향운(香雲) 정태혁 박사의 학문과 실천 ＿배우며 생각하며 수행하며 전념한 후학 양성＿

Abstract

The characteristics of Dr. Jung Tae-Hyuk’s scholastic achievements for the future use can be divided into three categories. First, Dr. Jung (whose literary name is Hyangwoon) attempted to translate into Korean primary materials in Buddhist Studies such as Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, which he believed to be the right way to study Buddhism. He opened the door to the new way of Buddhist Studies by publishing the first Buddhist grammar books in Korea such as Standard Sanskrit and Basic Tibetan. His new way of study Buddhism as a momentum made lots of Korean scholars leave the conventional way of studying Buddhism that depended only on Chinese texts and begin to read texts in Sanskrit and Tibetan. It is the impact of Hyangwoon’s pioneering work that young scholars these days consider learning Sanskrit and Tibetan as a necessary and basic step of Buddhist Studies. Secondly, Hyangwoon pioneered the field of Indian philosophy in Korea, especially when he focused on comparative studies between Buddhism and Indian philosophy. Under his substantial leadership, Dongguk University formed the department of Indian Philosophy in order to promote Buddhist Studies with better understanding of Buddhism in relation to Indian Philosophy that provided cultural soil for Buddhism. Through his comparative studies Hyangwoon gave a lead in attaining the purpose of the department. Lastly, Hyangwoon opened up new horizons in studying Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana) with his full understanding of Indian cultures. Because Tantric Buddhism is integrated with the elements of Hindu culture, it is a prerequisite for Tantric studies to fully understand Hinduism. Due to their lack of sufficient understanding of Hinduism, few scholars in Korea had been exploring Tantric Buddhism until Hyangwoon discovered the core of Mahayana Buddhism in Tantric Buddhism and applied his energy to reveal the original significance of Tantric Buddhism in both theory and practice. Therefore, we can call him the founding father of Tantric studies in Korea. To sum up Hyangwoon’s life and work, it can be said that his scholastic projects started from studying the Mādhyamika and ranged over an extensive literature of Tantric Buddhism, so as to carry the principles of Buddhism into practice. In his lifetime, he endeavored to realize the ideal of Buddhism by following the Middle Way with his practice of Yoga and Tantric practices. The Middle Way that Hyangwoon incessantly drew attention to means the way of life to actually practice one’s recognition of the Śūnyatā(Emptiness) in order to achieve realization. He believed Yoga and Tantric practices to provide dynamics for one’s practice of the Middle Way. In Hyangwoon’s philosophy, therefore, Yoga and Tantric practices were the most affirmative methods for the path of the Middle Way.