간화선에서 ‘알 수 없음’과 ‘알고자 함’에 대한 고찰

Abstract

In this paper, I aim to understand the structure of Doubt by means of the ‘Unknown’ and ‘To know’ of Ganhwaseon, focusing on various research achievements and core contents related to Doubt. The Buddha abandons the question of the performer by pointing out the limitations and the uselessness of the metaphysical question itself through the Middle-Way. However, the ‘question’ of Ganhwaseon takes effect while the question is serving as a Doubt. In addition, the topic of Ganhwaseon serves as a mechanism to defeat the questioner’s drama theory through the relationship with the question. The questions used in Ganhwaseon have metaphysical characteristics, but the answer of the Zen master drives the questioner into a concrete and existential situation. Ganhwaseon has transformed the metaphysical question into a way of defeating the drama theory. The ‘Unknown’ in the topic cannot be isolated. ‘Unknown’ is formed relationally in the subjective awareness that we want to know. Unknown is like ∞ of mathematics. Therefore, no matter how much of newness we desire to know, only the unknown remains. And the tension created by the ‘Unknown’ and the ‘want to know’ creates a form of psychological dissonance. The knowledge of the Ganhwaseon has the character of Sampajãna, which is related to the development of wisdom. But this awareness is different from the function of Anupassanā, because the topic itself can not be observed. ‘To know’ brings about space and demolition in the process of substantive thinking through relation with the ‘unknown’. In other words, the Ganhwaseon is not an observation of the object but has the characteristic of extinguishing the dualistic and subjective relationship through the consciousness which is generated through ‘knowing’ the ‘unknown’.