呑虛 스님의 求道過程과 人材養成

Abstract

Tanheo was a Confucian at the beginning, seeked truth in Daoism, and in 1934 turned to Buddhism at twenty-two. In stead of a new learning of the time, he made a choice of a traditional thought of the past. With the influence of his father, a main executive of the Bocheongyo, he did not considered the Korean traditional thought as a uncivilized one. Such a recognition became strengthened by meeting Yi Geukjong, a disciple of Jeon Wu. Through them, Tanheo acquired the mind seeking a 'basic' penetrating a human being and a world. By meeting teacher Hanam, Tanheo studied at Sangwonsa monk training center for seven years, mastered Lao-Zhuang thought among Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, and finally acquired the communication of the three teachings. Hanam transferred the achievement of the late Joseon Buddhism to his disciples, and Tanheo succeeded the tradition of three learnings, gye (戒), jeong (定), and hye (慧), from his teacher. All the works, including the blossoming of the translation of the New Avatamska Sutra Theory, were done at Sangwonsa monk raining center. It is obvious why Tanheo so emphasized the 'education of a Buddhist service' To him education was a biggest pleasure and a moment of meeting with 'truth'. The enlightenment activity of Tanheo was just a 'nurture of a talent', and he therefore concentrated all his energy on the education for the younger generation. He even confessed that his work for the sutra translation is to make teaching materials for the education of monks. The reason he stressed the education for monks is related to the 'purification movement of Buddhist temple' executed after the liberation. As a result of the purification movement, married monks were removed from the Buddhist Order. However, the order faced the difficulty that a small number of monks had to manage all the Buddhist temples. For the reason, the order of the time accepted a ruffian as a monk, and the result was the declining of the quality of monk. Such a situation brought the breakdown of ascetic climate in Buddhist order. The momentum Tanheo immersed himself in the development of teaching material for monks through the translation of sutra came from the recognition of reality of the time in Buddhist Order. His will for reform to regain the basic spirit of Buddhism made him to establish the Odaesan and Yeongeunsa schools. At the schools Tanheo succeeded the tradition of teacher Hanam who stressed the three learnings. Tanheo's spirit of the communication of three teachings is that they communicate each other. It is to realize the strength of self-awareness. Human beings were born with creativity and various intelligence, but the modern education is not allowed to acknowledge them and emphasizes study intelligence only. As a result, creativity was annihilated. The way to deal with the unforeseeable future is to cultivate the strength of self-awareness 'learning by oneself' with a native talent and individual passion. It is exactly creativity and returning to the basic of education. Tanheo was educated by his teacher in such a way, and he taught his disciples in the same one. The only one he stressed was education, which is to cultivate the strength of self-awareness.