Abstract: The Structure and Curriculum of the Bhiksunī Vinaya Institute of Pongnyŏngsa Monastery in Korea

by Bhikshuni Myoom Sunim

Abbess of Pongnyongsa, Rector of the Diamond Vinaya Institute, and President of the Pongnyongsa Monastic Seminary for Nuns

Kŭmgang Yurwŏn (Diamond Vinaya Institute) is the only Bhiksuni Vinaya Institute for nuns in Korea. It was founded in 1999 by Myoŏm, Abbess of Pongnyŏngsa Monastery and President of the Pongnyŏngsa Monastic Seminary. Pongnyŏng-sa is one of the five traditional Korean monastic seminaries for nuns that belong to the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order. The Pongnyŏngsa Monastic Seminary was established in 1974, and the Diamond Vinaya Institute is affiliated to this seminary.  At present Bhiksunis who graduated from the monastic seminaries can apply for the Diamond Vinaya Institute. It takes the student nuns two years of study to complete the curriculum required by the Vinaya institute.

In order to explain the structure and curriculum of the Diamond Vinaya Institute, this paper is divided into three parts.  In the first part, I will discuss the educational methods of the traditional Korean monastic seminaries and the main Buddhist texts that are taught at the institute.  In the second part, I will examine the daily activities of student nuns at the institute such as their daily classes and practices, and the Bhiksuni Prātimoksa and Fan-wang ching (Book of Brahmā’s Net) ceremonies that are performed on full and new moon days.  The last part of my presentation will focus on the roles of these student nuns during a period of intensive monastic training of female haengjas (postulants).

Venerable Myoŏm is a prominent bhiksuni educator and Vinaya master in Korea. She became a Buddhist nun in 1945 at the age of fourteen. Trained under Masters Ch’ŏngdam, Sŏngch’ŏl, and Unhŏ, Venerable Myoŏm studied monastic disciplinary texts under the special tutelage of the Great Vinaya Master Chaun. In 1957 she was ordained as a bhiksuni. She received a B.A. in Buddhist Studies from Dongguk University in 1966.

 
Since 1957 when she was appointed a bhiksuni teacher at a monastic college by Master Unhŏ, Venerable Myoŏm has been dedicated to teaching young generations of Korean nuns. In 1974 she founded the Pongnyŏngsa Monastic Seminary in Suwŏn, which has produced more than seven hundred graduates so far. Venerable Myoŏm is currently Abbess of the Pongnyŏngsa Nunnery and President of the monastic seminary affiliated with it. In 1999 Venerable Myoŏm established the Diamond Vinaya Institute—the first of its kind for nuns--at Pongnyŏngsa.

In 1981 Master Chaun conferred the title of Bhiksuni Vinaya Master upon Venerable Myoŏm; she is the first nun who received this title in modern Korean Buddhist history. She played a key role in reviving a dual ordination for nuns in 1982 and has served as one of the three principal bhiksuni Vinaya masters at the annual dual bhiksuni ordination platform until recently. In 2006 she received the title of the Most Venerable Bhiksuni Vinaya Master from Master Sŏngsu.