A History of Korea (22 page)

Before unification Silla had already adopted Buddhism as its national religion. All the people of unified Silla, from the king on high to the general populace below, including peasants and slaves, were enthusiastic about Buddhism. As the dominant system of thought, then, Buddhism played a vital role in Silla society. As pointed out in chapter 2, before unification Buddhism in Silla functioned as a political ideology purporting that the king was the Buddha. After unification, however, the religion evolved increasingly into a system of philosophy, an abstruse creed that was developed by the many great monks who journeyed to Tang or even to far away Central Asia and India to study the way of the Buddha. Their pilgrimage brought back to Silla the views held by different sects then popular in China. Although Buddhism’s different philosophical leanings had given rise to various sects, these sects did not develop into mutually exclusive schools, as occurred with the Christian sects.

Five major Buddhist sects became firmly established in Silla: the Nirvana (Y
ŏ
rban in Korean), the Vinaya (Kyeyul), the Buddha-Nature (
P
ŏ
ps
ŏ
ng
), the Avatamsaka (
Hwa
ŏ
m
), and the Dharmalaksana (
P
ŏ
psang
) schools. Among these, Avatamsaka emerged as the premier school, especially among the aristocracy. The Hwa
ŏ
m doctrine was implanted by
Ŭ
isang, who had been a leading disciple of the Chinese monk Zhiyan, the founder of the Avatamsaka sect. After returning to Silla in 670,
Ŭ
isang established the Pus
ŏ
k-sa temple at present-day Y
ŏ
ngju, North Ky
ŏ
ngsang province, making it the center for the new sect. The doctrines of Korean Buddhism were greatly influenced by the work of Hwa
ŏ
m. As the founder of Hwa
ŏ
m in Silla,
Ŭ
isang advised King Munmu politically, on the king’s request, and preached his Hwa
ŏ
m doctrine of
w
ŏ
nyung,
or all encompassing harmony, that the one was the very multitude and yet the multitude was the very one and that all creations were not mutually separable. In other words, w
ŏ
nyung was a concept that all things in nature were not mutually conflicting beings but had harmonizing and encompassing relationships with one another. The w
ŏ
nyung doctrine contributed, immediately after unification, to regions and classes being able to spiritually overcome conflicts and feuds and inspired a spirit of unity in the hearts of the people. Because it established a centralized power structure, the Hwa
ŏ
m teaching was particularly well received by the monarch. To disseminate the Hwa
ŏ
m doctrine, the Silla government established ten great temples throughout the country.

The well-known monk W
ŏ
nhyo did not go to China to study Buddhism.
⁵
While principally espousing the doctrine of the P
ŏ
ps
ŏ
ng sect he attempted to Koreanize the different Buddhist doctrines. As a result, he established his own doctrine, which synthesized the teachings of the different sects and is memorialized in his treatise
Simmun hwajaeng non,
or Treatise on the Harmonization of Disputes among the Ten Schools, which was even translated into Sanskrit. Later, in the reign of King Sukchong (1095–1105) of Kory
ŏ
, he was given the posthumous title of
Hwaj
ŏ
ng kuksa,
or the National Preceptor of Harmonious Quiescence. Because of his profound Buddhist learning, he gained respect even in China.

The Silla monk W
ŏ
nch’
ŭ
k did not return home but contributed to the development of Buddhism in Tang China through the sutra translations and other writings. Another Silla monk, Hyech’o, went to Tang China in 719 and then made a pilgrimage to Buddhist holy places in Central Asia and India. After returning to China in 727, he wrote the well-known, three-volume account of his travels titled
Wang och’
ŏ
nch’ukguk ch
ŏ
n,
or Record of a Journey to the Five
Indian Kingdoms. The original text, now housed in a Paris library, is regarded as an important historical record on eighth-century India.

In unified Silla, the
Ch
ŏ
ngt’o,
or Pure Land, faith was widely prevalent particularly among the common people. This Buddhist creed had its strongest appeal to the masses and, numerically, became the greatest force. It was a faith that the ignorant and poor could easily profess. It did not involve understanding the abstruse doctrines of the Buddhist sutras but stressed the simple act of faith, of calling the name of Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, by continuously chanting “Nammu amit’a pul. ” If one only reiterated this extremely simple devotion, then one could be reborn in the “Pure Land,” or the Western Paradise, where Amitabha resided, without being reincarnated to earthly existence, which was a “sea of torment.” The Pure Land faith became the Buddhism for the masses, as it encouraged hope in those whose daily life was full of suffering. It was W
ŏ
nhyo who contributed most to the widespread dissemination of Pure Land Buddhism. He was admired by the people because of his great attainments in Buddhist learning, as well as his preaching as an itinerant monk. He fell in love with Princess Yos
ŏ
k, the daughter of King Muy
ŏ
l, and fathered a son, the famous scholar S
ŏ
l Ch’ong. Traveling to villages throughout the country in penance for his transgression of the Buddhist commandments, W
ŏ
nhyo preached the Pure Land creed that if all the people called Amitabha millions of times, they might be reborn in true paradise. Thanks to his efforts, Buddhism was brought to the masses as a popular religion, for it is said that his efforts led eight or nine of every ten Silla people to embrace Buddhism.

Since the mid-eighth century, in areas far from the capital, the Maitreya faith of the P
ŏ
psang sect spread quickly. This Buddhist doctrine proclaimed that some time in the future the Maitreya Buddha would come down to earth to bring about an earthly paradise. The widespread popularity of Maitreya Buddhism was owing mainly to the efforts of the monk Chinp’yo, who preached this doctrine at the K
ŭ
msan-sa temple, located in present-day Kimje, North Ch
ŏ
lla province. As a displaced person of the old Paekche kingdom, he seems to have spiritually pursued the revival of the fallen state through the proliferation of Maitreya Buddhism, which was welcomed particularly by the displaced people of the old Paekche and Kogury
ŏ
kingdoms.

In the late Silla period,
S
ŏ
n
Buddhism became popular. The S
ŏ
n, or Meditation, school was close to primitive Buddhism in its stress on meditation and intuitive insight, or “enlightenment.” This anti-scholastic, anti-textual sect was in striking contrast to the
Kyo,
or Textual, school, which included different
sects based on the particular sutra each relied upon. The S
ŏ
n sect rejected control by any outside forces, including scriptures, and advocated reliance on one’s own power for salvation of the soul. According to the S
ŏ
n doctrine, it is possible to comprehend the Buddha nature that inherently exists in the human mind through s
ŏ
n, or meditation. In S
ŏ
n Buddhism, therefore, concentration, contemplation, and absolute silence were of primary importance. To achieve these goals, S
ŏ
n Buddhists in Silla built their temples in remote mountains, away from mundane human society and town life. Because of this, the S
ŏ
n sects were known as
san
, or mountains.

Started in China and called “Chan,” S
ŏ
n Buddhism was first introduced to Silla in the seventh century during the reign of Queen S
ŏ
nd
ŏ
k, but at the time it had little appeal for the people. When introduced to Japan, it was called “Zen.” When the monk To
ŭ
i returned from China in 821 and founded the Kaji-san sect at the Porim-sa temple, the S
ŏ
n faith spread widely and ultimately led to the establishment of the so-called Nine Mountain Sects of S
ŏ
n.

Because the S
ŏ
n creed contained strong elements of individualism, it was warmly received by the newly rising
hojok,
or local gentry, who acted independently of the central government’s influence in the late Silla period. Most of the nine sects of the S
ŏ
n school had close ties with the local gentry. For instance, the Sumi-san sect at Kaes
ŏ
ng had close relations with Wang K
ŏ
n, who later established the Kory
ŏ
dynasty. Thus S
ŏ
n Buddhism evolved into the religion of the local gentry and became an ideological foundation for their assertion of local independence. It was also prevalent particularly in the old Paekche and Kogury
ŏ
territories.

In unified Silla, at any rate, Buddhism ceased to function as a political ideology and instead developed into a system of spiritual thought for the masses. It became firmly established as a state religion and contributed greatly to the kingdom’s flourishing culture.

Although Buddhism was the predominant religion or philosophy in unified Silla, it did not serve the monarch’s intention to establish a centralized bureaucratic kingdom. The king needed a political ideology to justify the consolidation of royal authority, and he turned to Confucianism to pursue his goal.

To teach Confucian ethics and literature, a national university called the Kukhak was established in 682. Admission to the national Confucian academy was granted only to members of the aristocracy who held the 12th office rank
of taesa or below. This meant that only those of head rank 6 lineage could enter the Kukhak. In 717 portraits of Confucius and his disciples—the
sipch’
ŏ
l,
or ten philosophers, and the 72 Confucian worthies—were brought from Tang China and installed in the Kukhak. In 759 the Kukhak was renamed the T’aehakkam, or Great Academic Institute, and two faculty ranks were created to teach students. The curriculum was divided into required subjects (
Analects
and
Classic of Filial Piety
) and optional subjects (
Book of Poetry, Book of History, Book of Divination, Zuozhuan,
or Tradition of
Zuo
interpretation of the
Spring and Autumn Annals, Book of Rites,
and
Literary Selections
). In accordance with the subjects taught in each course, there were three courses, or majors:
Book of Rites
and
Book of Divination, Zuozhuan
and
Book of Poetry,
and
Book of History
and
Literary Selections.
The division of courses was intended to train specialists in the subdivisions of the Confucian doctrine.

As the foundation of a national educational institution was laid, the
toks
ŏ
samp’um kwa,
or examination in the reading of texts in three gradations, a state examination, began in 788. In this state examination to select government officials, the candidates were graded on three levels of proficiency in reading Confucian texts and then given appointments to office. The examination was based on the texts studied at the national university, with particular emphasis on
Analects
and
Classic of Filial Piety.
Because of the deep-rooted bone-rank institution, however, the state examination system failed to open the offices to talent on a broad basis.

The promotion of education in Confucianism did produce several distinguished scholars who achieved great expertise in Confucianism and Chinese literature. In particular, Confucian philosophy was championed by those of head rank 6 lineage, who were frustrated by the traditional bone-rank order. Among them Kangsu, based on his profound learning in Chinese literature, placed himself at the service of his country by authoring Silla’s diplomatic correspondence with Tang China. He criticized Buddhism for its “otherworldly” teachings and stressed that Confucian morals be firmly established in Silla. Obviously he leveled his criticism at the insurmountable bone-rank system. Another blow was dealt to Buddhism when S
ŏ
l Ch’ong, the son of the prominent Buddhist monk W
ŏ
nhyo and best known for developing the
kugy
ŏ
l
system of explicating and reading Chinese texts, became a great Confucian scholar, symbolizing the alienation of those of head rank 6 lineage from the values of the bone-rank order and the Buddhist doctrine that buttressed the rigid class system.

Unified Silla actively engaged in cultural exchanges with Tang China, and thus large numbers of students, officials, and monks traveled to China for study and observation. In the late Silla period, many Silla students went to China to study Confucianism firsthand. After becoming famous in China, these students returned home. Ch’oe Ch’i-w
ŏ
n was an outstanding representative of this group. He was particularly renowned in Tang China for his literary ability, including passing the Tang civil service examination. He is remembered for a number of literary works, including the 20-volume collection of essays known as
Kyew
ŏ
n p’ilgy
ŏ
ng
, or Anthology of Silla. After his return to Silla in 884, Ch’oe Ch’i-w
ŏ
n, a man of head rank 6 background, served as a low-ranking government official for a while. When the government rejected his policy proposals, however, he became disillusioned with the stubborn bone-rank order. He gave up his position and spent the rest of his life in self-imposed exile in a remote region.