낙산사 관음신앙의 설화적 표출

Abstract

This study is to investigate the origin of the faith in Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) of Naksan-sa Temple, located in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do Province, and how the faith melted into the local narrative literature. Upon the basis of a comparison of narrative elements of the faith in Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) which first appeared in the narrative literature, and was later passed down orally from generation to generation, we have confirmed that Naksan-sa Temple secures its cultural, historical, and religious status as a residing place of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) as well as a center of the Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) faith. The central elements which five narratives have in common are the foundation of Naksan-sa Temple and the narrative formation of the Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) faith. While the one is concerned with the justification of the foundation of the temple, the other is with a variety of expressions regarding the Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) faith. It is specially noted that the faith in Obong-san mountain deities is grafted onto the oral narratives. Narratives have it that five deities of Mt. Obong-san helped the establishment of Naksan-sa Temple, which symbolically implies that the mountain is not just the forehead but the exposure of the genuine body of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva). Natural objects such as caves, pine trees, blue birds, and so on are the very exposure of the genuine body of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva) as well as the symbol of the bodhisattva as a god of change. With the combination of the two elements of buddha and natural objects, Naksan-sa Temple has been recognized as a holy place of transformation and exposure of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva), and furthermore regarded as one and the same body as the bodhisattva. In conclusion, through the foundation narratives of Naksan-sa Temple, we have found that achievements of the two eminent Buddhist monks (Eui-sang and Won-hyo) during the Shilla Dynasty enabled the popular belief that the temple is a residing place of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva). The scrutiny into narratives regarding the foundation of Naksan-sa Temple also shows us how the narrative element of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent arising or origination) and some interesting metamorphosis elements such as the statue of Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva), the statue of Haesu Gwaneum, Hongryeon Cell, Gwaneum Cell, the pine tree of Gwaneum, and blue birds helped Naksan-sa keep its position as a central temple of the faith in Avalokitesvara (Bodhisattva)