Sungkyunkwan University Outstanding Research Volume 2 Series Editor S. Lee, Korea For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/11431
Lee Seung-yeon On the Formation of the Upper Monastic Area of Seon Buddhist Temples from Korea s Late Silla to the Goryeo Era ABC
Lee Seung-yeon Gyeonggi Institute of Cultural Properties Sungkyunkwan University Gyeonggi-do South Korea ISSN 2195-3546 ISSN 2195-3554 (electronic) ISBN 978-3-319-00052-7 ISBN 978-3-319-00053-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-00053-4 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013933457 c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface Buddhism was the mainstay of Korean society for more than a thousand years, from its first introduction during the Goguryeo Dynasty to the zenith of its power in the Goryeo Dynasty. Even now Korean culture is much influenced by Buddhism. Seon (Chan, Zen) Buddhism was first introduced to Korea around the late Silla and early Goryeo eras. This time marked the transition from the Silla to the Goryeo Dynasty when Korean society was in great turmoil, both politically and economically. In such an adverse environment, Seon monks had to establish Seon temples using whatever resources were available, and this led to the creation of a unique area within temple compounds called the upper monastic area, which I claim is a distinctive feature of Korean Seon Buddhism. I researched this pivotal area of Korean Seon Buddhist temples, and in 2011, submitted my doctoral thesis titled On the Formation of the Upper Monastic Area of Seon Buddhist Temples from Korea s Late Silla to the Early Goryeo Era - Focusing on the Appearance and Development of the Beopdang Hall. I then had the honor of having my thesis chosen as one of two excellent doctoral theses of 2011 by the Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School, after which it was arranged for my thesis to be translated into English and published for the international audience. During the process of preparing my thesis for publication, major parts of it were reorganized, and other parts were simplified or condensed. For those who want to read the full content of my thesis, please feel free to consult the original Korean version. I tried to show how Korea received a newly-introduced foreign culture and assimilated it as its own. I also hope this book will help introduce Korea s Buddhist temples to a global readership and heighten their understanding of and interest in Korean culture. Due to the recent surge of interest in Seon temples, comparative research between Chinese and Korean Seon temples have begun to appear focusing on the exchange of Seon monks between the two countries and the introduction of the temple system from China to Korea. As each country is different in the timing of Buddhism s introduction and in the background of temple construction, they also display differences in the style of temple buildings and architectural layout. Up till now information on Korean Buddhist architecture has been rarely available overseas, and even in Korea, publications on Buddhist temples are only based on the extant data or materials backed by historical documents. This book is a small endeavor to reinterpret the volumes of data gathered from field research from a different perspective than before based on excavated temple ruins and existing historical documents and, in the process, introduce Korean Seon temples to a global audience.
VI Preface This book explores the characteristics of Seon temple architecture from Korea s late Silla to the early Goryeo eras through the evolution of the upper monastic area ( 上院領域 ) which had the beopdang ( 法堂 ) as its center. The Seon School ( 禪宗 ) that originated and flourished in China, was introduced to Korea around the late Silla and early Goryeo Dynasties. The term Seon School (Kor. Seonjong) is widely used in Korea today, as opposed to its counterpart, the Doctrinal School ( 敎宗 ; Kor. Gyojong), and is at present commonly used to mean the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. As a place for abbots to give teachings or to enter nirvana (pass away), the beopdang originated in Chinese Seon temples, while in Korea, the term bangjang ( 方丈 ) refers to the abbot himself, as well as to the abbot s quarters wherein the abbot resides and enters nirvana. The ancestral hall ( 影堂 ) is the shrine room wherein portraits of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, the founding monk of the temple and eminent deceased monks are enshrined. The original temple layout that placed the beopdang in the center and the abbot s quarters and ancestral hall to its left and right, originated in the 10 th and 11 th centuries, and this area is collectively called the upper monastic area. The establishment of the upper monastic area is the defining characteristic of Korea s Seon temple layout. In other words, the structure of the upper monastic area, placing the beopdang, abbot s quarters and ancestral hall in the same area, symbolically embodies the fundamental spirit of the Seon School which can be summed up as:"the abbot teaches on behalf of the Buddha and maintains strict adherence to Dharma transmission from teacher to disciple." Korea s upper monastic area also reveals its own evolutionary process wherein the pivotal building representing Seon Buddhism, the beopdang, was merged into the existing temple structure of the past. This distinguishes Korean Seon temple architecture from that of China and Japan. In other words, Korean Seon temples: had a temple layout that retained some structural elements of the previous order during the 9 th and 10 th centuries when the Seon School was introduced to Korea; established the upper monastic area consisting of the beopdang, the abbot s quarters and the ancestral hall during the 10 th and 11 th centuries when the Seon School flourished; and became somewhat diversified after the dissolution of the upper monastic area from the 12 th to the 14 th centuries. The significance of this book can be found in its fresh perspective which not only helps reinterpret Korea s early Seon temple layout based on the appearance and development of the beopdang, but also helps us grasp the connection between ancient and medieval Buddhist temples through the evolution of the beopdang, whose function merged with that of the ancient lecture hall. Further significance can be found in the fact that this book explains how early Seon temples evolved into temples with multiple functional areas in the late Goryeo era based on the formation and dissolution of the upper monastic area. I would like to offer my deepest gratitude to the Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School which supported me in publishing this work in English and to Professor Lee Sang-hae who kindly guided me from the inception of this research to its completion. I am also grateful to the translator, Jhin Wookee, for carefully translating my thesis and reading between the lines until it metamorphosed into a book. Lee Seung-yeon
Contents Preface... V Introduction... 1 The Reason the Beopdang within a Korean Seon Temple's Upper Monastic Area is Regarded as Important.1 Precedent Studies... 3 1 Background of Seon Temple Establishment in Korea s Early Seon Buddhism.....7 1.1 Introduction of Seon Buddhism and the Establishment of the Seon School... 7 1.2 Background of the Establishment of Seon Temples from the Late Silla to the Early Goryeo Era... 9 2 Ancient Lecture Hall and the Spatial Organization of the Buildings on Its Left and Right 21 2.1 The Origin of the Lecture Hall in Ancient Buddhist Temples and Its Spatial Organization... 21 2.2 Rectangular Lecture Hall in "Two Rooms in One Building" Style... 25 2.3 The Buildings on the Left and Right Sides of the Lecture Hall Which Either Face the Lecture Hall or Face toward the Front... 36 3 Establishment of the Upper Monastic Area with the Beopdang as Its Center in Korean Seon Temples..43 3.1 Seon Temples Beopdang Overlapped with the Ancient Lecture Hall... 43 3.2 Abbot s Quarters and the Ancestral Hall Merge Functions with the Buildings on the Left and Right of the Ancient Lecture Hall... 50 3.3 Establishment of the Upper Monastic Area with the Beopdang as Its Center... 53 4 Formation of Multiple Areas within Seon Temples in the Aftermath of the Dissolution of the Upper Monastic Area 57 4.1 Seon Temples Where the Existing Order of the 9 th and 10 th Centuries Were Maintained... 57
VIII Contents 4.2 10 th and 11 th Century Reorganization of Seon Temples Following Their Expansion and Relocation... 64 4.3 10 th and 11 th Century Formation of the Upper Monastic Area... 68 4.4 Formation of Mutiple Functional Areas Following the 12 th 14 th Century Dissolution of the Upper Monastic Area... 80 Conclusion.....97 References...101 Glossary...107 Index.... 113
Translator s Notes 1. Seon is the Korean transliteration of 禪. It is called Chan in China and Zen in Japan. In this book, the term Seon is used throughout. 2. In Korean, the suffix -sa (- 寺 ) refers to a temple or monastery and -am (- 庵 ) to a hermitage. Other than representing the name of places as -sa or - am, the additional terms temple," "monastery" and "hermitage were not added. 3. These days the term beopdang ( 法堂 ) usually means Buddha hall ( 佛殿 ) but in this book beopdang refers to a place wherein Seon masters taught Dharma on behalf of the Buddha during the Korea s Goryeo Dynasty. 4. The Romanization of Korean words follows the The Romanization of Korean (Ministry of Culture and Tourism proclamation No. 2000-8) and The Romanization of Korean declared by the Hangeul Society.