『능엄경』과 유불회통 －조선 초-중기 유불지식인의 인식을 중심으로－

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the philosophical implications of the fact that many Confucianists had read and studied the Śūrańgama-sūtra (楞嚴經) during the early-middle Joseon dynasty for the view of the Korean Convergencial Universal One Mind Theory between Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism. I will mainly discuss two questions. Firstly, which points in the text’s teachings do Confucianists agree with and why? Secondly, what role did Gyewhan’s commentary play along the way? Joseon Buddhist priests and Confucianist scholars approached the Sutra not only through naive faith, but also as a philosophical academic text. The Śūrańgama-sūtr a helped opponents understand each other’s texts. The Concept of “spiritually pure bright mind” (妙淨明心) in the Sutra is truly the ultimate reality, which can generate all kinds of universal things. However, we cannot easily perceive this mind’s existe nce, so we usually have two obstructions—both affective and cognitive. Therefore the discipline of the Śūrańgama-sūtra is untying those obstructions to the light of the real mind. Numerous Confucianists developed arguments based on the Sutra’s teachings to clarify or develop their own Universal Mind Theory during the early-middle Joseon dynasty, despite the national policy of suppressing Buddhism. They recognized mind as the ultimate entity (太極, taegeuk) or the transcendental leading spiritual activity (未發知覺, mibaljigak). Although the Confucianists criticized some assertionsof Zen Buddhism, they basically accepted the Sutra’s ontology and discipline. Furthermore, Gyewhan’s commentary helped Buddhist priests and Confucian scholars to understand the meaning of an obstruction to arising caused by misassumptions regarding the nature of reality.