수행문화콘텐츠로서의 화두 참구에 관한 철학적 연구： 參究와 參句

Abstract

‘Hwadu chamgu’ is a term used by ascetic in Korea to refer to a Seon 禪-discipline with a Hwadu 話頭. This term is used universally in Korea so that it does not need to use Chinese characters. And it is often used as a translator in the process of explaining Seon-discipline or studying it. However, ‘chamgu’ is not a word commonly used in modern Korean society. Moreover, its meaning is not clearly defined, so it is inappropriate to use it as a scientific term or a translation. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of focusing on penetration 參究 or investigating of the phrase 參句 and its meaning in historical and literary terms. These two Chinese characters are pronounced the same as the Korean ‘chamgu’. In addition, Chinese characters of tí 提, cān 參, cān xiáng 參詳, zuòhuójì 作活計 are also translated into Korean ‘chamgu’. In this paper, I pointed out that this Hanja original and Korean translations are mixed or inaccurate. In conclusion, it is argued that ‘chamgu’ is not suitable as a descriptive word or a translation. It is not the purpose of this paper to reveal the new meaning of ‘chamgu’ or suggest a translation. Appropriate meanings and translations will naturally be established in the process of trying to understand and convey concrete and prominent meanings of the meaning and translation of individual terms in the process of researching and translating documents. Therefore, this paper focuses on revealing the consciousness of these problems by taking the example of ‘chamgu’ as a representative among many Seon Buddhist terms.