19세기 초의 의순의 사상과 호남의 불교학 전통

Abstract

Examined in this article is the life and philosophy of Cho’eui/草衣 Eui’sun/意恂(1786～1866), who proudly represented the Buddhist society of the Honam region in the 19th century. Also examined here is the status he occupied in the Honam Buddhist tradition. Cho’eui served as a Buddhist priest at the Haenam area’s Dae’dun-sa/大芚寺 temple, which was one of the most important Buddhist centers in the latter half period of the Joseon dynasty. He was also the disciple of Yeon’dam/蓮潭 Yu’il/有一, who was the master of Hwa’eom(華嚴) Buddhism. Cho’eui is well known for his Zen Buddhist thinking, or for his life which pursued both studies and protocols(courtesy), and also for his famous relationships with renowned Confucian scholars. He enjoyed extensive discussions and debates with Baek’pa/白坡 Geung’seon/亘璇, who renewed and promoted the Zen Buddhist trends of the time, over the issue of classification of Zen and also the status of Zen and theoretical Buddhism. He also befriended top class literary thinkers such as Dasan/茶山 Jeong Yak-yong/丁若鏞 and Chusa/秋史 Kim Jeong-hi/金正喜, and displayed an exceptional talent in analytical Buddhist historical writing, literature and painting, and tea-drinking etiquette(茶道). With his life and his philosophy, and with his relationships and activities, Cho’eui greatly contributed to the establishment of the Joseon Buddhist trend of the time, which was the coexistence of Zen and theoretical Buddhism, and also the coexistence between Buddhism and Confucianism. His inheritance of the Buddhist tradition of Yeondam, and his status in the legitimately-considered philosophical line of succession, eventually elevated him to a very esteemed status in the Honam region’s Buddhist traditions. His Zen debate with Baekpa even triggered the formation of the 19th century Buddhist school. The very identity of Joseon Buddhism which blossomed in the dynasty’s latter half period, which was the connection between Hwa’eom Buddhism and Zen-“Josa’seon/祖師禪” Buddhism(which pursued Zen and Non-Zen Buddhism alike), and the combination of Imje traditions(臨濟法統) and the non-Zen traditions, was more than vividly reflected in Cho’eui’s thinking, and the traditions of Honam Buddhism.