봉암사 결사와 그 불교사적 의미

Abstract

The Bongamsa Association, led by Buddhist monks Sŏngch’ŏl and Chungdahm, was started in the fall of 1947 as a way to live under Buddhism law and teaching. However, Sŏngch’ŏl left Bongamsa in the fall of 1949 when North Korean partisans invaded. That is when even Bongamsa plunged into war. Furthermore, the association eventually remained unfinished because many Buddhist monks left Bongamsa in the spring of 1950. The spirit of the association has strongly influenced Buddhism. Of the Buddhist monks who participated in the Bongamsa association there were four principal leaders of the Jogye Order and seven executive chiefs. The background of the Bongamsa Association could be the restoration of performance customs in Korean Buddhism, rejection of Japanese Buddhism, thorough practice asceticism of Sŏngch’ŏl, social religious belief, etc. In terms of the restoration of performance customs, there is referenced the System of Angeo of the three Kingdom period, performance customs of the Goryo and Joseon dynasties and practice asceticism of Buddhists in the Joseon dynasty as the background. Moreover, there is a narrated rejection of Japanese Buddhism in terms of meeting the demands of the times. There is also written the sudden enlightenment and sudden cultivation as practice asceticism of Sŏngch’ŏl, and about sponsors of believers as the background of social religious belief. The historical meanings of the Bongamsa Association are written in six parts. There are three positive aspects as the former and three negative aspects as the latter. First, there is written recovery of the Buddhist priesthood precepts. Second, the focus is on restoration of performance custom in Korean Buddhism. Third is the establishment of Korean Buddhism identity focused on Ganhwaseon. Fourth, there is the written prelude of the Order schism (the Jogye Order and the Taego Order). Fifth is the tendency of education and scholarship contempt caused by excessive virtue. Sixth is the negligence of preservation of traditional culture in Korean Buddhism.