實相寺 鐵佛 硏究

Abstract

It is presumed that Hongcheok, the founder of Silsangsanmun, constructed the Silsangsa in 828 under the patronage of King Heungdeok. This was related to the King Heungdeok's policy. In order to prevent the regional rebellion and to console the regional population, King Heungdeok treated Zen Priests preferentially. It appears that King Heungdeok appointed Hongcheok as the national priest and sponsored the construction of Silsangsa to settle the public sentiment. As Hongcheok established the Silsangsa, his disciple Soocheol expanded the fortune of the Silsangsa to its fullest. According to Simwonsa Soocheol Pagoda Monument, Soocheol returned to Mt. Jiri in 836 to expand the Silsangsa. Soocheol was sponsored by King Munseong to enlarge the temple, and the iron Buddha was probably constructed at this time as well. The expression of the outer garment of the iron Buddha was similar to the outer garment of Baengnyulsa Buddha made in late 8th century and the expression shown in Changnyeong Inyangsa stele. Therefore, Silsangsa iron Buddha was probably made earlier than Borimsa iron Buddha, which was made in 858. If so, why did King Munseong support Soocheol? This issue was deeply related to the background of the iron Buddha. After King Heungdeok passed away and King Munseong was on the throne, there were three attempts to usurp the throne. During the process, the throne was turned over from Ingyeongye to Yeyounggye. Successfully gaining power, King Munseong aggressively supported Zen priests similar to King Heungdeok to control the regional rebellious forces. Furthermore, Namwon was a key military site to control the anti-royal forces in the southwestern coastal area. King Munseong chose Soocheol to accomplish his political goal instead of Hongcheok, who supported King Minae. As in the case of building the Bongamsa iron Buddha, Soocheol probably was motivated to build the iron Buddha to protect the temple from the frequent wars and to console those who were sacrificed in these wars. The reason why the statue was made in iron and not in gold was due to the collapse of the Jang Bogo fleet. The Jang Bogo fleet secured a massive amounts of coins from China and supplied them to temples in Silla and Japan. After the death of Jang Bogo in 841 and the persecution of Buddhism of Tang Dynasty in 844, supplies of copper through the Jang Bogo Fleet did not flow as freely as before. The making of large-size Buddha statue in Silsang temple is also related with vast metallurgical industry near Namwon. According to ground surface investigation, Unbong plateau produces largest amount of iron. On this account, the Silsangsa iron Buddha was made of iron instead of copper in between 840 to 856. Until this time, there are two theories for the name of Silsangsa iron Buddha. Considering the iron Buddha as a Bhaishajyaguru Buddha was problematic because the source of the record was uncertain. In addition, the Healing Buddha Hall appeared to be a later addition in Joseon Dynasty according to Cheonggyjip. In other words, the iron Buddha was recognized as a Bhaishajyaguru Buddha due to a general customs of the public at the time. Considering the iron Buddha as an Amitabha Buddha requires further examination since there had been no basic studies on the iron hand, which was found inside the iron Buddha. Also, there is a possibility that the iron hand was inserted inside the iron Buddha while the iron Buddha was being repaired. In order to figure out the name of Silsangsa iron Buddha, we may need to refer to Historic record of Silsangsa. According to the historic record, the name of Silsangsa iron Buddha was Locana Buddha. Interestingly, Borimsa had built a large Locana Buddha which was over 2m in height. Moreover, Samhwasa also had built Locana Buddha. Both iron Buddhas in Silsangsa and Samhwasa had significant similarities. According to the location of the remaining arms, Silsangsa iron Buddha might have abhaya and varada-mudra similar to the restored Samhwasa iron Buddha. Interestingly, HaengJeok received the Gujokgye at the Dongwongyeong Bokcheonsa with Soocheol. The record showed that the Silsangsa iron Buddha served as an example for the Samhwasa iron Buddha. Therefore, the Zen temples built Locana Buddha because the Zen priests in the late Silla received the Gujokgye from the Huayan temple, and they concurrently learned Huayan teaching and took it as their own theoretical foundation. The Silsangsa iron Buddha was clearly transferred from the original enshrining space to the current Healing Buddha Hall. The Healing Buddha Hall was built later in Joseon, and the Goryeo building site was discovered under the Healing Buddha Hall from the investigation. In addition, the stone pedestal discovered during the repairing construction of the Healing Buddha Hall was to support the iron Buddha. In order to estimate the original enshrining space of the Silsangsa iron Buddha, the sizes of the Buddha of the Zen temple and the Golden Hall were compared and examined. The Silsangsa iron Buddha was likely to be enshrined as the main Buddha in the building under the present Bogwangjeon.