Jin Y. Park
Jin Y. Park is Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Founding Director of Asian Studies Program at American University. Park's research areas include East Asian Buddhism (especially Zen and Huayan Buddhism), postmodernism, deconstruction, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist philosophy of religion, Buddhist-postmodern comparative philosophy, and modern East Asian philosophy. Park’s research in Buddhism focuses on the Zen and Huayan schools of East Asian Buddhism on language, violence, and ethics. In her comparative study, Park reads Zen and Huayan Buddhism together with postmodern thought in Continental philosophy, with a special focus on Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction. Park’s research on modern East Asian philosophy examines the dawn of philosophy in East Asia and the East-West encounter in this context. In her monograph Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan, and the Possibility of Buddhist-Postmodern Ethics (2008), Park discusses Buddhism and continental philosophy on the topics of, among others, self, language, and violence. In this book, Park offers the "ethics of tension" as a potential ethical paradigm drawn from Buddhism and postmodern philosophy. Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun (2014), is a translation of a book published in Korean in 1960 by Kim Iryŏp (1896-1971), a writer, first-generation Korean feminist, Buddhist nun, and philosopher. In this book, Kim Iryŏp offers a creative interpretation of Buddhist philosophy and practice. In Women and Buddhist Philosophy: Engaging Zen Master Kim Iryop (2017), Park proposes a new mode of philosophizing based on the discussion of Kim Iryŏp’s life and philosophy. Park is also the editor of volumes: Buddhisms and Deconstructions (2006), Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism (co-edited, 2009), Comparative Political Theory and Cross-Cultural Philosophy (2009), and Makers of Modern Korean Buddhism (2010). (Source Accessed May 18, 2020)
Library Items
The Wön Buddhist Practice of the Buddha-Nature
Wǒn Buddhism is a new Buddhism created in Korea by Pak Chungbin (1891-1943) in 1916. In this piece, I offer a short introduction to the Wǒn Buddhist renovation of the traditional Buddhism and a translation of sections of Treatise on the Renovation of Korean Buddhism (韓國佛敎革新論) which emphasized the importance of Buddhism's engagement with the general public. One effort Wǒn Buddhism made for that purpose was to replace the traditional Buddha statue with a symbol of a circle so that people would not idolize the Buddha. Wǒn Buddhism is still active both in and outside of Korea.
Park, Jin. "The Wǒn Buddhist Practice of the Buddha-Nature." In Religions of Korea in Practice, edited by Robert E. Buswell Jr., 476–86. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.
Park, Jin. "The Wǒn Buddhist Practice of the Buddha-Nature." In Religions of Korea in Practice, edited by Robert E. Buswell Jr., 476–86. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.;The Wǒn Buddhist Practice of the Buddha-Nature;History of buddha-nature in Korea;Doctrine;Jin Y. Park; 
Affiliations & relations
- American University · workplace affiliation
- Academia.edu; American University · websites
