정토신앙의 중생구제와 高麗時代의 淨土思想

Abstract

The transition from Koryo to Chosun was not only the change of regime but involved the change of the whole society. Most of all, the Buddhism-centered society turned into Confucianism-centered one based on Neo-Confucianism of Chu Hsi and the change had significant influences on politics, society and culture. Nevertheless, previous researches tend to understand the transition simply as a switch from Buddhism to Confucianism caused by the fall of Buddhism due to its corruption and depravity and reform-oriented officials. Reaching the late Koryo Dynasty Zen Buddhism was unified exclusively into Koan Zen, and Zen Buddhism came to dominate the world of Buddhism both in name and reality. This resulted in the tendency of making Zen Buddhism absolute by maintaining its religious tradition succeeding Linzai Zen and the theory of Yusimjeongto(唯心淨土) and emphasizing the superiority of Zen Buddhism over other Buddhist sects. Zen Buddhism promoted such a tendency with the object of maintaining its superiority and justness as Zen, which had co-existed with various other sects, came to take initiative in the world of Buddhism in name and reality in the late Koryo Dynasty. the trend made it impossible for various Buddhist thoughts to co-exist and blocked the way for Buddhism to evolve into a new stage. Because of such an ideological limitation, Buddhism could not cope with Neo-Confucianism of Chu Hsi effectively and at last lost its ideological initiative to the new thought.