An annotated translation of Wonch'uk's 'Commentary on the Heart Sutra': Wonch'uk's unique exposition of the Yogacara interpretation of the 'Heart Sutra'

This dissertation attempts to present an annotated translation of the classical Chinese of the Ban-ya pa-ra-mil-da sim gyeong chan or the Commentary on the Heart Sutra written by the Korean Buddhist monk-scholar Wonch'uk. The purpose of this annotated translation is to explore his unique exposition of the Yogacara interpretation of the Heart Sutra as well as to contribute to current scholarly research on the commentarial work. As an example of the East Asian traditional style of exegesis, Wonch'uk's Commentary on the Heart Sutra is an important scripture that has exerted a significant influence in the history of East Asian Buddhist thought. His commentary not only enables us to more deeply understand many essential issues in Buddhist doctrines, but also reminds us that the study of sutra and the engagement in sutra exegesis are principal religious practices in Buddhism.;Wonch'uk approaches his interpretation of the Heart Sutra within the overall hermeneutical context and critically integrates the conflicting views of various Buddhist doctrines into his system of thought. His scholarly foundation is rooted in the Buddha's teaching of "One-Mind (Ekayana)," which implies non-dualism, non-discrimination, and non-sectarianism. Wonch'uk employs the Buddha's "Skillful Means" and the "Middle Way" as methodological instruments. In his methodology, he implements his commentary reiterating other scriptures without any significant input of his own and connects the scripture's implicit messages to the entirety of Buddhist thought. His discussion is closely tied to his textual sources and utilizes a strategy that relied on piecing together quotations from a wide array of sources. From these connections and the matching of sources, he attempts to synthesize and integrate different ideologies, concepts, doctrines, and schools and resolves various conflicts regarding truth, which derive from the scriptural plurality of Buddhism. Wonch'uk's scholarly approach of the integration and harmonization of sectarian polemics not only leads us to a right understanding of the original teaching of the Buddha but also may illuminate new perspectives on other systems of thought.