Ven. Jigwan, former chief of the nation’s largest Buddhist sect, died of asthma complications on Monday at Gyeongguk Temple in Seoul. He was 80.

The Buddhist monk of the Jogye Order had been receiving medical treatment at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul for his chronic illness since last September.

Considered one of the most respected, learned monks in the country, Jigwan served as the first Buddhist monk president of Dongguk University from 1986 to 1990, and executive chief of the Jogye Order between 2005 and 2009.

He was also appointed the chief monk of Haein Temple in South Gyeongsang Province in 1970, when he was only 38.

Jigwan first joined the priesthood in 1947, and practiced under the guidance of renowned monk Jawun at Haein Temple. He officially became a monk at Tongdo Temple in South Gyeongsang Province in 1953.

He took religious studies at Kyungnam University in South Gyeongsang Province, and received his Ph.D degree in philosophy at Dongguk University in Seoul in 1976.

Jigwan established Gasan Buddhist Culture Center in 1991, and published a number of books on Buddhist teachings and philosophy, as well as the lives of celebrated monks in Korean history.

One of his most significant projects was the “Gasan Buddhism Daesarim,” an encyclopedia series on Buddhism which he had been working on since 1982. The series currently has 12 books so far, and the 13th volume is soon to be released, according to the Jogye Order. The late priest reportedly had planned on publishing a total of 20 books for the series.

He was awarded the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit from the government in 2001 for his contributions to Buddhist culture and studies.

One of his other research interests was the epitaphs of late acclaimed monks in history. He famously wrote the epitaph for former president Roh Moo-hyun’s grave stone after his death in 2009.

In 2008, Jigwan publicly criticized the Lee Myung-bak government for its alleged favoritism toward Christianity over Buddhism. He organized a nationwide rally of tens of thousands of Buddhists at Seoul Plaza in central Seoul, demanding religious neutrality from Lee, who is a Christian, and his administration.

According to the Jogye Order, Jigwan’s remains have been moved to Haein Temple in South Gyeongsang Province from Seoul’s Gyeongguk Temple on Tuesday morning. The funeral and cremation ceremonies are both scheduled to be held at the same temple on Friday.

Meanwhile, temporary memorial alters have been set up at Gyeongguk and Jogye temples in Seoul, as well as a total of 25 representative temples of the Jogye Order’s administrative districts nationwide. 


By Claire Lee
(dyc@heraldcorp.com)