16-18세기 유학자의 지리산 유람과 승려 교류

Abstract

Confucian scholars from the late Joseon period went sightseeing throughout mountainous areas in Korea and there are numbers of records produced during the excursions. They objectively described Buddhist temples and monks they met on the trips in those travelogues, thus the records could be regarded as a significant historical source for Buddhist history studies. However, existing researches did not properly deal with the relevant materials and they focused too much on the evidences of an anti-Buddhist culture of the society depicted in the records. The ascetic lives of monks described by Confucian scholars beside those negative accounts could enable ones to deepen their understandings on Joseon Buddhism. Many renowned Buddhist priests taught their students in Mt. Jiri during the late Joseon period. Their names such as Buhyuseonsu (浮休善修), Soyotaeneung (逍遙太能), Cheongmaeino (靑梅印悟), and Byeokamgakseong (碧巖覺性) are seen on the travelogues. These monks were the top tier Zen masters who wielded strong influence over Buddhist society at the time. Confucian scholars wrote those masters had hundreds of disciples studying under their guidance. They also described of some monks who did not lay down for a long while to gain the Dharma in a small hermitage. Confucian scholars sometimes talked a night away with Buddhist monks they met during their trips. Some dialogues written one of those nights contain substances of the discussion on the nature of the mind (心性論). The 1790 travelogue of Lee Dong Hang (李東沆) reports the conversation he had with a monk named Dowon (道原) about Li (理), Qi (氣), and the nature of the mind (心性). This entry could suggest the possibility that the discussion on the nature of the mind conducted in Buddhist society at the time was derived from Confucian scholars’ association with Buddhist priests.