Ui-Sang’s Ocean Seal and Holographic Principle

This paper is a comparative study of the Ocean seal or Diagram of the dharmadhatu of Ui-sang, the First Patriarch of Hwaom Buddhism in Korea and the holographic principle, both of which can be considered models for a new description of reality. Ui-sang’s Ocean seal reveals a unique and creative Korean version of Chinese Hua-yen Buddhism which seeks the synthesis of the noumenon and phenomenon. Ui-sang’s thought is essentially rooted in Han philosophy by virtue of which he was able to indigenize creatively Chinese Hua-yen Buddhism into Korean Hwaom Buddhism. Therefore, in order to understand Ui-sang’s system, we should know the concept of Han. The word han has diverse and inclusive meanings. Han implies one, many, big, great, same, approximate, whole, part, about, and many other things. The concept of Han represents a Korean way of philosophy, thinking, and spirituality. The characteristic of Korean religion is essentially the ‘mind of Han.’ Han as deeply rooted in the Korean mind as is Yahweh for the Jewish mind, Logos for the Greek mind, and Tao for the Chinese mind. Therefore, Han deeply permeates not only Korean’s religious mind but also their culture.