현행 한국수륙재에 대한 검토

Abstract

Suryukjae(水陸齋, the offering ritual for land and water) is a comprehensive Buddhist ceremony in which four saints and all beings in six worlds are invited for a feast and inferior sentient beings are given Dharma talk leading to nirvana. But Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) being practiced in Korea nowadays is quite different from that in China where it is originated and the ritual oration used prior to Korean Buddhism and the understanding of it. Jae(齋, the offering ritual) of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) was to practice meditation fasting but was changed into offering food to meditators. Again, it is regarded as the meaning indicating all commemorative rites for Chucheon(追薦, praying for the repose of one's soul). In this essay, the original meaning of Jae(齋, the offering ritual) and the transit of the perception and understanding of it is considered and the formation and establishment of the offering ritual oration for land and water is examined, and then it is argued that Gyeolsumun (結手文, making mudrās) or Chwalyo(撮要, the selection of the gist) is the orthodox oration of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water). Also, the structure of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) and the difference of the order of it and so on are investigated, the meaning of Daeryeong(對靈, the rite of calling in the soul) and Siryeon(侍輦, the rite of serving a sedan chair) is renewed, the daily rate of it is identified, and the cause for putting Daeryeong(the rite of calling in the soul) first is explained. In addition, the original meaning of Siryeon(the rite of serving a sedan chair) was to receive lay people who would offer food to the meditators, which is different from that of the present. Besides, the difference of the even and Byeongong(變供, differential offering food) to the three platforms is illuminated. The scale of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) is arranged depending on the conditions of lay people who offer food and a grand or simple ceremony of it is performed in accordance with the circumstance of the ritual arrangement, which has undergone a great transformation over its history. As the result, it might come to contain a new meaning or misunderstanding up to the present. Meanwhile, the understanding of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) has not been studied deep into, and so the most reliable authority might be that of the professional performers of the rite. Therefore, for the correct understanding and arrangement of Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water), the transformation process over its history should be researched and examined closely on the basis of the canonical understanding for the origination and structure of the ritual for land and water. And then it should be reflected to arrange Suryukjae(the offering ritual for land and water) by adapting it in the way of Mahayana.