Stuff Waygooks Like #6 - Buddhism (불교)

Buddhism is one of the world’s great religions. It is third in size behind Christianity and Islam with somewhere between 500 million and 1.6 billion people world-wide identifying themselves as Buddhist or loosely identifying by practicing some Buddhist beliefs or rituals. However, the religion is highly concentrated in only Asia. Most people from the English speaking Western world do not personally know anyone who is Buddhist. Upon arriving in South Korea, many waygooks enjoy exploring the rich and soul-searching depths of this ancient religion. 

It is difficult to accurately calculate the number of Koreans who are Buddhist because self-identity varies from tradition to tradition. Many Korean Buddhists also take a relaxed attitude towards formal worship. Today, about seven million Koreans self-identify themselves as Buddhists with another ten million or so that probably share some Buddhist beliefs mixed in with Christian, Confucian, or Shamanistic beliefs. Many tour guide books will say it is about a quarter of South Korea’s population. There are about 25,000 clergy of both sexes and there are 7244 accredited temples scattered in picturesque locations throughout the entire country.

Buddhism is a missionary religion that spread from China into Korea some time during the 4th century, eventually becoming the state religion of all three of the ancient kingdoms of Korea – Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. By the time it reached Korea, Buddhism had altered from its original form in India, absorbing elements of the local folk traditions of the countries into which it had spread. By the 7th century Buddhism was well established, as seen in the numbers of great temples which had been erected throughout the peninsula, the numbers of monks who went to China and India to study, and the important role which Korean monks played in the spread and development of Buddhism in Japan.

Buddhism continued to flourish during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), existing in a complementary state of harmony with Confucianism. By the end of the Silla period in the early 10th century, Buddhism had effectively taken on the form which we see in modern Korea. Monastic Buddhism is predominately of the meditative Seon school (better known by the Japanese term Zen), whereas popular Buddhism, the Buddhism practiced by the laity, belongs predominately to the Pure Land traditions. The all-encompassing doctrinal Dienai school (jeondae in Korean) remained important for a few more centuries, but the meditation and Pure Land schools came to form the core of Buddhist practice in Korea. The Seon school is based on the idea that suffering is caused by attachment to things of this world, and that release from suffering can only come through the abrupt realization of the illusionary nature of things. Methods of meditation and monastic life are meant to bring the monk or nun into a state of sudden enlightment.

It wasn’t all the familiar Buddhism of ascetic monks, however. Some monasteries became wealthy and owned large estates and thousands of slaves, and some monks dressed in silk robes, rode fine horses and indulged in wine, women and song. When the Joseon Dynasty began in 1392, the height of Korean Buddhism abruptly came to an end. In addition to fundamental spiritual conflicts, the Confucianists, who were high up in the Joseon government, resented how much of the nation’s money was being used by Buddhists to build elaborate statues and hold increasingly expensive rituals. They believed that Buddhism was a serious drain on the country’s economy, so in 1390 King Taejo removed Buddhist monks from his government, expelled them from the capital, and confiscated Buddhist property. The building of temples in the capital was forbidden and the number of monks and nuns who could live in monasteries, and how much land they could own, was tightly regulated. Buddhist practices were forced out of the cities, begging was made illegal, and Buddhist funerals were outlawed.

Far from being pacifists, Korean monks frequently came to the defense of their country. Many mountain fortresses throughout the Korean peninsula contained temples and were garrisoned by warrior monks. Toughened by their Spartan lifestyle and trained in martial arts, monk warriors played a major part in resisting the Japanese invasions in the 1590s even though Confucianism had become the state doctrine and the new rules treated them as lowborn and no better than beggars. With the demise of the Joseon Dynasty at the end of the 19th century, and the annexation of Korea by Japan, Buddhism’s fortunes changed dramatically. The redevelopment and modernization of Buddhism is due to the work of both traditionalist monks, and to the work of modernizers who looked to the laity as the core of the Buddhist community.

Conciously or unconsciously, the modernizers of Korean Buddhism in recent decades have looked to the rapidly growing Protestant Christian community in the country both for inspiration and as a competitor. Many features of contemporary Korean Buddhism reflect Protestant practice, such as the emphasis on lay groups, institutional outreach in the forms of schools, universities, print and broadcast media, as well as popular liturgical practices that use Buddhist words to the tunes of well-known Christian hymns. The modernization of Buddhism has allowed its return to an important place on the Korean religious scene.

Because Buddhism was forced out of the cities during the Joseon Dynasty, temples that survived tended to be in more remote, mountainous areas. Today, these are often prime tourist destinations, and so in recent years, some temples have been taking in visitors for short stays, to experience, however briefly, the life of contemplation and ceremony practiced by the monks. Foreign visitors in Korea do not have to learn or follow any special protocol when visiting Buddhist temples. They should simply be polite to any priests they may encounter, stay out of areas that are not open to the public, avoid being loud and rowdy, and in general behave in a respectful manner. Ordinary visitors to Buddhists temples do not go “inside” the inner sanctums of the temples. Instead, they walk around outside, admiring the architecture of the buildings and the images of deities that are enshrined in the temples and visible from the public areas.

Sources