조선 왕실 불교 의례에 나타나는 ‘수월도량공화불사水月道場空花佛事’

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between the ritual of “Suwol Doryang Gonghwa Bulsa”—a royal family Buddhist ritual performed at royal temples in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do in the late Joseon Dynasty—and Manilhoe, a Buddhist practice community that was popular in the 19th century. The name “Suwol Doryang Gonghwa Bulsa” (hereafter SDGB) originated from a book on Buddhist protocol written by Heoeung Bou in the 16th century, titled Suwoldoryang gonghwabulsa yeohwanbinju mongjungmundap (水月道場空花佛事如幻賓主夢中問答). This name appears again in inscriptions on Buddhist artworks that were crafted as royal family Buddhist projects in the late Joseon era. I assume that the origin of this ritual was Manilhoe, a Buddhist practice community centered on the practice of yeombul (recitation of buddhas’ names) that was very popular in Korean Buddhism in the late 18th and 19th centuries during the Joseon Dynasty. At the same time, royal Buddhist projects were also frequently carried out at royal temples in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do during this period. It is thought that during the Manilhoe ceremony—held at royal temples and lasting 10,000 days—a certain date was selected to hold the SDGB ceremony, a ceremony to guide the spirits of deceased royal family members. For this ceremony, royal family members and court ladies gave donations to commission Buddhist paintings and statues to adorn the site where the ceremony would be held. In the process, they left inscriptions and statements of vows that recorded the name of this ceremony. Ultimately, we see that the name “SDGB”—which Heoeung Bou came up with in the 16th century—reappeared under the pretext of being a ceremony to guide the spirits of deceased royal family members. The Manilhoe ceremony is an expanded form of “yeombul practice association (yeombulgye),” named after a Buddhist practice that was prevalent in Korean Buddhism in the 19th century. In addition, it is thought that the reason that not only the royal family members but also court ladies and their families participated was because more members were required to provide the financial resources for SDGB.