한국 문화로서의 불교 ― 20세기 초 한국에서의 불교의 정체성 ― (Buddhism as the Cultural Tradition of Korea: The Identity of Buddhism in the Early 20th Century Korea)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국종교학회
· 수록지 정보 : 종교연구 / 60호 / 61 ~ 87페이지
· 저자명 : 김종인

초록

There was no specific term such as Korean Buddhism in traditional Korea. And even after long expedition, Buddhism in Korea was not outstandingly distinctive from the Buddhist tradition which has been existed in East Asia. Correspondingly, Korean Buddhist monks practiced the same Buddhist tradition that Chinese monks did. They had no any apprehension for the uniqueness of Korean Buddhism.
However during course of history, Buddhism in Korea became assorted since the early 20th century especially after penetration of Japanese brand of Buddhism. Consequently, there arose the notion of Korean Buddhism, which distinguishes itself from Buddhism prevalent in other countries. Further Buddhism bracketed together with national identity that lead to modernize Korean Buddhism and further Korean society of the time. Buddhism is not the totality of wisdom to any further extent in modern Korean society. Now it has been classified as a religion, one part of the various modern cultural spheres. Han Yongun was one of the pragmatic monks who viewed Buddhism in modern perspective. He states that Buddhism is a specialized knowledge which could be studied only after comprehending of general knowledge in this secular and contemporary world.
Encountering Japanese colonialism, a faction of Buddhists in Korea intended to establish Korean Buddhism and distinguish it from Japanese model of Buddhism. They distinguished Korean Buddhism not on doctrinal reason, but because of political reason. Korean monks started to identify themselves as Korean Buddhist monks by denouncing Japanese involvement. Furthermore the Korean intellectuals desired to have national pride by tracing their cultural root in Korean Buddhist tradition. Therefore, the Korean monks and scholars began to pen down and edit the books written by Korean monks. This is a very unique phenomena never found in the past. Buddhist scholars wrote the history of Korean Buddhism in order to build and preserve the distinctiveness of traditional Korean Buddhism. Besides individual endeavor, the contemporary Buddhist organizations and magazines had often employed the word ‘Korean’ in their names and titles. Regarding this, the Seonmun chwalyo was published in 1906. Particularly, the vol. 2 of this book contains writings of only Koran monks. This book specifies the Korean national identity as well as the truth of Seon Buddhism. In 1918, Yi Neunghwa wrote Joseon bulgyo tongsa (A History of Korean Buddhism) standing on historical perspective. This book shows that how Buddhism as a cultural phenomena influenced Korean society. Doctrinal aspects of Buddhism were not the central concern of this book. In 1925, Yi Neunghwa and other Buddhist scholars organized ‘Joseon Bulgyo Chongseo Ganhaeng Wiweonhoe(Society for the Publication of Korean Buddhist Texts)’. The fundamental motive of this society was to confer the national pride of Korean people by discovering cultural superiority reflected in the writings of Korean monks. In the same context, Samguk yusa(The Remained History of the Three Kingdoms) was published in 1927. As a matter of fact, this book had been forgotten during the Joseon Dynasty by Buddhist monks as well as Confucians. Confucians ignored this book for the reason that it was written by monks, and it contains numerous unsupported anecdote connected with Buddhism. Unfortunately even Buddhist monks did not pay attention towards the book, since it does not contain any doctrinal teachings or guidance related to their monastic practice. Choi Namseon's article titled ‘Joseon Bulgyo Dongbang Munhwasa Sangeui Jiwi(Korean Buddhism-the Place of Korean Buddhism in the History of Eastern Civilization)’, which was presented in 1930, evidently demonstrates the nationalist outlook on Buddhism. Through this article he asserts that the cultural characteristics of Korea reached to the top of the world through Buddhism. According to his assertion, Korean Buddhism comprehends cultural beauty from Ajanta, Gandhara, Byzantine, Wei-Chin, Su Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty. Therefore, it reveals a synthetic form of culture became matured during the course of history. In this way, Buddhism in Korea was recognized as a cultural phenomena rather than the truth of enlightenment.

영어초록

There was no specific term such as Korean Buddhism in traditional Korea. And even after long expedition, Buddhism in Korea was not outstandingly distinctive from the Buddhist tradition which has been existed in East Asia. Correspondingly, Korean Buddhist monks practiced the same Buddhist tradition that Chinese monks did. They had no any apprehension for the uniqueness of Korean Buddhism.
However during course of history, Buddhism in Korea became assorted since the early 20th century especially after penetration of Japanese brand of Buddhism. Consequently, there arose the notion of Korean Buddhism, which distinguishes itself from Buddhism prevalent in other countries. Further Buddhism bracketed together with national identity that lead to modernize Korean Buddhism and further Korean society of the time. Buddhism is not the totality of wisdom to any further extent in modern Korean society. Now it has been classified as a religion, one part of the various modern cultural spheres. Han Yongun was one of the pragmatic monks who viewed Buddhism in modern perspective. He states that Buddhism is a specialized knowledge which could be studied only after comprehending of general knowledge in this secular and contemporary world.
Encountering Japanese colonialism, a faction of Buddhists in Korea intended to establish Korean Buddhism and distinguish it from Japanese model of Buddhism. They distinguished Korean Buddhism not on doctrinal reason, but because of political reason. Korean monks started to identify themselves as Korean Buddhist monks by denouncing Japanese involvement. Furthermore the Korean intellectuals desired to have national pride by tracing their cultural root in Korean Buddhist tradition. Therefore, the Korean monks and scholars began to pen down and edit the books written by Korean monks. This is a very unique phenomena never found in the past. Buddhist scholars wrote the history of Korean Buddhism in order to build and preserve the distinctiveness of traditional Korean Buddhism. Besides individual endeavor, the contemporary Buddhist organizations and magazines had often employed the word ‘Korean’ in their names and titles. Regarding this, the Seonmun chwalyo was published in 1906. Particularly, the vol. 2 of this book contains writings of only Koran monks. This book specifies the Korean national identity as well as the truth of Seon Buddhism. In 1918, Yi Neunghwa wrote Joseon bulgyo tongsa (A History of Korean Buddhism) standing on historical perspective. This book shows that how Buddhism as a cultural phenomena influenced Korean society. Doctrinal aspects of Buddhism were not the central concern of this book. In 1925, Yi Neunghwa and other Buddhist scholars organized ‘Joseon Bulgyo Chongseo Ganhaeng Wiweonhoe(Society for the Publication of Korean Buddhist Texts)’. The fundamental motive of this society was to confer the national pride of Korean people by discovering cultural superiority reflected in the writings of Korean monks. In the same context, Samguk yusa(The Remained History of the Three Kingdoms) was published in 1927. As a matter of fact, this book had been forgotten during the Joseon Dynasty by Buddhist monks as well as Confucians. Confucians ignored this book for the reason that it was written by monks, and it contains numerous unsupported anecdote connected with Buddhism. Unfortunately even Buddhist monks did not pay attention towards the book, since it does not contain any doctrinal teachings or guidance related to their monastic practice. Choi Namseon's article titled ‘Joseon Bulgyo Dongbang Munhwasa Sangeui Jiwi(Korean Buddhism-the Place of Korean Buddhism in the History of Eastern Civilization)’, which was presented in 1930, evidently demonstrates the nationalist outlook on Buddhism. Through this article he asserts that the cultural characteristics of Korea reached to the top of the world through Buddhism. According to his assertion, Korean Buddhism comprehends cultural beauty from Ajanta, Gandhara, Byzantine, Wei-Chin, Su Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty. Therefore, it reveals a synthetic form of culture became matured during the course of history. In this way, Buddhism in Korea was recognized as a cultural phenomena rather than the truth of enlightenment.

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