고려말 간화선 전통의 확립과정에 대한 검토

Abstract

Most of the studies on Ganhwa Seon tradition during the Goryeo dynasty have been focused on the process of the development of the Ganhwa tradition itself, without paying specific attention to the political or sociological background of such a development. In order to understand more objectively the establishment of the Ganhwa tradition as the dominant mainstream in the late Goryeo dynasty Buddhism, however, not only the process of its own development but also the political and sociological background of its ascension to the mainstream must be investigated concretely. This article purports to investigate concretely the process of the establishment of the Ganhwa tradition in the late 14th century and its relation with the contemporary political movement in order to examine the process of the development of the Ganhwa tradition in the late Goryeo dynasty not only from within the Goryeo Buddhism but also from its relation with the contemporary society in general. Hwaeom monk Seolsan Cheonhee(雪山千熙, 1307-1382)'s entry into Yuan for the cultivation and reception of the Ganhwa tradition, the symbolic example of the establishment of the Ganhwa tradition as the mainstream of Goryeo Buddhism was closely related with the political intention of contemporary rulers. The time of his entry to Yuan coincides with the rise of Shin Don(辛旽, ?-1371) as his main supporter with the favor of the king in the political arena. After his return, his official commendation by the Royal House and his appointment as the National Master were also processed as rapidly as had been planned earlier. In the appointment of Seolsan Cheonhee as the National Master, the necessity of the preparatory entry to Yuan and obtaining sanction from a Ganhwa master shows that the contemporary Goryeo Buddhism required such measures for the recognition of a monk as an eminent monk. During the reign of King Gongmin, there appears a new rise to the most high posts and dominance, in the Goryeo Buddhism, of the monks who have studied at Yuan and obtained sanction from the Ganhwa Masters there. King Gongmin, unprecedentedly, attempted to lead the Buddhist circle by promoting not the proper successors of the established main traditions or of distinguished familial backgrounds but new and fresh figures without such backgrounds. In such a period, there grew special attention to the Ganhwa masters who returned from studying at Yuan, including Taego Bowoo, Na'ong Hyegeun and Baeg'un Gyeonghan. In the background of the support by the King Gongmin, Ganhwa tradition came to establish itself as the peerless and proper tradition of Goryeo Buddhism. The Ganhwa masters, who had been free from the existing tradition of Goryeo Buddhism, were active in promoting the Ganhwa tradition while aloof from the existing methods of cultivation. In this atmosphere the investigation of (the Hwadu word of) Mu[無, nothingness] (and the investigation of Hwadu by chanting the name of Amita Buddha) which had been enhanced especially by Taego Bowoo and Na'ong Hyegeun came to be established as the basic cultivation methods of Goryeo Buddhism. And this kind of Ganhwa tradition came to be confirmed more concretely by the activities of Hwan'am Honsu(幻庵混修, 1320-1392), the colleague and disciple Na'ong Hyegeun, and Mog'am Chan'yeong(木庵粲英, 1328-1390), the faithful successor of Taego Bowoo. Taego Bowoo and Na'ong Hyegeun came to be recognized widely as the most eminent monks of the late Goryeo Buddhism, which made numerous monks claim as the successors of their teachings. During the forty-odd years of reign by King Gongmin and his son King Wu, the Ganhwa tradition came to establish itself firmly as the proper and authoritative mainstream of Goryeo Buddhism.