​The Mutual Immanence of all Things

​Whitehead and Korean Buddhism

​Jay McDaniel

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An actual entity is concrete because it is such a particular concrescence of the universe. The many become one, and are increased by one.

- Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

Within one, there is all, and within many, there is one. The one is precisely all, and the many are precisely the one.

- Ŭisang (625–702 CE)

​I have two aims on this page. The first, and perhaps the most important, is to lift up two books on Korean Buddhist philosophy that are well worth knowing about. They are Korean Buddhism: Selected Readings from Primary Texts and Reflections of a Zen Buddhist nun. Scroll down and you will see their covers, read the publisher's descriptions, and listen to an interview with one of Korean Buddhism's editors, Jin Y. Park. My hope that process philosophers and theologians will enter into dialogue with Korean Buddhism—a dialogue that has yet to develop in a sustained way. Scroll down for the books.

The second is to illustrate the potential fruitfulness of such dialogue by exploring connections between Whitehead and one of the many well-known Korean Buddhist philosophers, Ŭisang. Ŭisang (625–702 CE) was a Buddhist monk and philosopher who lived in the Silla kingdom (traditionally dated 57 BCE–935 CE). He is best known as the founder of the Hwaŏm school of Korean Buddhist philosophy, which is the Korean counterpart of Chinese Huayan Buddhism. Ŭisang studied in China under the Huayan master Zhiyan and returned to Korea to teach a vision of reality grounded in radical interdependence and mutual interpenetration: each being exists in relationship with all others. Below I offer three brief descriptions of his philosophy from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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Each being contains the Entirety of the Universe within Itself

While early Buddhist formulations explained causality among individual phenomena, Hwaŏm thought developed a more holistic vision: each being is both a microcosm of the universe and contains the entirety of the cosmos within itself. This idea is succinctly captured in the phrase “one is all, all is one.” The diagram’s poetic illustrations—such as “one dust” or “a single thought-moment”-reflect this profound interpenetration, where no absolute distinctions exist between parts and whole, individual and totality.

​- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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​No Rigid Hierarchies

Ŭisang interpreted this vision as a radical form of equality. He sought to embody this ideal in his monastic community, despite the rigid social hierarchy of the Shilla period. Notably, he accepted students from all social backgrounds and treated them equally, striving to build a community that reflected the harmony and interdependence revealed in Hwaŏm thought.

​- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Boundless Time in a Single Moment

Ŭisang’s diagram offers a vision of the world seen from the enlightened perspective, encouraging readers to engage in practice toward that goal. When the mind returns to its original nature, it ceases to make distinctions, transcends duality, relinquishes attachment to a separate self, and moves freely according to the law of dependent arising. The enlightened person, fully awakened to this nature, perceives unity even among opposites, sees the entire universe in a speck of dust, and experiences boundless time in a single moment. 

​- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Each of these three ideas will make sense from a Whiteheadian point of view, but in my comments I focus on the first and the third: the idea that every being is present in every other and that there is boundless time in a single moment.

​Ŭisang's idea that every entity is a microcosm of the universe and contains the whole of the universe within it resonates deeply with Whitehead's understanding of an organism. An organism is not simply a microcosm of the larger whole of the universe; the larger whole is present in each organism.

​Whitehead seems to have studied Buddhist philosophies to some extent, but was more influenced by early quantum theory and relativity theory than by East Asian ways of thinking, Nevertheless he developed a philosophical perspective which he called "the philosophy of organism," the purpose of which was, in his words, to show how every actual entity can be present in every other. In his words, he writes: 
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​...we must say that every actual entity is present in every other actual entity. The philosophy of organism is mainly devoted to the task of making clear the notion of ‘being present in another entity.’

​AN Whitehead, Process and Reality

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​He emphasized that entities are present in one another as "objectified" in the experience of the others, and that all actual entities, not just human beings and not just sentient beings, contain something like 'experience.' Thus for Whitehead as for many Buddhists and other East Asian thinkers, there is no such thing as dead matter. The whole of the universe is alive with experioence; a perspective which process philosophers call pan-experientialism. Entities are present in one another through their 'experience' of one another or, as Whitehead emphasized, their 'feelings' of one another. True, Whitehead adds that they are not completely present in one another. They are partially present, with aspects left out. This may differ from 

Diagram of the Dharma Realm

​Twelve centuries earlier, Ŭisang articulated the idea of mutual immanence his Diagram of the Dharma Realm a more poetic form and saw in it something that Whitehead did not realize: its religious or spiritual significance for human life. Ŭisang writes:

“Within one, there is all, and within many, there is one.

​The one is precisely all, and the many are precisely the one.

A minute particle of dust contains the ten directions;

All particles of dust are also like this.

The immeasurably distant kalpa is precisely a single thought-moment,

A single thought-moment is precisely an immeasurably distant kalpa.

The nine time periods and the ten time periods are mutually identical;

They are not in confusion, but have been formed separately.

When one initially arouses the aspiration to enlightenment is precisely complete enlightenment.
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Samsāra and nirvāna are always in harmony.”

Ŭisang. “Diagram of the Dharma Realm of the One-Vehicle of the Avataṃsaka” (Hwaŏm ilsŭng pŏpkyeto, 華嚴一乘法界圖).  translated by Richard D. McBride II and Sem Vermeersch, pp. 104–105. Available online (PDF).

​Ŭisang’s poem stands on its own and needs no interpretation from afar. Still, like all poems, it has an evocative power that invites a listening and responsive ear. I offer a Whiteheadian response to Ŭisang’s insights in the form of ten proposals, or theses, that will make sense to scholars influenced by Whitehead. My hope is that identifying these points of resonance might encourage conversation and enrich understanding on both sides.

Concrescence and Peace

​Hwaŏm Philosophy appreciated in a Whiteheadian Way

1. Every entity is “present in” every other. Every particular actuality is a concrescence of the whole universe, while composite entities consist of actualities that are such concrescences. An atom, a molecule, a living cell, an organism, a planet, a star, or a galaxy embodies the cosmic whole in its own particular way. These concrescences are activities in which “the many become one, and are increased by one.” Each creatively responds to the universe it inherits, contributing a new actuality to the ongoing process of becoming.
2. These concrescences are momentary. They occur in instants, each a unique gathering of the universe into a particular actuality. Each moment happens all at once, and what we call time—understood as transition or passage—is a succession of timeless moments.
3. The universe as a whole is a vast network of timeless, concrescing moments, each of which is “present in” the others. Their mutual immanence constitutes the interconnected wholeness of the universe.
4. The mutual immanence of all things—concrescing moments—sustains and forms the uniqueness of each entity. Each entity concresces the universe in its own way and, in that uniqueness, transcends the others that are immanent within it.
5. These concrescences are not limited to our cosmic epoch. They participate in vast systems of entities whose patterns unfold through cosmic epochs lasting billions upon billions of years.
6. These concrescences are not limited to three-dimensional space. We live in a universe of multiple dimensions, in which becoming can occur in domains beyond three-dimensional space.
7. These concrescences include time as well as space. Each moment gathers within itself all past cosmic epochs as inherited actuality and all cosmic epochs yet to be as possibilities whose realization is not yet determined.
8. The aspiration to be enlightened—to awaken to the mutual immanence of all things—is within every human being, and perhaps other beings as well, as the initial phase of its own subjective aim. This aspiration may be unrecognized, but it is an inward lure toward awakening that can be cultivated and expressed in life.
9. Nirvana, understood as awakening to a universe of mutual immanence, and samsara, understood as an unawakened state, are not at odds with one another. They are different ways of experiencing and living within the same universe. Awakening occurs amid everyday life, as we come to recognize and live from the interconnectedness that already constitutes our existence.
10. The spiritual vocation of a human being is to awaken to this universe of radical inter-becoming and live from insight into its nature. Such awakening finds expression in how we perceive, feel, and act within the interconnected whole.

Peace as a Harmony of Harmonies

My sense in offering these ten ideas is that the first seven would resonate with Whitehead’s own philosophical interests, while the last three would be, as it were, “new” to him. Shaped as he was by Christian ways of thinking, he tended to understand religion in relation to God, conceived on the analogy of a cosmic life in whose consciousness the universe lives and moves and has its being.

Nevertheless, in his later writings, especially his discussion of Peace in Adventures of Ideas, he describes an experience that he regards as the crowning experience of life, using language that seems almost Buddhist in spirit. It is a widening of feeling beyond the confines of the ego: a release from self-preoccupation, an openness to the beauty and tragedy of the world, and a sense of participating in a whole whose value exceeds one’s private interests.

​Such Peace, as I read it, offers another point of resonance with the awakening envisioned in Ŭisang’s poem. Whitehead identified this sense of peace with, in his words, a "harmony of harmonies" which envompasses the universe but is also more than the universe. This harmony is his name for what, in Process and Reality, he calls "the consequent nature of God." This side of God is not a creator of the universe, but rather a receptacle for the unfolding universe, in which the universe is itself present. Thus the them of being "present in" extends to the living whole of the universe itself, to God, In this reality, to quote , samsara and nirvana are always in harmony.

I hope this short reflection opens up further conversation between Process Philosophy and Hwaŏm philosophy.

​Korean Buddhism: Selected Readings from Primary Texts

This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to Korean Buddhism through twenty-five key primary texts spanning the seventh to twenty-first centuries. All have been expertly translated by leading scholars in the field.
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The volume introduction provides an overview of major themes that illuminates the diverse sources that follow. The texts, each prefaced by a brief introduction and list of recommended reading, delve into core Buddhist teachings, meditation practice, pilgrimage, intercultural exchanges, and interreligious conflict. Several touch on contemporary concerns, such as social engagement, colonialism, moral psychology, conflict resolution, and Buddhism’s contribution to women’s liberation and engagement with marginalized communities. Others present insights into the ways in which Buddhism becomes distinctly Korean and the effects of modernity and colonialism on Korean Buddhism, in addition to overarching concerns like the nature of reality and embodying truth in our lives.

Accessible and wide-ranging, Korean Buddhism: Selected Readings from Primary Texts serves not only students and those relatively new to the subject, but also scholars interested in the intersection of Korean religious thought and global philosophy. It is an essential resource for Korean religious studies, Buddhist studies, and spiritual exploration alike.

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Interview with Jin Y. Park

Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun

The life and work of Kim Iryŏp (1896–1971) bear witness to Korea’s encounter with modernity. A prolific writer, Iryŏp reflected on identity and existential loneliness in her poems, short stories, and autobiographical essays. As a pioneering feminist intellectual, she dedicated herself to gender issues and understanding the changing role of women in Korean society. As an influential Buddhist nun, she examined religious teachings and strove to interpret modern human existence through a religious world view. Originally published in Korea when Iryŏp was in her sixties, Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun (Ŏnŭ sudoin ŭi hoesang) makes available for the first time in English a rich, intimate, and unfailingly candid source of material with which to understand modern Korea, Korean women, and Korean Buddhism.

Throughout her writing, Iryŏp poses such questions as: How does one come to terms with one’s identity? What is the meaning of revolt and what are its limitations? How do we understand the different dimensions of love in the context of Buddhist teachings? What is Buddhist awakening? How do we attain it? How do we understand God and the relationship between good and evil? What is the meaning of religious practice in our time? We see through her thought and life experiences the co-existence of seemingly conflicting ideas and ideals—Christianity and Buddhism, sexual liberalism and religious celibacy, among others.

In Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun, Iryŏp challenges readers with her creative interpretations of Buddhist doctrine and her reflections on the meaning of Buddhist practice. In the process she offers insight into a time when the ideas and contributions of women to twentieth-century Korean society and intellectual life were just beginning to emerge from the shadows, where they had been obscured in the name of modernization and nation-building."

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Some Distinguishing Features of Korean Buddhism

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Korean Buddhism is especially distinguished by its effort to bring meditation, philosophical study, and diverse religious practices together. It belongs largely to the Mahāyāna family and shares much with Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. Its distinctiveness lies in how these elements have been combined and cultivated.
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1. Reconciling different teachings. The influential thinker Wonhyo (617–686) developed hwajaeng: reconciling doctrinal disagreements by understanding what each position reveals and where it becomes limited. This gives Korean Buddhist philosophy a strong tendency toward finding relationships among apparently conflicting perspectives. It does not mean that disagreements disappear. plato.stanford.edu
2. Seon meditation and the questioning mind. Seon is the Korean counterpart of Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen. A characteristic practice is hwadu meditation: sustained inquiry into a pivotal question or phrase, such as “What is this?” The purpose is to awaken a deep questioning that moves beyond habitual conceptual answers. Korea has preserved a particularly strong tradition of this practice. Hwadu Meditation
3. Bringing awakening and continued cultivation together. Jinul (1158–1210) emphasized “sudden awakening followed by gradual cultivation”: one may recognize one’s true nature suddenly, while still needing sustained practice to transform deeply rooted habits. He also worked to reconcile meditation with scriptural study. This approach has been influential, although other Korean teachers have challenged it. plato.stanford.edu
4. A rich philosophy of interdependence. Korean Hwaeom, related to Chinese Huayan, presents the universe as a world of mutual interpenetration: each particular being exists through its relationships with the whole. Uisang (625–702) was a foundational figure. For your interests in process thought, this is an especially fruitful point of conversation—though the philosophies have significant differences. plato.stanford.edu
5. Mountain monasteries as living communities. Korea’s mountain temples combine meditation, study, ritual, and communal life. Their long continuity and integration into mountain landscapes are distinctive features of Korean Buddhist culture. These temples accommodate several forms of Buddhist practice within a single setting. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
6. Accommodation of indigenous religious traditions. Some temples include shrines to Sansin, the mountain spirit, often depicted with a tiger. This shows how Buddhism incorporated aspects of Korea’s older religious landscape alongside its Buddhist teachings and practices. museum.go.kr
7. A substantial tradition of Buddhist nuns. Korea has a longstanding community of fully ordained nuns, with traditions of education, meditation, and teaching. Women have faced institutional inequalities, but their monastic communities have maintained and renewed an important place in Korean Buddhism. kci.go.kr

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Korean Buddhism