佛敎의 僧家戒律과 基督敎 修道規則의 精神 比較硏究 (The Spirit of Buddhist Monastic Precepts & Christian Monastic Rules: a Comparative Study)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 보조사상연구원
· 수록지 정보 : 보조사상 / 30호 / 13 ~ 44페이지
· 저자명 : 서명원

초록

본 논고에서는 불교의 승가계율과 기독교 수도규칙의 根本精神을 비교하여 각각의 차이점들을 인정하면서도 그 유사성을 드러내어 불교 出家者와 기독교 入會者가 어떻게 공통되는 修道精神에 참여하는지 알아보고자 하였다.
즉, 근본정신의 이상구현을 위해서는 불교의 승가나 기독교의 수도공동체 안에서 각각 三學의 수행체계라고 할 수 있는 戒 · 定 · 慧와 그것에 상응하는 수도규칙서 · 기도 · 성령 안에서의 삶 등이 서로 맞물리는 완전한 수행이 이루어져야 한다는 공통점을 지니고 있다.
하지만 두 종교 전통 사이의 차이점도 분명 존재한다. 우선 기독교의 본래 정신을 회복하기 위해 평신도와 수도자의 생활 방식에 있어 그 평등성을 명확하게 긍정했다. 반면에 승가계율은 불교의 중심인 승가를 유지하기 위한 것으로써 붓다 당시에 제정되었다. 이러한 점에서 불교와 기독교는 出家者와 入會者의 역할 중심성에 대한 서로의 입장이 다르다.
이에 따라 본 논고는 出家者와 入會者의 상호간 이해와 존중을 강화하기 위해서 기능적 비교를 사용하며 진리에 대한 대화적 접근 방법을 통해 승가계율과 기독교 수도규칙의 근본정신을 대비시켰다. 그럼으로써 出家者와 入會者가 서로 공통되는 修道精神을 나누고 있음을 확인할 수 있었다.

영어초록

This paper compares the basic spirit of Buddhist monastic precepts and Christian monastic rules. By first examining the data and then appraising them through the use of functional comparisons, it applies the methodology of religious phenomenology: a dialogical approach of truth that avoids the extremes of objectivism and subjectivism.
A first part shows that Buddhist monastic precepts and Christian monastic rules each display a very strong unity of spirit throughout time, despite the fact that they both underwent considerable transformations due to the need to adapt to ever changing historical situations. Indeed, as monastic precepts are meant to help the Buddhists that have renounced the world to achieve awakening like the Buddha, the monastic rules are meant to make Christians as awakened as Christ was.
A second part describes how monastic precepts and rules were respectively born, pointing to the fact that, although the core of the former progressively took shape within the Buddhist monastic community during the lifetime of the Buddha, the latter took shape several centuries after the death of Christ, during Constantine rule at the beginning of the fourth century, when Christian religious life began to appear in answer to the excessive secularization of Christianity within the Roman empire. Nevertheless, despite such a striking difference pointing to the distinctive character of each tradition, monastic precepts and rules are respectively meant to help one to achieve, through complete awakening, the compassionate or loving behaviour which constitute the ultimate goal of Buddhism and Christianity.
A third part demonstrates that both Buddhism and Christianity see ultimate reality as being thoroughly ethical in nature. Their respective founders became one with that ultimate reality through awakening, thus completely embodying that ethical ideal in time and space. As a result, their behaviour was highly ethical and they had no need at all for a fully-fledged set of precepts or rules. But the same cannot be said of their followers who almost always definitely needed and still need such precepts and rules in order to become awakened to that reality and embody it through their behaviour. At the same time, an excessive clinging to precepts or rules may end up being just as detrimental as their total neglect. The spirit of the Middle Way constitutes an excellent antidote to the constant temptation of falling into such extremes that obviously pervades both traditions.
In conclusion, it may be said that just as Buddhism sees in the practice of the monastic precepts, meditation and wisdom the three complementary disciplines indispensable to realize Buddhist awakening, Christianity sees in monastic rules, prayer and life in the Spirit, the three indivisible and sine qua non disciplines required to achieve Christian awakening. Interestingly, a tension has been at work throughout history within both Buddhism and Christianity regarding whether it is necessary or not to renounce the world to reach full awakening. Nevertheless, Buddhists having renounced the world and Christians having joined a religious society may be said to be close in spirit as they search for truth and respectively strive to achieve Buddhist Compassion or Christian Love in action.

참고자료

· 없음