고려시대 나한도의 조성과 신앙 의례

Abstract

Nahan, the Korean name for arhat (阿羅漢) in Sanskrit, refers to enlightened Buddhist ascetics who have renounced worldly desires and deserve to receive offerings from devotees. Paintings of the Sixteen Arhats depict sixteen disciples of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, while Paintings of the Five Hundred Arhats describe five hundred nahan who have attained the status of arhat among Shakyamuni’s disciples. This paper examines the production of nahan paintings and the rituals devoted to nahan, focusing on the eight Goryeo- period nahan paintings displayed in the special exhibition titled The New National Treasures 2014–2016 at the National Museum of Korea in May 2017. These eight paintings are almost identical in size with length and width 55–60 cm and 40 cm, respectively. Moreover, they are similar not only in terms of the postures and robes of nahan but also in the format and content of their inscriptions. Accordingly, these paintings are thought to have been produced as a set. In the past, paintings of individually depicted nahan were believed to belong to Paintings of the Five Hundred Arhats. However, the analysis of honorific names of nahan revealed that two paintings from this set belonged to a group of Paintings of the Sixteen Arhats, six to a group of Paintings of the Five Hundred Arhats. The fact that this set consists of two different groups of nahan paintings offers various interpretations. As large-scale national Buddhist rituals were considered one of the important topics in the study of Goryeo history, scholars paid attention to the faith in arhats and the records documenting the feast of arhats (羅漢齋, nahanjae) hosted by a king who visited a temple. The examination of official records, such as History of Goryeo (高麗史, Goryeosa) and Essential History of Goryeo (高麗史節要, Goryeosajeolyo), other documents, and extant nahan paintings demonstrates that rituals for nahan included a procedure from the rituals making offerings to all the Buddhist deities (勸供儀禮, gwongonguirye). Such similarities originated from A Record of the Perpetuity of the Dharma, Narrated by the Great Arhat Nandimitra (大阿羅漢難提蜜多羅所說法住記, Skt. Nandimitrāvadāna), a canonical basis of arhat worship, and The Method of Inviting Piṇḍola (請賓頭盧經, Ch. Qing Bintoulu fa), a canonical text explaining rites to venerate the first arhat Piṇḍola. A Record of the Perpetuity of the Dharma, Narrated by the Great Arhat Nandimitra and Chinese Buddhist compendium Fayuan zhulin (法苑珠林, Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Law) provided the grounds for transferring offerings made to nahan to actual monks. Nahan manifested themselves as ordinary monks, concealing their supernatural power. Thus, nahan in Paintings of the Sixteen Arhats of the Goryeo Dynasty are seated on a chair (倚坐像, uijwasang), as often shown in portraits (眞影, jinyeong) of high priests and patriarchs. Aforementioned Buddhist texts also mentioned that temples prepared facilities and tools required for rituals of arhat, which were regularly held. Although based on different Buddhist scriptures, Paintings of the Sixteen Arhats and those of the Five Hundred Arhats were used in combination during rituals. Nahan paintings of the Goryeo period portrayed each of the sixteen arhats or five hundred arhats in their own individual compositions; however, many of them were enshrined as a group in the hall of nahan (羅漢堂, Nahandang or 羅漢殿, Nahanjeon). Paintings of Shakyamuni Triad and Sixteen Arhats housed at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art and Nezu Museum (根津美術館), Japan respectively and Painting of Five Hundred Arhats additionally included the Shakyamuni triad and sixteen arhats at Chionin Temple (知恩院), Japan illustrate a scene of Shakyamuni Buddha preaching at Vulture Peak, validating the combined visualization of sixteen arhats and five hundred arhats. Text on Inviting Five Hundred Holy Ones (五百聖衆請文, Obaek seongjung cheongmun) written by the monk Seonggyu (聖奎, 1728–1812), whose pen name was Yeongpa (影波), served as a valuable material to identify the names of the five hundred arhats in previous studies and to reconstruct the arhat ritual during the Goryeo period. The arhat ritual recreated by Text on Inviting Five Hundred Holy Ones proceeds as follows: an opening eulogy explaining a reason for holding the ritual is recited; a ritual hall is sanctified and purified with scented water; and after an altar is built, all the Buddhist deities are called. The contents of the ritual protocols to call the deities consist of inviting and making offerings to the Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva on the left, and Dīpaṃkara Bodhisattva on the right as the main deities and to the sixteen and five hundred arhats. Although these protocols are important, their use in studying Goryeo Buddhist rituals is limited since the Text on Inviting Five Hundred Holy Ones including them was written in the nineteenth century. For this reason, this paper addresses Protocols of Buddhist Rituals (勸供諸般文, Gwongong jebanmun) compiling all the Buddhist ritual practices from the Goryeo period, which was published in 1574 at Seokwangsa Temple (釋王寺) in Anbyeon (安邊). In his Text on Inviting Five Hundred Holy Ones, Seonggyu wrote that he referred to ritual practices of the five hundred arhats that the Great Monk Muhak (無學大師) used at Seokwangsa Temple, which were incorporated in Protocols of Buddhist Rituals. Thus, Protocols of Buddhist Rituals is considered significant in that it explicates Buddhist masses performed in the Goryeo period and contains the structures and procedures of reverently inviting and making offerings to deities. Painting of Shakyamuni Triad and Sixteen Arhats and Painting of Shakyamuni Triad, Sixteen Arhats, and Five Hundred Arhats include images of the Messenger who Supervises the Dead (監齋使者, Gamjaesaja) and the Messenger who Delivers a Scroll to the King of the Underworld (直府使者, Jikbusaja). Previous studies interpreted the presence of these two messengers from the perspective of the faith in the underworld (冥府信仰, myeongbu sinang). However, the belief in the Lotus Sutra (法華經, Beophwagyeong) defines the rank and role of these messengers. They are known to have participated in the assembly of Shakyamuni Buddha’s preaching on the Vulture Peak, along with other Buddhist deities, including the sixteen arhats. Both Gamjaesaja and Jikbusaja are reverently invited at the stage of “inviting messengers” (使者請) during the nahan liturgies, such as Sipyuk nahan cheong (十六羅漢請, Invitation of Sixteen Arhats), Obeak seongjung cheongmun (五百聖衆請文, Invitation of Five Hundred Holy Ones), and Obaek nahan yecham (五百羅漢禮懺, Repentance before Five Hundred Arhats). The Records on the Foundation of Nahan Hall at Uiwangsa Temple (醫王寺始創阿羅漢殿記, Uiwangsa sichang arahanjeongi) written in 1195 also indicates that the Nahan hall has to enshrine Paintings of Messengers (使者圖). The Painting of Shakyamuni Buddha Preaching Assembly depicting the Shakyamuni triad, sixteen arhats, and five hundred arhats, which was enshrined at the Seongdeungam Hermitage built by the order of King Taejo of the Joseon Dynasty in 1398 on the Ogwansan Mountain, established that the iconography and ritual combining sixteen arhats and five hundred arhats had continued from the Goryeo period to the early Joseon period. The worship of sixteen arhats and five hundred arhats as members of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s preaching assembly was manifested in the architectural components of the Halls of Arhats called Nahanjeon or Eungjinjeon during the Joseon Dynasty. Furthermore, the currently used verses venerating arhats can be traced back to the verses used in the Goryeo-period rituals dedicated to nahan with nahan paintings.