鏡虛 惺牛의 佛事와 結社 －역사의 안팎과 철학의 앞뒤－

Abstract

Gyung-heo Sung-woo(1846～1912) was a Seon master but he was well acquainted with 교학. He did not try to strictly distinguish Seon(禪) and Gyo(敎). His linguistic views like this are thoroughly internalized within his writings. Gyung-heo recommends, because even ‘one single word’ ‘surely and clearly informs the way of attaining Buddhahood’, not to neglect a single word but to ‘sincerely read it’. In the contemporary period, the Buddhist community was still holding Buddhist ceremonies centered on Buddhism of Chinese writing. Thus, it was hard for the masses to understand an account of ceremony(儀式文) or Buddhism of all sorts. However, different from any other Seon-Buddhist meditation songs, Gyung-heo's Seon-Buddhist meditation song shows the Seon school's a basis of seon(禪機) in easy and plain words. Gyung-heo’s “song of Buddhism” is the on the extension of his purely Korean Buddhist sermon “How To Live As a Monk”. The fact that the contemporary Buddhism came down in the form of purely Korean words of a song is suggestive in many ways. In the period of Young-jo and Jung-jo of the Joseon Dynasty, Ji-young’s “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song”(參禪曲) was already written for the popularization of Seon. But, as “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song”, “Gagagaeum”, and “song of a travel at Geumgangsan”(金剛山遊山歌) that were written in both Korean and Chinese characters show, it will be necessary for us to view Gyung-heo as the one who started the Hangeul Buddhist service that widened the extension of Buddhism. It seems that his “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song” greatly influenced Hak-myung’s “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song”, Man-gong’s “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song”, Han-am’s “Seon-Buddhist Meditation Song”, and so on. Accordingly, it can be said that Gyung-heo was a farsightedly awakened intellectual who, at the same time, was also a literary man and a poet who created Buddhist sermons, words of songs, and songs in Chinese characters-minglement of Hangeul and Chinese characters-Hangeul. Gyung-heo’s association succeeds to Ji-nul’s Jung-hyae association and combined Sun-jong’s association with the thought of the philosophy of Maitreya’s paradise. The similarities between the two associations can be confirmed in the aspect of the concern with collaborative ideology and community life through confederation. Of course, Seon-jong’s association corresponds to the philosophy of Maitreya’s paradise in the way that they both seek to popularize and generalize the way of Seon. And yet this is something that is original distinguished from customary associations and that shows Gyung-heo’s solid way of thinking based on his practical views. Gyung-heo insists, if there is ‘someone who has the same opinions and wants to act together’, there is no need to ask if he or she is a monk or nun or not, male or female, old or young, clever or foolish, high or low. In addition, he allows everyone to join without asking if one is familiar or unfamiliar, meeting or parting, far or near from another, or one is ahead of or behind another. This is the point where Gyung-heo’s practice of seon(修禪) association shows its openness and magnanimity. Gyung-heo tried to open the path for as many people as possible to help them attain Buddhahood by adding not the thought of Amita Buddha but the one of Maitreya to Seon-jong’s Jung-hyae association. But, just like what Gyesamun(稧社文)’s the fourth clause shows, Gyung-heo’s final aim is to cultivate his wholeheartedness(定) and wisdom(慧). This well manifests his identity as a Seon master. After all, what he tried to do was to recover the characteristics of Buddhism and become conscious of them. Consequently, Gyung-heo could show us the original language by going in and out of this history and ensured the independent practice by going to the front and the rear of philosophy based upon the understanding of total view of Buddhism.