Korean Buddhism in East Asian perspectives

책 소개

Preface Korean Buddhism is considered an important part of Chinese Buddhism which follows the philosophy of the "Tripitaka”, written in Chinese characters, and has also been shaped and maintains some common elements found in the Buddhism developed in the East Asia region, which includes China, Korea and Japan. These influences have not left it without its own characteristics, however. In fact, it possesses in its tenets and practices some unique elements found in Korean society itself, and these are what distinguish it from the Buddhism practiced by its neighbors. And so, given its place in the canon of East Asia Buddhism, and the fact that it is, at the same time, a reflection of the uniqueness of Korea itself, when seeking a comprehensive understanding of Korean Buddhism, one must place equal weight on discovering both what separates it, and joins it, to the Buddhism of East Asia as a whole. Despite a few studies on particular sects or priests in Chinese or Japanese Buddhism and their direct relation to Korean Buddhism, most researches conducted by Korean scholars on Korean Buddhism focus on its independent development, rather than on its relation to the larger body of East Asian Buddhism. In contrast, overseas researchers tend to look at Korean Buddhism only in the larger context of East Asian Buddhism, neglecting its unique native characteristics. In particular, they have shown a lack of understanding on the independent progress achieved in Korean Buddhism and/or the characteristic philosophical elements developed through it, have failed to fully grasp the features that distinguish some Korean Buddhist sects from the corresponding sects of neighboring countries, and have been unable to develop in depth discussions on the possible direction Korean Buddhism will take in terms of future development. Obviously, Korean Buddhism differs from its neighbors, hence its designation as "Korean Buddhism." But while Korean scholars believe that its differentiating factors were established early, their overseas colleagues argue that those elements were, in fact, not unique to Korean Buddhism at all, but part of the universal features of the type of Buddhism that spread across East Asia. These researchers go on to claim that it was in fact in the modern period that Korean Buddhism began to show elements that would distinguish it from the Buddhism of Japan and China. In asserting these arguments, I believe that both parties have neglected the multifacetedness that has been maintained in Korean Buddhism in its relationship with East Asian Buddhism. In order to obtain a thorough understanding of Korean Buddhism, then, it is necessary for researchers on both sides to expand their viewpoints and open themselves up to a more comprehensive, and accurate, view of Korean Buddhism. The publication of this book was pursued with that critical goal in mind, and the discussions contained herein are largely based on research papers presented at an international conference on Korean Buddhism held in October 2004 in Korea under the sponsorship of the Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies. The conference was born out of the need for answering the question of what distinguishes Korean Buddhism from its counterparts, and approaches the topic through scholarly analyses of the relationship between Korean Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. The conference was held for two days, with participants presenting a number of research papers on both the "universality" and "indi-viduality" of Korean Buddhism in the history of Buddhism itself. Participants also addressed the history of philosophy developed in East Asia, as well as the individual ideas developed in Korean society in the process of the development of Buddhism in East Asia. Not surprisingly, heated debates followed many of the presentations. Although most agreed that there is a need to discuss Korean Buddhism in relation to general East Asian perspectives on Buddhism, it was generally thought that discuss…

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