동아시아 불교문헌에 보이는 특이한 다라니(Dhāraṇīs)의 형태 - 『석마하연론』(釋摩訶衍論) 제8권‧ 제9권을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Shi moheyan lun (abbreviated as Shilun) is evaluated as a treatise that uniquely combines exoteric and esoteric Buddhism. One of the reasons for this evaluation is that the eighth and ninth volumes of Shilun contain 32 kinds of dhāraṇīs. This paper raises the question of whether the dhāraṇī can define the Shilun as a form of esotericism. All of the dhāraṇīs mentioned in Shilun have been reviewed and classified. As a result of this it was found that 24 types of dhāraṇīs were recited during the time that non-Buddhists made statues, while only 8 were used in accordance with Buddhist traditions. Therefore, it is diffi- cult to define the Shilun as an esoteric document based solely on the quantity of dhāraṇīs it contains. The next inquiry made regards why three quarters of the dharanis are of non-Buddhist origin. It is presumed that the intention of the Shilun describing the non-Buddhist dhāraṇīs in detail was to clearly reveal the images of the non-Buddhist in order to be wary of them. In addition, it reflects the situation at the time when the Shilun was published, when non-Buddhist traditions fre- quently made contact with Buddhists, meetings which included introducing Buddhists to non-Buddhist images. Lastly, light is shed on the written characters used in the dhāraṇīs that are unique to the Shilun and thus not found in other sutras or treatises. By com- paring the characters of the text with those of the commentaries, tracing their origins, and considering the Fanqie method that expresses their phonetic sound, the recitation form of the dhāraṇīs and the established period of the Shilun was revealed. Based on the similarity of the shape of the characters, it is presumed they are related to Taoism, Wu Zetian characters, and Western Xia characters. Furthermore, the publishing period of the Shilun is reduced to before 766 as indicated by the analysis done regarding the Fanqie method.