한국불교사상의 전개과정>에서 나타난 融和精神

Abstract

A variety of sectarian Buddhist doctrines were introduced from China during the period of Three Kingdoms. Hence, numerous monks and scholars tried a formidable task of compromising those conflicting Buddhist doctrines and at the same time compromising Buddhism and Confucianism. In order to explain the ideosyncretic phenomen on of Korean Buddhist tendency to compromise or harmonize doctrinal disputes, I here propose a thesis that such a compromising attitude of many Korean scholars and monks is but an outward expression of their inner disposition of reconciling or harmonizing various conflicting doctrines. It seems a truism to say that, from the commonsensical point of view, our intellect is unable to accept logical contradiction and thus the resulting mental discord forces us to devise some means of compromising contradictory assertions at any cost so that the mental discord should be resolved. However, my thesis does not refer to the above intellectual necessity by which we cannot accept logical contradiction or inconsistency. What my thesis bespeaks is that underneath the unique Korean. Buddhist tendency of syncretic harmonization of compromising various doctrinal disputes including Confucian doctrines, there lies a more fundamental or pre-logical disposition, not a mere logical necessity. By pre-logical disposition I mean a deeper or wider concept such as life-culture which frames our mode of living. For example, we can point out that Korean people are apt to adopt foreign modes of fashions in such a way that nobody looks strange when one dons a traditional Korean overcoat turumagi while wearing a Western leather shoes and a Western soft hat.