여말선초 성리학파의 불교인식 변화양상

Abstract

This paper aims to explore how Lee Saek, Jeong Mong-ju and Jeong Do-jun, who had embraced Neo-Confucian ideas from the end of Koryo dynasty to early Chosun dynasty, understood Buddhism and how their ideas of Buddhism differed. Lee Saek was a Neo-Confucian with firm grasp of Gyeongjun, the core text of Confucianism. And yet, his ideological scope went beyond that of Confucianism to understand and communicate with Buddhism. Lee thought that the idea of gyunsung (見性) in Buddhism was the same as the Confucian concept of yangsung (養性); his positive attitudes towards even the fundamental aspects marks him as a pro-Buddhist Confucian. Jeong Mong-ju had a great interest in Buddhism, reading Buddhist texts to understand Buddhist teachings; he also communicated with Buddhist monks. While his efforts to deepen understand Buddhism must not go unnoticed, however, at a more fundamental level, he remained a Confucian scholar critical of Buddhism. Jeong Do-jun was an anti-Buddhist Confucian scholar; while actively opposing Buddhism, he presented Confucianism as a path of ideological and cultural reformation to build a nation. He focused on a transformation of ideological paradigm from Buddhism to Confucianism.