구례 화엄사 의승병의 구국 활동과 사찰 재건

Abstract

Hwaeomsa Temple in Gurye was founded in the Silla dynasty and has maintained its reputation as a representative temple of the Namak faction of Hwaeom Order, but was classified as a temple of the Zen sect of Buddhism in the early Joseon dynasty. Stone lanterns and stone pagodas made during the Silla period still exist, but only fragments of Stone Avatamsaka Sutra, which constituted the wall of Jangyukjeon Hall, destroyed during the Japanese Invasion of Korea, remain. When Japan invaded Joseon Korea in 1592, the monks of Hwaeomsa Temple actively participated in the righteous monk army and joined in the war. During the second invasion of Japan in 1597, 153 monks of Hwaeomsa Temple took part in the righteous army unit of Wang Uiseong with grain and were completely destroyed at the Battle of Seokjugwan. The Japanese army burned Hwaeomsa Temple in revenge for the participation of the monks in the war, and in the process, the Jangyukjeon Hall collapsed and the Stone Avatamsaka Sutra, was shattered. After that, Byeokam Gakseong and about 100 of his disciples reconstructed Hwaeomsa Temple with the help of the royal family from 1632 to 1636, and in December 1636, the Manchu army invaded Joseon Korea. Upon hearing that King Injo fled to Namhansanseong Fortress, Gakseong recruited 3,000 monks from the three southern provinces and led the righteous monk army to the fortress. But his army returned after hearing that King Injo surrendered to the Manchu invaders. Since then, the memories of Gurye righteous army and the monk troops from Hwaeomsa Temple during the Japanese and Manchu invasions gradually faded and only passed down as oral tradition. However, in 1798, while repairing a Buddhist hall of Hwaeomsa Temple, a written statement sent by Wang Uiseong, the chief of the righteous army, to the monk of Hwaeomsa Temple was found on the main beam, and then the Records of the Second Invasion of Japan in 1597 was found at the temple, as well. As a result, the Confucian scholars of Gurye region appealed to the government for the grant of an honorary gate and posthumous posts to commemorate the loyalty of the righteous army fought during the Japanese invasion. However, the dedication and sacrifice of the monks of Hwaeomsa Temple to save their county were not properly recognized.