒn kyǒng kojǒkki ("Record of Old Traces of the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra” ) and Pǒmmang kyǒng posalgyebon chongyo ("Doctrinal Essentials of the Bodhisattva's Code of Morality from the 'Sūtra of Brahmas Net'"). (Source: "Taehyŏn." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 886–7. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
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All beings have Buddha-nature
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If "Qualified", explain:
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Which Wheel Turning
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Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
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Zhentong vs Rangtong
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Promotes how many vehicles?
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
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What is Buddha-nature?
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
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Causal nature of the vajrapāda
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Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases.

Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion.

A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.