A Consideration of the Economic Aspect of Korean Buddhism

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 동국대학교 불교문화연구원
· 수록지 정보 : 불교학보 / 63호 / 309 ~ 337페이지
· 저자명 : 박경준

초록

Renunciant monks during the Buddha's lifetime were prohibited from farming, running a business, and conducting all kinds of productive labor and economic activities. But as Mahayana Buddhism rose in India, the system of attaining profit from interest by way of loaning some money inside the Buddhist order was set up, and it functioned like a sort of a banking organ.
As is shown in this system, the tradition of sangha's accepting economic activities has been passed down through Chinese Buddhism to our country's Buddhist orders. So in the Three Kingdoms period and in the Unified Silla period, temple farmland offered by the nation or the royal family was formed, and temple slaves’ labor forces were needed. In the Goryeo Dynasty, as the Buddhist community gathered strong forces through colluding with government powers, it greatly expanded the size of temple farmland. They also made an attempt to increase wealth by way of not only producing and selling liquor, garlic, cloth, and celadon but also running “bo” (寶: monastic fund). The construction of luxurious monasteries was continued, state coffers were wasted because of all sorts of Dharma meetings, and people suffered from hard labor. As various harmful effects became evident as temples were attached to increasing their wealth and failed at sufficiently returning accumulated riches to society, monks were on the verge of being forbidden from doing their work by the proclamation of a ban at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty. The excessive expansion of the monastic economy in the period of the Goryeo Dynasty brought the policy of suppression of Buddhism and respect for Confucianism in the Joseon Dynasty.
Entering the Joseon Dynasty, the policy of suppressing and excluding Buddhism was in earnest. Temple farmland was confiscated, and temple slaves were enlisted into the army. Furthermore, Buddhist orders were merged, the number of temples was reduced, and monks had to tolerate the extortion of taxes by sadaebu (aristocrats). Meanwhile, monks made their best endeavors to secure sources of revenue for the purpose of managing and maintaining their temple. They begged for food, cultivated farmland, made and sold paper and yeast, and even worked for wages. In the late Joseon Dynasty, they also sought joint measures to save themselves by organizing all sorts of gye (契; fraternity).
While this kind of tradition of monks’ engaging in direct economic activities has been almost abandoned, monks handle and manage money in person. Temple finance mostly relies on the offerings and donations by lay Buddhists or the income from admission fees. But the pure wealth on the basis of revering the Three Treasures is not administered transparently and reasonably, and temple income is not distributed to all of the renunciant monks properly and equally either. Because of this, shameful things frequently occur. Such evil customs should be stamped out and replaced by improved practices.

참고자료

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