Chinul

Chinul, also known as Jinul in Korean, was a prominent Korean Buddhist monk who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He is a central figure in the revival of Seon (Zen) Buddhism during the Goryeo era and a major contributor to the formation of the Jogye tradition—the contemporary mainstream of Korean Buddhism.

Chinul studied at several monasteries and studied under various teachers to integrate meditation practice with doctrinal study. He advocated a balanced approach that combined gradual training with the possibility of sudden realization, arguing for the unity of practice and insight. He emphasized the importance of proper monastic discipline and the role of a teaching lineage, and he produced writings and commentaries that clarified the Seon path and its methods.

His reforms helped to organize and standardize monastic training and to unify previously fragmented Seon lineages under a common framework. Although he lived centuries ago, his thought and institutional reforms had a lasting influence on Korean Buddhism and continued to shape the Jogye Order's structure, practice, and pedagogy. Jinul is remembered as a reformer who sought to reconcile the contemplative focus of Seon with the scholarly study that had flourished in Korea, and as a pivotal figure in the transmission of Korean Seon to later generations.