(??; 1113-1192). Among these four, it was Gyunyeo who had the greatest impact. He commented prolifically on the works of the Chinese Huayan patriarchs, and lay the ground for the future rapprochement of Hwaeom and Seon by his accommodating attitude stance toward the latter. His works are an important source for modern scholarship in terms of identifying the distinctive nature of Korean Hwaeom. After the mid-Goryeo however, the Hwaeom school would gradually fade from view as a separate institution, and important later Hwaeom-related works tended to be written by Seon authors.

Within the Seon of the Goryeo (and arguably, all of Korean Seon), the most important figure was Jinul (??; 1158-1210). Jinul entered the world at a time when the sangha was in a state of crisis, in termsof external appearance as well as internal issues of doctrine. At the end of the Silla and beginning of the Goryeo, Buddhism had already begun to be infected by secular tendencies and involvements, such as fortune-telling and the offering of prayers and rituals for success in secular endeavors. This kind of corruption resulted in the profusion of increasingly larger numbers of monks and nuns with questionable motivations. Therefore, the correction, revival and improvement of the quality of Buddhism were prominent issues in the works of some of the more important Buddhist leaders of the period, most famous of whom are Uicheon and Jinul.

Because of the pronounced antagonism between the meditational and doctrinal schools, controversy mounted as to how Seon, which was now becoming the dominant force in Korean