19세기 진묵 설화의 기록화와 그 의미

Abstract

As an in-depth study on the monk Jinmuk, this study examined his biography and analyzed differences between events presented in it and events described in folktales that have been passed down orally. Buddhist Monk Jinmuk’s Yujeokko (the title of his biography) is a collection of folktales that contains 17 episodes about his life. In these episodes, divine guardians, mountain gods, Vajrapani, arahats and others controlled by or serving Jinmuk, appear and tell us that Jinmuk was the incarnation of Shakyamuni. It also tells us about Jinmuk’s relationships with various characters including a Confucian scholar, a maidservant, a hunter and a young boy. In addition, all of these events are supported by the historical research of the biography’s author, Choui, and by validation of the scriptures (經證) of the Shakyamuni Inji. Oral folktales handed down to the present hardly indicate that Jinmuk was the incarnation of Shakyamuni, nor do they contain such Buddhist teachings as the prohibition against killing (不殺生), the concept of “non-attachment” (無着) or references to Buddhist entitiies such as arahats, divine guardians and Vajrapani. Rather, oral folktales about Jinmuk create interest in him as a historical Buddhist figure. They also present Jinmuk and Bonggok as being in a competitive or confrontational relationship. In particular, in folktales that describe the reason for Jinmuk’s death, they depict Bonggok as a hostile man who kills Jinmuk. The fact that folktales of this type were included in Jeung-san Kang’s Daesujeongyeong suggests that such stories were widely told throughout the Honam region in the mid and late 19th century.