「郁面婢念佛西昇」의 불교문화적 담론 연구

Abstract

The Samguk Yusa includes Buddhist folk tales that were delivered by word of mouth in the Silla era. These folk tales are important data for analyzing how Buddhism’s popularization and cultural imagination were related to the Silla people’s expectations for the future. The current study focuses on Wukmyenbiyembwulsesung(one of the folk tales in Samguk Yusa), which was created on ground of Buddhism's Mita faith. The protagonist is a female servant named Wukmyen. In her past life, she was a cow in Buseoksa which carried Buddhist texts. Thanks to carrying Buddhist texts, she was reborn as a servant In the human world. By enduring her master's contempt and practicing Buddha-chanting, Wukmyen was able to reach the Buddha Land. From a Buddhist perspective, this study analyzed meanings of cultural discourses of Wukmyenbiyembwulsesung, focusing on the process of reincarnation (birth, death and rebirth) and the Silla people’s aspiration to go to the Buddha Land. Wukmyen’s story is a hypothetical one that was mainly used to enlighten the people about reincarnation and the Buddha Land. It also reflects the Buddhist doctrine that true freedom and eternal happiness can be achieved by realizing the purity of one’s self, enduring contempt, and practicing selflessness. The real world consists of conflict between the other and the self across time and space. To have freedom and happiness in the world, one should endure contempt and practice selflessness. Thus, the meanings of cultural discourses of Wukmyenbiyembwulsesung have important implications to the contemporary world.