of the Seon school. During the Goryeo, Seon blossomed and became a “religion of the state” in a very thorough manner, receiving extensive support and privileges, while at the same time involving itself deeply with the ruling family and powerful members of the court. This tendency was initiated in 918, when Taejo came into power, as he believed that the Buddha was responsible for his political success. He became a staunch patron of Buddhism, building hundreds of temples. Many more were built after his reign, and elaborate “state protection” rituals were carried out continuously. But during the second half of the Goryeo period, the government expenditures on the Buddhist establishment would become excessive, as would the numbers of new entrants into the sangha, and such extensive support ofthe sangha ended up becoming a severe drain on the resources of the state. The sangha as whole, long enjoying privilege and ease, began to suffer from corruption, as bogus monks began to get involved in a variety of shady activities. The combination of this degeneration, along with the rise of an antagonistic, vigorous new Neo-Confucian political/philosophical movement, brought about the beginning of the suppression of Buddhism which came into full flower during the succeeding Joseon period.

Goryeo schools

The structure of Korean Buddhism of the late Silla and early Goryeo is officially termed as “five doctrinal schools and nine mountain (Seon) schools (ogyo gusan ???? ).” But the status of this nomenclature would begin to change during the Goryeo, and would, in the Joseon, be eventually eliminated. The earliest