실상사 승탑 조영으로 본 실상산문과 정권

Abstract

Among the different Zen mountain sects that were active in the Late Silla Period, the sect that received official recognition from the royal court was the Silsang Zen School. This school was founded by Hongcheok upon his return to Silla in 826 AD after studying Namjongseon (Southern Zen Buddhism) in China. Besides Hongcheok, the Silsang Zen School also produced Sucheol and Gwanhue, Zen masters who maintained close relationships with the royal court of Silla. The swollen hourglass drum-shaped stone lantern has its roots in this school. The Silsang Zen School was the leading center of Zen Buddhism in the Silla Kingdom. But during the Late Three Kingdoms and Goryeo Periods, it declined to such an extent that it failed to produce high priests of any note. This paper studies the relationship between the Silsang Zen School and the royal governments during the Silla, Late Baekje, and Goryeo Periods by focusing on the monk stupas erected at Silsangsa Temple. The results of the study show that the Stupa of Priest Jeunggakdaesa was erected in 840 AD, right after the death of Hongcheok and during the reconstruction of Silsangsa Temple by Sucheol. It has also been confirmed that the Stupa of Priest Jeunggakdaesa was the archetype of the octagonal stupa, whereas previously the Stupa of Priest Yeomgeo had been considered the archetype. This study, however, based on an examination of the stupa’s proportions, the tradition of using a relief statue in combination, its representation of wooden architecture, the relationships that Doui and Yeomgeo (the so-called Seoraksan Mountain Sect) enjoyed with the Silla royal court, and the prayer for immortality inscribed on the stupa, suggests that the Stupa of Priest Yeomgeo was constructed in 855 AD. The creation of archetype of the octagonal stupa was only possible as the Silla royal court and Silsangsa Temple maintained a very close relationship. The Stupa of Priest Sucheol was created using the same methods that went into the creation of the Stupa of Priest Jeunggakdaesa, although there are some differences in the way small details are expressed, suggesting the beginnings of a change in the style of stupas after 900 AD. On the basis of its style and the inscriptions on its rear face, the Memorial Stupa for Priest Sucheol is considered to have been constructed in 905 AD, rather than in 893 AD, the year in which Sucheol passed away. This implies that a pro-Silla faction remained strong in the Silsang Zen School even after the founding of the Late Baekje Kingdom. The Stupa of Priest Pyeonun exhibits an aesthetic beauty quite unlike that of the two aforementioned stupas. It is inscribed with the word “Jeonggae” which is the yeonho (the appellation used when describing the year of a reign) for the Late Baekje Dynasty. It was believed until now that the Late Baekje Dynasty had something to do with the construction of the stupa. But the location of the stupa and the fact that metalworkers rather than stone masons participated in its construction indicate that the stupa was not constructed by the Late Baekje authorities. It seems more likely that pro-Baekje forces in Silsangsa Temple erected it voluntarily to curry favor with the Late Baekje regime so that they could reverse the declining fortunes of the temple. Even after the unification of the three kingdoms by Goryeo, Silsangsa Temple and the Silsang Zen School continued to decline. But in the Late Silla period, Prince Gyeongji, a son of King Huijong, came to reside at Jingusa Temple, which was affiliated with the Silsang Zen School. This provided the momentum for rebuilding and the temple and a wooden tower underwent reconstruction. During this process, a stupa was constructed as a successor to the Stupa of Priest Jeunggakdaesa and the Stupa of Priest Sucheol.