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136 Śramaņa, Vol 58, No. 1/January-March 2007
3. The Concept and Function of Mind in Won-Buddhist Philosophy
To practice Threefold Practice and Fourfold Beneficence, Won Buddhism stress on practicing training of mind, which is the most important way to lead the awakening life in daily experience. Won-Buddhist philosophy categorizes mind sphere under the three stages of being; nature, spirit, and mind. Nature is equivalent in meaning to Purușa. We can find many of the same concept in WonBuddhist canon as follows.
The Great Master said, "Originally, human nature contains no good or evil elements..... is perfect and complete, utterly impartial and selfless"2 "When the nature of a person is in a state of being quiet, neither good nor evil exist. Once the nature of a person is stirred or agitated it becomes either good or evil."3 "We call our human nature a Mind-field, because the occurrence of good or evil in our mind, in which originally no sense of discrimination or attachment abides, is just like the growing of crops or weeds in a fields..."
The observation shows that there is hardly no differences between Nature in Won Buddhism and Puruşa in Yoga. Spirit is relating to doer of one's action. The Great Master said, "We need clothes, food and shelter for our physical life, but concentration, wisdom and practice are more important because the spiritual life controls our physical lives..."5 "Having been attracted by these dazzling materials, our spirit becomes extremely feeble, losing dominance over and becoming the slave to material things..." "The most effective ways to attain the power of cultivating spiritual stability through motion and quietness are, first, while you conduct yourself, do not commit yourself to such things as will disturb your spirit or rob you of it."7
Reaching a conclusion that spirit as actively subjectivity and has a attribute of mind as well. The Great Master says, "You disciples, therefore, enlighten yourselves again and become the
