Gyeomik

Gyeomik (謙益, ?~?) was a Baekje monk.¹ He is the founder of the Baekje Vinaya school (律宗).²

In the 4th year of King Seong of Baekje (526), he reached the Great Vinaya Temple of Sanakanaka (常伽那大律寺) in India, learned Sanskrit, and studied the Vinaya (律部) in depth. In the 9th year of King Seong of Baekje (531), he returned home together with the Indian monk Tripitaka Baeldada (倍達多三藏), bringing the Sanskrit texts of the 《Abhidhammapitaka》 (阿毘曇藏) and the 《Five-Part Vinaya》 (五部律).³⁴

The 《Abhidhammapitaka》 mentioned here is thought to refer to the Abhidharma treatises of the Sarvāstivāda (設一切有部), one of the Hinayana twenty schools.³ The 《Five-Part Vinaya》 refers to the Vinaya texts transmitted by the five schools of the Sarvāstivāda · Dharmaguptaka · Mahāsāṃghika · Mahīśāsaka · Kāśyapīya.³

Upon his return, Gyeomik received a warm welcome from King Seong. He then resided at Heungnyunsa (興輪寺), where he gathered twenty-eight eminent monks and translated seventy-two fascicles of the Vinaya texts.⁵ At that time, in China, the Vinaya texts of the schools in the 《Five-Part Vinaya》 other than the Kāśyapīya had already been translated.⁶ However, the Vinaya texts of the Kāśyapīya were never transmitted to China, and in this respect it is significant that the entire 《Five-Part Vinaya》 was transmitted to Baekje and that a translation of Sanskrit Vinaya texts brought directly from India was carried out.⁷

Through Gyeomik's activities, the characteristics of Baekje Buddhism, centered on precepts, were established.⁸ The Vinaya school was established in China in 624, when Daoxuan (道宣: 596–667) of the Tang dynasty lectured on and wrote about the 《Four-Part Vinaya》 (四分律) of the Dharmaguptaka; by contrast, the establishment of the Vinaya school in Baekje by Gyeomik (around 526) came a century earlier.⁶

The doctrinal studies of Baekje Buddhism thus began with the Abhidharma treatises and Vinaya studies introduced by Gyeomik. Since the establishment of the community and the codification of precepts were urgent tasks in the early Buddhism of the Three Kingdoms, the introduction, translation, research, and lecturing on Abhidharma treatises and Vinaya studies in Baekje (the "formation of the Vinaya school") shows that Baekje Buddhism was laying a firm foundation.⁹

References

• This article includes content based on the Global World Encyclopedia, distributed under the GFDL or CC-SA license by Daum Communications (now Kakao).

• Ko Ik-jin (1989). 《Korean Ancient Buddhist Thought History》, Dongguk University Press

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. 〈Korean History > Development of Ancient Society > Establishment and Development of the Three Kingdoms > Development of Ancient Culture > Gyeomik〉. 《Global World Encyclopedia》. Dohwachulpan Beomhan. 2004. 謙益 Eminent monk of Baekje. ↩

2. 《Mireuk Bulgwangsa Sajeok (彌勒佛光寺事蹟)》. 是謂百濟律宗之鼻祖也 (Thus Dharma Master Gyeomik became the founder (鼻祖) of the Baekje Vinaya school (律宗).) ↩

3. Ko Ik-jin, p. 123. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. 《Mireuk Bulgwangsa Sajeok (彌勒佛光寺事蹟)》. 聖王四年丙午 沙門謙益 矢心求律 航海以轉 至中印度常伽那大律寺 學梵文五載 通曉竺語 深攻律部 莊嚴戒體 與梵僧倍達多三藏 齎梵本 阿毘曇藏 五部律文 歸國 (In the 4th year of King Seong of Baekje, the year 526 (byeongo year), the monk Gyeomik (謙益) vowed in his heart (矢心) to study the precepts and sailed to India. He arrived at the Great Vinaya Temple of Sanakanaka (常伽那大律寺) in Central India (中印度) and studied Sanskrit scriptures and texts (梵文) for five years (五載). He mastered the Indian language (竺語) and deeply specialized in the Vinaya (律部), gaining dignity and solemnity (莊嚴) and realizing the power of merit by understanding the precepts (戒體). (After completing five years of study, in the 9th year of King Seong of Baekje, the year 531, Dharma Master Gyeomik (謙益法師) returned home together with the Indian monk Tripitaka Baeldada (倍達多三藏), bringing the Sanskrit texts of the 《Abhidhammapitaka》 (阿毘曇藏) and the 《Five-Part Vinaya》 (五部律).) ↩

5. 《》. 百濟王以羽葆鼓吹 郊迎 安于興輪寺 召國內名釋二十八人 與謙益法師 譯律部七十二卷 (Upon arrival in Baekje, with a ceremonial parade of feathered canopies (羽葆), drums and flutes, the King of Baekje personally went out beyond the city gate to welcome Dharma Master Gyeomik and Tripitaka Baeldada. King Seong had them reside at Heungnyunsa (興輪寺), and summoned twenty-eight famous monks of the realm (名釋) to translate the Vinaya texts of seventy-two fascicles (律部七十二卷) together with Dharma Master Gyeomik.)