권상로의 불교시가 연구

Abstract

As one of efforts to research modern Buddhist poetry in earnest, this study examined the contents, characteristics and meanings of Kwon Sang ro's Buddhist poetry. Discussions made in this study are summarized as follows. Kwon Sang ro's Buddhist poems show some difference in their contents and characteristics according to the time and literature of publication. Those written in the 1910s are, though varying in genre, urge the Buddhist circle's awakening through contrast between ‘sleep’ and ‘awakening.’ Those published in Buddhism during the 1920s are mostly songs on the theme of ‘Buddha’ or poems emphasizing ‘heart.’ The former contains relatively diverse subjects and expressions without admonitions or entreaties toward the audience. The latter emphasizes the importance of heart and awakening, but ‘heart’ and ‘awakening’ in these songs mean Buddha as the truth, namely, ‘Buddhisthood’ like ‘Buddha’ in Bulbo and in Buddhist Hymns of Eundyungyeong. After all, his poems related to Buddha and heart in Buddhism are all singing ‘Buddha.’ Poems on the theme of ritual manuals in the 1930s were sung at the three major rituals and Buddhist masses. They present facts and give meanings to the facts. Among the songs, Seongdoga and Hakdogwonmyeonga encourage the audience to attain ‘nirvana’ in imitation of Shakyamuni, moving further from the works in the 1920s that present Shakyamuni's virtues and Buddhisthood. Based on these discussions, we examined the characteristics and meanings of Kwon Sang ro's Buddhist poetry in connection to the historical situation of his days. In comparison with premodern Buddhist poetry and contemporary Buddhist hymns, Kwon Sang ro's poetry shows characteristics such as the development or expansion of Buddhist poetry as a genre, a medium for coping with problems in real life, and the configuration of Buddha as a model. That is, Kwon Sang ro's Buddhist poetry is meaningful in that it includes Buddhism sijos for the first time and that it is a literary response to the Buddhist circle’s concerns in those days. Moreover, his Buddhist hymns are significant not only in the history of Buddhist literature as they led the Buddhist hymn movement in the 1920s and 1930s but also in the history of Buddhist philosophy as they emphasized ‘nirvana,’ the fundamental goal of Mahayana Buddhism, through the configuration of Buddha as a model.