Cho Oh-hyun's Buddhist name was Musan. His other names were Manak and Seorak.

Cho was born in 1932 in Iyeon-ri in Gyeongsangnam-do. He joined the Buddhist community at Eunseonam Hermitage (on Jongnamsan near Miryang City) at age 5. He made a commitment to uphold the Ten Precepts at age 27 years and was later ordained as a Buddhist priest at Jikjisa under the guidance of Venerable Seong-jun. ln 1968, he took the 250 Precepts (Upasampada) Oath in 1968 at Beom'eosa under Venerable Seok-am. Later, he was a member of the 8~11 Central Temple Council, the editor-in-chief of a Buddhist publication, and an editor for a Buddhist review. He was the abbot of Gyerimsa, Haeunsa, and Bongjeongsa before serving as chief monk (abbot) of Sinheungsa, the third parish's principal temple. He served as an international missionary in the United States for three years beginning in 1981, imparting the essence of Korean Seon Buddhism through meditations and sermons. He attained Enlightenment in 1989 while engaging in religious purification at Naksansa, an experience about which he wrote a well-known poem.