Korean Buddhism during the Chosŏn period (1392–1910) has been characterized as a religion whose institutional integrity and philosophical vigor severely declined due to the state policy of oppression. Since such a negative description was promulgated by Japanese scholars during the colonial period, it has been adhered to even by postcolonial era Korean scholars. This article is an attempt to redress such a stereotypical understanding of Korean Buddhism, especially that of the late Chosŏn period, and to bring to light its real nature from a historical perspective. As for the factors that contributed to the enhancement of Chosŏn Buddhism’s status, we may adduce some changes in the institutional and social settings. During the years 1550 to 1566, the traditional system of the Sŏn and Kyo schools was restored and government regulations for clerical ordination and the state examination for monks were also reinstated. During the Imjin War, the monastic armies’ military achievements led to the enhancement of their social status. Thereafter, the government publicly utilized their corvée labor, and the Buddhist institution came to receive state support. In the early seventeenth century, along with the rearrangement of religious institutions, various lineages and branches were established and an economic foundation for managing their monasteries was secured. The Buddhist circle in this period proclaimed their self-identity by determining the dharma lineages and established systems for monastic education and practice through combining the practice of meditation and doctrinal studies, in which kanhwa Sŏn took precedence.
목차
Abstract INTRODUCTION MONASTIC ARMIES’ ACTIVITY DURING THE IMJIN WAR AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MONASTIC CORVÉE LABOR 1. Monastic Armies’ Response to the Imjin War and Subsequent Rise in Prestige 2. Utilization of Monastic Manpower and Expansion of the Monastic Corvée Labor REORGANIZATION OF THE BUDDHIST SYSTEM AND FORMATION OF THE TRADITION 1. Denominational Development and Establishment of the Tradition of Dharma Lineages 2. Establishment of Systems for Monastic Education and Practice CONCLUSION REFERENCES
KIM YONG-T’AE [ Assistant Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Korean Buddhism and a Professor of Humanities Korea Project at Dongguk University-Seoul, Korea. ]
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.