초기 천태교단의 坐禪觀

Abstract

Lately, there are many active efforts to promote the religious climate of ascetic exercises of Korean Buddhism. What the ascetic exercises of Korean Buddhism represents is Chinese Patriarch Zen(祖師禪). Would this Patriarch Zen be actually appropriate for the Buddhist masses to practice? Would its guide be minutely established? And, how can the ascetic exercises be probated? This kind of questions must be the ones that are important for expanding the base of the ascetic exercises of Korean Buddhism of the present time. Therefore, based on keeping these questions in mind, this manuscript will discuss 'Sitting meditation' which is the foundation of all the ascetic exercises. Tiantai's 'Sitting meditation' greatly influenced the way of Sitting meditation of Zen Buddhism. Different from Zen Buddhism which stands for the Buddhist revelation, Tiantai Buddhism strictly finds its basis in the Sutras when it Hae-sa(慧思) comes to the ascetic exercises. How such tradition was succeeded from the master to Chih-i is examined here. Although Hae-sa's view of sitting meditation can be found within his three remarkably simple writings, they include the core of the huge system of ascetic exercises from Chih-i. Starting from sitting meditation and emphasizing everyday Zen or life Zen which is training Zen in every moment of daily life, purifying Sila before practise of meditation, taking strict precautions against teachers which is obsessed with the words of Sutra[文字法師] and masters fallen into one-sided enlightment[暗證禪師], the perfect and sudden pratice[圓頓行] based on the thought of the Real nature of all things[諸法實相] on Lotus Sutra, etc. were always the points that were already valued by Hae-sa(慧思). And these points became settled in the system of ascetic exercises that are developed from Chih-i's early to the late. Accordingly, as being stressed by Buddha, Sitting meditation in Tiantai Order is an ascetic exercise in which Three-learnings of Sila․Samadhi․Prajña are indispensably realized. Even if Patriarch Zen(祖師禪) is more excellent than Tathāgata Zen(如來禪), it can never impress the masses if it cannot be taught and verified properly. Tiantai's Zen is based upon a variety of the Sutras ranging from the most basic ways of Sitting meditation to the deep ascetic exercises. Tiantai's Zen like this does not say ‘不立文字 敎外別傳’ but it thoroughly guards against being biased on the letters, and, although it does not exclaim 直指人心 見性成佛, it sharply sorts out the bad realization on the tradition of the perfect and sudden pratice[圓頓行]. In this respect, Tiantai's Sitting meditation is not different from the sitting meditation of Zen Buddhism, and, it is very likely that it will contribute to promoting the religious climate of ascetic exercises of Korean Buddhism.