In Mirror of Seon, Seosan offers an inclusive vision of Buddhist cultivation that recognizes the value of varying approaches. From a traditional Buddhist viewpoint, the work is well balanced: it stresses the importance of precepts, discusses training in concentration, and provides general words of caution to those treading the path to awakening.
Master Seosan considered the Buddhist texts to be of the utmost importance. Yet he also knew that the enormous amount of Buddhist sutras and commentarial literature was an obstacle to students of Buddhism. In his own introduction (see below) he explains that “...the Buddhist sutras are as numerous as the sea is vast and this causes much concern. Buddhists in the future will have to pick through too many leaves and branches in order to find the essence. Therefore, I have extracted and summarized several hundred passages from various texts and I have written them down in one book.” His valuable words of wisdom have been a constant inspiration to Korean Seon monks and continue to be so now. It is hoped that this English translation gives Western Buddhists a small hint of the great depth of the Korean Buddhist tradition.