송광사 산내 암자의 창건과 변천

Abstract

Since the achievement of the greatest monk Jinul, Songgwang Temple has produced a number of excellent monks in succession, gaining the fame of the temple of virtuous monks. With major hermitages containing the lives of high priests, the temple enables us to appreciate the true values of Buddhist culture in the Korean history. As a residence for the later lives of the virtuous priests including the 16 king’s monks whom the temple cultivated, most of the hermitages functioned as protective monasteries, with their pagodas located nearby after the monks passed away. The hermitages occasionally face with the crisis of abolition due to a series of accidents or the decline with the passage of time, but they have been built repeatedly with due time. This is the reflection and evidence not only of incessant donation of the supporters but also of the great influence of the virtuous monks. A glimpse of the records of the hermitages allows us to see that the reestablishment of the temples were concentrated in the era of Joseon Dynasty, which might be the result of the rare record of its previous kingdom Goryeo. Yet it is also a vivid evidence that the religious activities were very positive and widely encouraged in the hermitages in the Gonggwang Temple, despite the nationwide tendency in which Buddhism was suppressed for Confucianism at that time.