New Perspectives In Modern Korean Buddhism

New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism moves beyond nationalistic, modernist, and ethnocentric historiographies of modern Korean Buddhism by carefully examining individuals' lived experiences, the institutional dimensions of Korean Buddhism, and its place in transnational conversations. Drawing upon rich archives as well as historical, anthropological, and literary approaches, the book examines four themes that have gained attention in recent years: perennial existential concerns and the persistent relevance of religious practice; the role of female Buddhists; clerical marriage and scandals; and engagement with secular society. The book reveals the limits of metanarratives, such as those of colonialism, nationalism, and modernity, in understanding the complex and contested identities of both monastics and laity, thus demanding that we diversify the methods by which we articulate the history of modern Korean Buddhism.

Offers alternative approaches to the study of colonial and postcolonial Korean Buddhism, suggesting new directions for scholarship.

Uncovering hidden histories, this book focuses on Korean Buddhist nuns and laywomen from the fourth century to the present. Today, South Korea's Buddhist nuns have a thriving monastic community under their own control, and they are well known as meditation teachers and social service providers. However, little is known of the women who preceded them. Using primary sources to reveal that which has been lost, forgotten, or willfully ignored, this work reveals various figures, milieux, and activities of female adherents, clerical and lay. Contributors consider examples from the early days of Buddhism in Korea during the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla periods (first millennium CE); the Koryŏ period (982–1392), when Buddhism flourished as the state religion; the Chosŏn period (1392–1910), when Buddhism was actively suppressed by the Neo-Confucian Court; and the contemporary resurgence of female monasticism that began in the latter part of the twentieth century.

A Collection of Modern Korean Buddhist Discourses consists of twelve articles which were carefully selected from Buddhist journals of the modern period. These articles critically discuss the past and the present of Korean Buddhism and offer the prospect for the future by dealing with various topics in different fields, such as history, religion, literature, politics, society, and culture. The authors include not only renowned scholars of Buddhist studies, such as Gim Beomnin 金法麟 (1899–1964), Kim Yeongsu 金映遂 (1884–1967), Gim Taeheup 金泰洽 (1899–1989), and Baek Seonguk 白性郁(1897–1981), as well as prominent figures in Korean studies and Korean literature, such as Choe Namseon 崔南善 (1890–1957) and Yi Gwangsu 李光洙 (1892–1950). The twelve selected articles are as follows: ① Choe Namseon, “Overview of Korean Buddhism: A Diachronic Approach to Korean Buddhism” (1918) ② Yi Gwangsu, “Buddhism and Korean Literature” (1925) ③ Baek Seonguk, “To Establish a Modern Buddhism” (1926) ④ Gim Taeheup, “Research on Religion and the Development of Social Work” (1926–1928) ⑤ Gim Byeokong, “A Concern for Korean Buddhism: The Words Addressed to All Korean Buddhist Clerics” (1927) ⑥ Choe Namseon, “Korean Buddhism: Its Position in the Cultural History of the East” (1930) ⑦ Yu Yeop, “Buddhism and the Trend of Social Thought” (1931) ⑧ Kang Yumun, “Overview of Korean Buddhism for the Last Hundred Years” (1932) ⑨ Gim Beomnin, “On the Separation of Religion and Politics” (1932) ⑩ Heo Yeongho, “Foundations and Errors of Anti-Religion Movement” (1932) ⑪ Mong Jeongsaeng, “Examining the Causes of Korean Buddhism Facing a Crisis” (1932) ⑫ Gim Yeongsu, “On the Principle Teachings of Korean Buddhism” (1933)

At the start of the twentieth century, the Korean Buddhist tradition was arguably at the lowest point in its 1,500-year history in the peninsula. Discriminatory policies and punitive measures imposed on the monastic community during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) had severely weakened Buddhist institutions. Prior to 1895, monastics were prohibited by law from freely entering major cities and remained isolated in the mountains where most of the surviving temples and monasteries were located. In the coming decades, profound changes in Korean society and politics would present the Buddhist community with new opportunities to pursue meaningful reform. The central pillar of these reform efforts was p’ogyo, the active propagation of Korean Buddhist teachings and practices, which subsequently became a driving force behind the revitalization of Buddhism in twentieth-century Korea. From the Mountains to the Cities traces p’ogyo from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. While advocates stressed the traditional roots and historical precedents of the practice, they also viewed p’ogyo as an effective method for the transformation of Korean Buddhism into a modern religion—a strategy that proved remarkably resilient as a response to rapidly changing social, political, and legal environments. As an organizational goal, the concerted effort to propagate Buddhism conferred legitimacy and legal recognition on Buddhist temples and institutions, enabled the Buddhist community to compete with religious rivals (especially Christian missionaries), and ultimately provided a vehicle for transforming a “mountain-Buddhism” tradition, as it was pejoratively called, into a more accessible and socially active religion with greater lay participation and a visible presence in the cities. Ambitious and meticulously researched, From the Mountains to the Cities will find a ready audience among researchers and scholars of Korean history and religion, modern Buddhist reform movements in Asia, and those interested in religious missions and proselytization more generally.

This is a translation of the Han’guk ui Bulgyo sasang, the magnum opus of Koh Ikjin 高翊晉(1934–1988), a renowned scholar of Korean Buddhism that surveys the Korean Buddhist thought and serves as a guide for its development. As a professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies at Dongguk University, Koh researched the Buddhist thought from India to Korea. In addition to the Han’guk ui Bulgyo sasang, he left several works, including the Aham beopsang ui chegyeseong yeon’gu (Research on the Systems of Āgama’s Dharma Teaching), the Han’guk godae Bulgyo sasangsa (History of Ancient Korean Buddhist Thought), and the Hyeondae Han’guk Bulgyo ui banghyang (Direction of Contemporary Korean Buddhism), which show his extensive scholarship. This book consists of four chapters: (1) “An Interpretation of Korean Buddhism from the Perspective of History as the Mind’s Manifestation”; (2) “Iryeon’s Perception of History and the Dan’gun Myth”; (3) “Origins and Development of Korean Buddhist Philosophy”; (4) “Buddhist Ethics and Korean Society.” Chapter 1 explains the perspective of history as the mind’s manifestation and the emergence and transmission of the Taego lineage. Chapter 2 deals with the Dongmyeong wang-pyeon, Iryeon’s view of the Dan’gun myth through the Samguk yusa, and the rationalist moralist view of history. Chapter 3 examines main concepts in the history of Korean Buddhist philosophy, such as the concept of emptiness as seen in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras of the Mahayana tradition, Seungnang’s Madhyamaka view of emptiness, Woncheuk’s Yogācāra view of emptiness, Wonhyo’s Hwaeom view of emptiness, and Jinul’s Seon view of emptiness. Chapter 4 explores ethical doctrines of Buddhism, Buddhist ethics established in Korean society, and contemporary significance of Buddhist ethics.