白龍城의 禪農佛敎에 대한 再照明 - 교단사적 측면을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper is consider Seon-Nong(Zen-Farming) Buddhism of Baek Yong-seong with a focus on the history of Buddhist orders. According to the tradition of Indian Buddhism, pavrājita should not engage in any kind of productive activities. But even Buddhist monks had to labor in China. This so-called transition from prohibition of labor to encouragement of labor can be compared to the Protestant Reformation in the West. From the perspective of the history of Buddhist orders, however, the shift from prohibition to encouragement in regard to Buddhist monks’ labor means ‘a breach of Buddhist precepts.’ The tradition of combining labor and discipline was formed early in the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the Zen Sect of Buddhism, the tradition of carrying out farming and meditation together originated from Dongsanbeopmun(東山法門). This tradition was handed down from Namakhoeyang(南嶽懷讓) and Majodoil(馬祖道一) to Baekjanghoehae(百丈懷海). This tradition of Seon-Nong Buddhism was introduced into the Korean Peninsula, too. In modern Korean Buddhism, two representative figures who practiced Seon-Nong Buddhism in person are Baek Yong-seong and Baek Hak-myeong. Both of them were Zen masters and tried to restore the tradition of Zen Buddhism through self-sufficiency. Seon-Nong Buddhism of Baek Hak-myeong is confined to a specific location where monks both practice Zen meditations and engage in farming to support themselves. On the other hand, that of Baek Yong-seong aimed at aiding the general public suffering under oppression at the time by means of an economic independence of Buddhist orders. Thus, Seon-Nong Buddhism the two masters pursued is different from each other in scale and dimension. Baek Yong-seong did not confine Seon-Nong just to farming. He thought of anything that can help Buddhist monks to support themselves as Seon-Nong. His idea of Seon-Nong is for monks to dedicate themselves to practicing discipline and living on their own without being idle. Baek Yong-seong thought that Seon-Nong Buddhism could change from ‘receptive Buddhism’ to ‘giving one’, from ‘consuming Buddhism’ to ‘productive one’ and from ‘dependent life’ to ‘self-helping life.’ In addition, he included all used to obtain wealth in the idea of Seon-Nong Buddhism. This is the very productive Buddhism. In this respect, we can tell that he was a true pioneer quite ahead of his time.