Seon

Seon (선) is the Korean branch of Mahayana Buddhism, equivalent to Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen, focusing on direct insight into one’s true nature through intense, silent meditation (jwa-seon).

It emphasizes direct experience, personal cultivation, and the use of hwadu (inquiry into key phrases) over mere scriptural study to achieve enlightenment.

The Jogye Order is the main representative of the Seon tradition in Korea today.

Practitioners focus on a hwadu (a perplexing, meditative question, such as What is this?) to quiet the mind and foster direct,, non-conceptual insight.

Arriving from China in the 7th-9th centuries, it grew into the nine mountain schools (gusan seonmun) and later became integrated with scholastic Buddhism thanks to the influential 12th-century monk Jinul.

Sudden Enlightenment, Gradual Cultivation. Developed by Jinul, this approach suggests that while the realization of enlightenment can be sudden, it requires continued, dedicated practice to fully mature.

Unlike some Zen schools that focus purely on "sitting-only" (zazen), Korean Seon often emphasizes a combination of meditative training and, historically, the study of Buddhist texts.