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A Study on Gyeongam Eungyun’s Mountain Dweller Literature (山居文學)

DongJae Lee 1

1공주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to examine the mountain dweller literature of Gyeongam Eungyun who entered the Byeoksong-sa Temple in Mt. Jiri in the late 18th century and was praised as a great master of ZenBuddhism(禪敎) and to discuss its meaning in literature history. Gyeongam Eungyun (1743-1804) is a Buddhist monk who was in activity during the reign of King Jeongjo in the Chosun Dynasty. His secular family name is Min (閔氏) from Yeoheung, and his initial Dharma name was Gwansik but renamed Eungyun later and his Dharma pseudonym is Gyeongam. Although most of his life was committed to Buddhism (佛門), Gyeongam lived a life of Seungsokbulyi (僧俗不二: Monks and common people are not different), an idea acknowledging the philosophy and value system of Confucianism, like other monks in the late Chosun Dynasty, and his later years until his death were devoted to Zen training (禪修行). His will and pursuit of Seungsokbulyi sometimes raised conflicts with his colleague monks and brought him internal conflicts with himself. For Gyeongam, Mt. Jiri was the ground of his life, a place for pleasure (遊樂), and a space for Zen training(修禪). He took pleasure in exchanging poems with secular Confucians who visited the mountain and led a life of Jayeonilyeo(自然一如 - Becoming one with nature) like a mountain hermit, and sometimes he gave himself over to deep Zen meditation (禪定). His life and philosophy as such were manifested in 83 poems written by him in various forms. A characteristic of his poetic world is the expression of his practice of Seungsokbulyi. It was because the Buddhist circle in those day advocated the theory that Confucianism and Buddhism are the same (儒彿一致論) and, based on this idea, he travelled around Mt. Jiri and exchanged poems together with Confucians as a part of his Seungsokbulyi life. Second, his poems reveal his leisurely life of Ansinnakdo (安身樂道 - The way of enjoying peace by comforting the body). Since he entered into Buddhism at the age of 13, Mt. Jiri had been the base of his life. Despite his composure in Ansinnakdo, he hinted his being captured by Manhaeng (萬行 – Secular thoughts) and resultant mental conflicts, but through most of his life he lived in Mt. Jiri and enjoyed Ansinnakdo. Third, his poems pursue Ilsimbeopgye (一心法界 - One mind encompassing the whole universe). As the great master of Zen Buddhism, Gyeongam had deep understanding of Hua-Yen thought and outstanding Zen knowledge. Emphasizing one mind, which is the true entity of all things in the universe, his idea and life track sought harmony rather than confrontation and discrimination. The meaning of Gyeongam’s mountain dweller poems in literature history is found in that they show the expansion and generalization of poetry writers to monks in provincial areas. What is more, the contents of his poems are meaningful in that they exhibit Gyeongam’s view of literature versifying his experiences different from other views of literature in his days.

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