0^C^f^ri!Jci)>^
DFO n 19 IB
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Division
r—, , •
■on
KOREAN BUDDHISM
PLATE I
Kim Ku Ha, President of Buddhist Committee
FOR 1917
[Page 35]
^^ OF Piial5>>^
KOREAN
^
DEC 11 191R
A
BUDDHISM
•'J.
HISTORY— CONDITION — ART
Three L^ectures
BY
FREDERICK STARR
BOSTON
MARSHALL JONES COMPANY
1918
COPYRIGHT, 19 l8
BY MARSHALL JONES COMPANY
All rights, reserved
PRINTED BY
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.
THIS BOOK ON KOREAN BUDDHISM IS
TO
MY FRIEND AND FELLOW-STUDENT
"KUGEN"-OGURI SAN
OF TOKYO
INTRODUCTION
THE author does not over-estimate
the importance of this little book:
it is nothing more than its title
claims. It consists of three lectures given/
to popular audiences, w^ith the accompani-'
ment of many illustrations. It represents,
however, a considerable amount of vs^ork
in an almost virgin field. It has involved
hard journeys to remote mountain mon-
asteries, and days and nights of conversa-
tion and inquiry with many monks and
priests. It is not, however, a profound
study nor an exhaustive presentation. It
barely touches many a subject, which would
alone furnish more material than could
be treated in three such lectures. It but
scratches the surface.
The material which it presents is how-
ever new. Outside of Mrs. Bishop's ac-
count of her visit to the Diamond Moun-
tain monasteries and scattered references in
[vil]
INTRODUCTION
her book to a few local temples, there is
almost nothing on the subject of Korean
Buddhism accessible to English readers.
A glance at our bibliography will show that
not one of the books or articles there listed
appeared in the West. All were printed
at Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo and pub-
lications appearing at those centers are little
known outside. To aid serious readers,
who may care to secure them, the pub-
lishers' names are given in our list. The
author has carefully read all the items listed
and acknowledges indebtedness to all the
authors.
The actual amount of material for the
full study of Korean Buddhism i? enor-
mous. There are many voluminous works
in Chinese and Korean dealing with Kor-
ean history; when carefully sifted, these
will yield many important facts. Many,
perhaps all, of the monasteries have rec-
ords of their history somewhat after the
nature of annals ; most of these are in manu-
script, but a few have been printed, pre-
sumably from wood-blocks cut at the estab-
lishment by the monks. There is a third
[ viii ]
INTRODUCTION
source of information, as vast in bulk as
either of the other two; it is the inscriptions
on monuments, which are scattered in thou-
sands over the peninsula. The gleaning of
information from these three sources — -for
the work must absolutely be of the nature
of gleaning — will require many years, but
the work is worth the doing. It is urgent
also. Every one of these three sources is
subject to destruction and even now is
threatened. Old books in Korea are being
constantly lost and destroyed ; new editions
of them are often carelessly and inaccur-
ately reproduced; in some cases, the new
editions are intentionally mutilated, im-
portant passages being suppressed. The
monastery records are less secure than ever
before; with the new life and energy in
these old establishments, renovation and
clearing out of nooks and corners and over-
hauling of accumulations of papers, places
documents, the value of which is unknown
or unappreciated, in serious jeopardy. As
for the monuments many are disappearing
and others are becoming undecipherable
through weathering. There is pressing
[ix]
INTRODUCTION
need then of promptly securing these ma-
terials and making them available for study.
The Japanese are doing much good work.
They are gathering old books and records.
Up to 19 1 5 more than one hundred and fifty
thousand books, manuscript and printed,
had been gathered by the Government-
General. Among these were the ^'Annals
of Yi " numbering sixteen hundred and
thirty-three volumes and the ^^ Royal
Diaries," aggregating thirty-one hundred
and ninety-nine volumes, '^ all hand-written
with the brush." Of the ''Annals" there
were four sets made under the Korean
government for the four old royal libraries.
The " Royal Diaries " were compiled at the
king's orders; they dated from Yi Tajo
himself, but those up to near the end of the
sixteenth century were burned by the Ko-
reans at the time of the Hideyoshi invasion;
those now existing cover the period from
1623 to 1907. Japanese scholars have or-
ganized a society for reprinting old and
rare Korean books and have gotten out
many volumes. They arc piling up direct
observations also. From 1909 to 19 15, they
[x]
INTRODUCTION
conducted a peninsula-wide survey of
ancient monuments and have printed the
results in four fine volumes, with splendid
illustrations, under the title Chosen ko
seki gafii. They have taken steps toward
the preservation and, where necessary, the
reconstruction of important monuments
and notable buildings. They are copying
the monastery records and ultimately will
have a complete set of all that remain. The
originals ought to be left in possession of
the monasteries themselves, with the ob-
ligation to guard and keep them safely.
As to monumental inscriptions, the Govern-
ment-General has been equally industrious.
Up to March, 19 15, there had been made
thirteen hundred and seventy-seven direct
rubbings from inscribed stones, of which
forty-four represented Sylla, forty-three the
period of the Koryu Dynasty and thirteen
hundred and three the Yi Dynasty. It is
fortunate that this preservation of material
is being undertaken. The world will profit
by it, though it may still be long locked up
in Chinese characters.
In this book the work of Yi Nung Hwa is
[xl]
INTRODUCTION
mentioned. His Buddhist magazine should
yield some data of value. If his History of
Korean Buddhism is printed it ought to be
of high importance, as he naturally has a
much easier task in consulting the original
sources than any foreigner. If his work is
done with care and critical judgment it
should be the necessary foundation for all
future study. All depends upon how he
performs his task. Readers who become
interested in our lectures are advised to read
Bishop TroUope's admirable Introduction.
It clears the ground and indicates the
direction of further studies.
The author has hundreds of negatives
illustrating Korean Buddhism. One hun-
dred and fifty pictures were used in the
original lectures. When cutting down to
what seemed the absolute limit, in selecting
pictures for the book, he found that he had
more than double the number permitted
by the necessary conditions. Further re-
duction was difficult and many pictures
have been rejected, which are more beau-
tiful or interesting than some of those that
are included. The final choice was based
[xii]
INTRODUCTION
upon the desire to give as clear an idea as
possible of actual conditions and to repre-
sent all the important phases presented in
the lectures. One or two of the pictures
were made by Manuel Gonzales in 191 1;
all the others are the work of Maebashi
Hambei, who accompanied me, in my last
three expeditions to Korea, as photographer.
Chicago, July 12, 1918.
[ xm ]
CONTENTS
Korean Buddhism:
PAGE
History i
Condition 32
Art 66
Bibliography 97
Notes 99
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE FACING PAGE
I Kfm Ku Ha. President of Buddhist Com-
mittee for 1 91 7 Frontispiece
II General view: Pomo-sa 2
III General view : Yuchom-sa, Diamond Moun-
tains 4
IV Sari monuments: Yuchom-sa 6
V Main Temple: Kumsan-sa 10
VI Sari monument pyramid, Kumsan-sa. (A
relic of Buddha is supposed to be en-
shrined here) 16
VII Geomantic Mast: Chung-ju 18
VIII The Buddha: cave temple, Sukkul-am . . 22
IX Bodhisattva figure, Sukkul-am 24
X Great Miriok: Eunjin. General view . . 26
XI Group at Fukoan, branch of Sinkei-sa ; Dia-
mond Mountains 28
XII Hain-sa: Building for the Wood-blocks . . 34
XIII Hain-sa: Building for the Wood-blocks,
interior 38
XIV Great Buddha relief on rock face: Inner
Kongo 44
XV Sari monument to Muhak: Hoiam-sa . . 48
XVI Head-priest and Pagoda: Sinkei-sa, Dia-
mond Mountains • 50
[ xvii ]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE FACING PAGE
XVII Main Temple: Yuchom-sa, Diamond
Mountains 52
XVIII Carved Door, Yuchom-sa 54
XIX Brahmanic Guardian of Buddhism:
Songkwang-sa 56
XX, A, B. Two Deva Kings, Guardians of
World Quarters: Sukwang-sa ... 58
XXI Gigantic Deva King. Guardian of
World Quarter: Pawpchu-sa. The
Korean standing by is a married man
of normal stature 60
XXII Wall painting: The White Tortoise
Scene of the Sei-yeu-ki: Pongeum-sa 66
XXIII Wall paintings on plaster: Sukwang-sa 68
XXIV Great figures of Buddhist Trinity,
seated: Pawpchu-sa. Sakya, Monju,
Fugen 70
XXV Great figures of Buddhist Trinity,
standing: Kumsan-sa. Amida,
Kwannon, Daiseishi. (Thirty feet
or so in height) , . 72
XXVI Figures — a Trio of Trinities : Suk-
wang-sa. (The figures are said to
be Kwannon, Amida, Daiseishi,
Monju, Vairoshana, Fugen, Jihi,
Sakyamuni Teikakara) 74
XXVII Figure and painting of Kwannon:
Pomo-sa 76
XXVIII Hall of the Ten Kings of Hell:
Yongju-sa. (Notice combination of
figures and painting; the god of hell
with two helpers, five kings with
small servants, two other officers, and
one of the two Brahmanic guardians) 78
[ xviii ]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE FACING PAGE
XXIX Hall of Five Hundred Rakan: Siik-
wang-sa 80
XXX Extraordinary combinations of Rakan
figures: Hall of Five Hundred
Rakan: Songkwang-sa 82
XXXI Painting of the Seven Stars: Suk-
wang-sa 84
XXXII Group painting: Sukwang-sa .... 86
XXXIII One of the Eight Scenes in the Life of
Buddha: Sakya gains Enlighten-
ment: Pomo-sa 88
XXXIV The God of the Mountain: Fuko-an,
branch of Sinkei-sa, Diamond
Mountains 90
XXXV Portrait of one of the chiefs of the Six-
teen Kakan: Chikchi-sa 92
XXXVI Great painting: Pawpchu-sa .... 94
XXXVII Great painting displayed at Buddha's
Birthday Ceremony: Tongdo-sa . . 94
[ xix ]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
KOREAN BUDDHISM
KOREAN BUDDHISM: HISTORY
SINCE 191 1 it has been my privilege to
make four journeys into Korea, so
long known as ^^ The Hermit King-
dom." To-day Korea has ceased to be an
independent nation; she has been com-
pletely absorbed by Japan and forms part
of the Japanese Empire. I found much of
interest in the country. I studied the peo-
ple and their daily life; I visited many of
the famous points of interest and beauty;
I have studied somewhat into Korean his-
tory. Nothing, however, has more in-
terested me than the study of Korean
religions, particularly Buddhism. When
asked to give some public lectures this
summer, I consented gladly to speak for
three evenings on the subject of Korean
Buddhism. My three lectures will deal
with History — Condition — Art.
[i]
1
KOREAN BUDDHISM
1 The history of Korea falls into three
{ sharply marked periods. The first is known
as the era of the Three Kingdoms — it
ended with the year 918, a year easy to re-
member because exactly one thousand years
I ago. The second is the period of the Koryu
I Dynasty; it began with the year 918 and
ended in 1392, a date easy for us to remem-
1 ber because precisely a century before the
discovery of America by Columbus. The
third period, known as the period of the
Yi Dynasty, began with 1392 and continued
until 1910, when the independent history
of Korea ended with its absorption by
Japan.
The history of Buddhism in Korea is
divided into the same three periods, as the
things which caused breaks in the national
history were related to the religion. We
shall then speak of the Buddhism of the
Three Kingdoms, of the Koryu Dynasty
and of the_Yi_ Dynasty.
The early period is called the era of the
Three Kingdoms because at that time the
peninsula was occupied by three different
nations. The largest, in the north, was
[2]
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HISTORY
called Koguryu. Japanese pronounce the
name as Koma. It occupied more than
half of the peninsula. Its capital city was
P'yeng-Yang, still a city of importance.
The second kingdom was smaller; in the
southwest of the peninsula, it was known
by the name of Pakche, which is pro-
nounced by the Japanese Kudara. The
third kingdom occupied the southeastern
section of the peninsula. It was larger than
Pakche, but smaller than Koguryu, and was
called Silla, Japanese, Shiragi. Such then,
were the three kingdoms which existed
through a period of hundreds of years. ...
^ Unfortunately all names in Korea have f^^ 1-
f seyev a 1 ]p r o n u n cia^lons^^; "Th e y are usually
spelled with Chinese characters. If a
Chinese pronounces the name, he will pro-
nounce it in a certain way, dependent upon
what part of China he comes from; a
Korean will pronounce the same characters
quite differently; a Japanese has still a
dififerent pronunciation. It is for this rea-
son that the Korean and Japanese names
of these kingdoms differ; the same char-
acters are pronounced Koguryu by the
[3]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Koreans and Koma by the Japanese;
Pakche on the Korean tongue becomes
Kudara with the Japanese; and where
the Korean says Silla, the Japanese says
Shiragi.
Such then was the condition of the
peninsula preceding 918. It was divided
into three kingdoms, each with its own
ruler. Buddhism^a_reHgion whichjbegan
in India, came to Korea by way of China.
It^ naturally first reached the northern
kingdom. It was introduced in 369 A.D.
and its introduction was the result of
foreign missionary effort. In those days
there was an Empire of China, but there
were also various small Chinese kingdoms
along the northern border of the Korean
peninsula. Buddhism came to Koguryu
from one of these little Chinese kingdoms,
the king of which sent its message by
the hands of a priest named Sundo, who
brought idols and sacred texts. He was
well received on his appearance in P'yeng-
Yang. The king of the country placed the
crown prince in his care for education. In
a few years the new religion had made
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great headway. It had brought with it
art and education, and the kingdom of
Koguryu became a center of culture and
advancement.
Five years later, in 374, another priest
named Ado was sent from the same Chinese
kingdom. His coming added impetus to
the religion and two great monasteries
were founded near P'yeng-Yang, over one
of which Ado was placed, while Sundo
had charge of the other. These two mon-
asteries were not only centers of religion,
they were full-fledged universities according
to the ideas of the universities in those days.
After they were founded Buddhism con-
tinued to spread rapidly so that in 392 it
became the official religion of the kingdom.
We are told that in the year 378, as the
result of the coming of these foreign priests,
the city of P'yeng-Yang was laid out as a
great ship. To us this sounds strange. It
is not easy for us to realize that a city was
really regarded as a great ship and that a
mast was erected in its midst, apparently
in order that the sails of prosperity might
waft the ship to good fortune and success.
[5]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Outside the city were stone posts to which
the ship was to be tied up, and for many
years it was forbidden to dig wells in the
city because it was feared that if a well
were dug, the boat would spring a leak
and the whole place would be foundered.
Such was science in the fourth centurv.
It seems strange to us now, but ideas of that
kind were rife in those days; in fact they
have not yet disappeared from popular
thought in Korea. I am not sure whether
such ideas are connected with Buddhism,
or whether they only form a part of that
old geomantic philosophy which has so
greatly influenced China, Korea and Japan
through centuries. We find geomantic
survivals of many kinds in many places.
Old masts are scattered all over Korea,
here and there, sometimes in quite inacces-
sible places; built of wood, they rise to a
great height, and are sheathed with metal,
which may bear an inscription and date.
Many other places than P'yeng-Yang were
thought of as great ships — temples, cities,
entire valleys. (Plate VII.)
At Tongdo-sa, a great monastery in the
[6]
60
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HISTORY
south of Korea, my attention was called
to an iron ring fastened to a rock near the
trail. They told me that it was for the
tethering of a great ox, that all the mound
of earth and rock near there is considered
to be a great ox lying down; a hole about a
foot in diameter in the rock, close by the
trail, is said to be the nostril of the crea-
ture, and a knoll of earth near by formed
its head, while the great body stretched
out far beyond.
At Riri my attention was called to a
mountain ridge and I was told that it was
a running horse; two stone pillars stood on
the level ground near by — they were in-
tended to prevent the horse from damaging
the fields. It seems that many years ago it
was realized that a running horse was
likely to do damage to growing crops; the
wise men of the district were called to-
gether and consulted ; they determined that
they would destroy the danger by erecting
these pillars of stone, beyond which the
horse cannot go.
Perhaps ideas like these were taught in
those old universities in 375 A.D. Perhaps
[7]
KOREAx\ BUDDHISM
they were then, as now, individual and
professional knowledge, not to be learned
in schools.
The new religion next entered the little
kingdom of Pakche. This was in the year
i 384. This time it was not sent unsolicited
by some little Chinese kingdom, but came
by request from China proper. The peo-
ple of Pakche knew what Buddhism had
done for Koguryu and they asked the
I Emperor of China to send them a famous
priest named Marananda. It seems that
he was a Hindu, who had a great reputa-
tion for learning. He brought with him
images and texts and all the paraphernalia
necessary for the gorgeous ceremonials
of his religion. He was received with
great respect by the king and was lodged
in the palace. Soon after ten other priests
came from China and the religion made
rapid headway through Pakche. It was
rfromx Pakche in the year 552 that Bud-
dhism was sent for the first time into
1 Japan. The king of Pakche sent images
and texts and a letter to the Emperor,
jKimmei, saying that it was a good religion,
' [8]
HISTORY
and that he hoped the Japanese would
accept it.
Last of the three kingdoms to receive?
Buddhism was Silla, to which it came,
about 424. It is reported to have come'
from the capital city of Koguryu, P'yeng-i
Yang, and the priest who brought it was|
named Mukocha. He appears to havej
gone down the Taidong River to the sea and
then around the peninsula and up the east
coast in order to reach Silla. He is always
spoken of as a black man, or negro; per-
haps he was actually an African. There
seems to have been some mystery about his
arrival; it may be that the people did not
like his color, or were afraid of his strange
appearance. He hired himself out as a
plowman to a farmer named Morei. His
employer concealed him in a cave. It is
said that when he was hidden in this cave
it frequently shone with glory. Outside the
cave there was a peach tree, which burst
into bloom with flowers of five different
colors, and in the winter, when there was
snow on the mountains outside, irises and
other flowers of wondrous fragrance are
[9]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
said to have broken their way up through
the snow. The black monk is said to have
worn a red cap and a crimson kesa. It
would seem that the whole neighborhood
must have known about these wonders.
About this time it is said that an ambas-
sador from China came to the king of Silla
at his capital city of Kyong Ju. The mes-
senger brought various gifts, among them
a substance which no one knew; it had
never been seen before in Silla. It seems
strange that the ambassador should not have
known what he brought, but it is asserted
that he was ignorant in the matter, and so
the king sent to the cave — only ten miles
away— and ordered the black monk to
come to Kyong Ju to identify the gift. He
had no trouble in recognizing it, because it
was incense, common enough in Chinese
Buddhism, but before unseen in Silla.
He told them that when burned before an
idol with prayers of faith, the god was
sure to answer petitions. It happened at
the moment that the king's daughter was
ill, and he begged the black monk to try
the efficacy of incense and prayer. Seven
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days he spent in prayer before the idol and
a cure was wrought. Soon afterwards
Mukocha begged the king to send to China
and the West for artists to come and cut
figures in the rock walls of his cave, as he
desired to make a chapel to the gods. The
request was sent, the artists came, and it is
said that they spent forty years in carving
the wonderful figures which to this day
adorn the walls of the little circular chapel
in the mountain cave. It would require a
separate lecture for me to tell you of my visit
to that remarkable shrine, with its genuine
treasures of art. (Plates VIII, IX.)
I must, however, say something about
the old capital city of Kyong Ju. It had its
period of glory, and its ruins are still impres-
sive. Almost fifteen hundred years have
passed since the black monk brought in the
new religion. To-day there remains only a
little town, but all the country around is
sprinkled with the relics of the past. Here is
the splendid grave of General Kim, twelve
hundred years old. It is faced around with
stone slabs, set firmly in place, twelve of
them being carved with the animals of the
[ii]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Eastern Zodiac. Here are the ruins of an
ice-house, perhaps nine hundred years old;
cunningly built of stone, under a mound of
earth, with true arch-vaulting, it sheltered
ice for the chilling of food and the cooling
of drink a thousand years ago. There re-
mains here a portion of a beautiful pagoda;
much of it was destroyed in the sixteenth
century, when Hideyoshi's army of invasion
came from Japan and wrought havoc and
destruction in Korea; built in the seventh
century, it was a beautiful structure of
splendid, thoroughly-baked black bricks
and stone; stone doors below, moving on
stone pivots set in stone sockets were dec-
orated with carved work. To-day only
the three lower stories remain, but they
serve to show that the people were true
artists. Here, too, one sees an astronomical
observatory, built of stone, a sort of tower
of circular form, seventeen feet through;
it was intended for the observation of
heavenly bodies; nearly thirteen hundred
years of age, it is perhaps the oldest existing
building constructed for such purposes in
the world.
[12]
HISTORY
In those fine days, Kyong Ju was a center
of trade and industry. Chinese, Koreans
and Japanese were there; we are certain
that Tibetans, Indians and Persians came
thither, and it is claimed that merchants
from Arabia used to stand in its market
place. Of course we all know^ of the an-
tiquity of culture around the Mediterra-
nean Sea; we appreciate its achievements,
and love to think of its glories; but we are
apt to think of the Far East as being eter-
nally stagnant and it surprises us to learn
of a busy mart of trade in Kyong Ju, Silla.
And it had its scholars also. There was
Ch'oe Chuen. He was a poet and essayist;
he was a skilled caligrapher, writing the
beautiful Chinese characters famously; he
was reckoned as one of the great sages and
learned men of his day in China proper,
than which there was no higher honor.
During the period of the Three King-
doms, Buddhism thus penetrated to every
part of the peninsula. It prospered. Splen-
did temples were built, great monasteries
constructed, magnificent bells cast, beauti-
ful pagodas erected, figures carved by
[13]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
thousands. Religions that prosper too
greatly become corrupt. State religions
tend to become curses. Religious endow-
ments tie up money which the people need.
The dead hand may hold under restraint
property which should be at work, helping
the world. All this happened with Bud-
dhism in Korea. In the last days of the
Three Kingdoms Korean Buddhism was
refined and artistic, impressive and beau-
tiful, but was corrupt and harmful rather
than helpful.
We may, perhaps, take the date 685 A.D.
as marking the greatest glory of Silla. At
that time she was gaining power over the
neighboring kingdoms and before her
glory ended she ruled the whole peninsula.
In 876 the king of Silla was named
Chung — also called Hongang. During
his rule the country was rapidly declining.
He was followed by his brother, who in
turn was succeeded by his sister, who be-
came queen of Silla in 888. Her name was
Man. The only reason why we mention
these three rulers is that we wish to intro-
duce the man who led up to the second
[14]
HISTORY
period of Korean history. His name was
Kun-ye. He was the son of king Chung,
by a concubine, but never became king of
Silla. When his aunt, queen Man, was
ruling, he became a disturbing element,
heading an insurrection. The glory of
Silla was really past and the old kingdom
was rapidly declining. Kun-ye was for-,
tunate in having an excellent general,
named Wang-on, and made headway with'
his rebellion; founding a new kingdom in
central Korea, he gradually extended his
rule, through the skilful leadership of
Wang-on, until much of the middle part
of the peninsula was under his control.
But the man was mad, religiously mad.
He was not only a Buddhist; he called
himself a Buddha. Under the cloak of
religion he did all kinds of wild and
wicked things, and indulged in the most
absurd extravagances. Finally the burden
of his tyranny and his religious claims be-
came so heavy that his officials plotted
against him and begged his general, Wang-
on, to dethrone him and seize the power.
Ultimately that very thing happened, and
[15]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
in the year 918, one thousand years ago,
Wang-on became the first king of a new
dynasty, that of Koryu.
/ Before we leave the period of the Three
Kingdoms, however, let us notice two in-
teresting matters. You remember that
Buddhism was brought to the Three King-
doms by three priests — Sundo, Mara-
nanda, Mukocha. Sundo was a man from
Tibet; I suppose he represented the great
Mongolian race, that he was a yellow
I man; Marananda, who brought religion
to Pakche was a Hindu; presumably he
represented the Caucasic peoples; he may
i have been dark, but our courts would
i probably have to call him a white man;
; Mukocha was called a black man, a negro,
\ and probably really represented the Ethio-
Ipian race. Is it not interesting that the
peninsula of Korea should have received
its first generally spread religion through
representatives of the three great races of
the world, the yellow, white and black?
Buddhism, the first universal religion that
J the world ever saw, early made an appeal
to all men, regardless of color and of race.
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Two famous men, Chinese, lived during
this period. Their names were Fa-hien
and Hiouen-Tsiang. In 399 A. I). Fa-hien
started on foot from China, to visit India,
to learn of Buddhism and Buddha in the
old home. He travelled many thousands
of miles of weary pilgrimage in order to
bring back with him fresh idols and cor-
rect texts and new inspiration from the
cradle of the great religion. It was more
than two hundred years later, in 629, that
Hiouen-Tsiang made the same journey.
Think of the danger these men passed
through! They crossed deserts, which even
to-day are almost impassable; they climbed
difficult mountains and crossed broad riv-
ers; they journeyed through countries of
hostile peoples; they had to travel with-
out artificial means of transportation
through districts of foreign speech; they
did all just to visit the old home of the
Great Teacher, and to get his religion at
first hand. We have the record of their
travels. Their simple diaries have been
translated into various languages of Asia
and into English, French and other Euro-
[17]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
pean tongues. Fa-hien was fifteen years
upon his pilgrimage, Hiouen-Tsiang six-
teen years. Both lived to come back to
their homes to the great advantage of their
co-religionists.
We have no diaries written by old Ko-
rean pilgrims, but we know that during the
glow of early convertship many from the
peninsula made the same journey to the
West.^ Between 638 A.D. and 650 seven at
least went from Korea to India to study the
new religion in its old home. Most of
them died there, never returning to their
native land.
j We now come to the second division of
/ Korean history and its Buddhism, that of
I the Koryu Dynasty. You remember that
■ General Wang-on, when his royal master
went crazy and the officials revolted, seized
the kingly power. He removed the capi-
tal to Songdo. Silla quickly went to its
/ final fall and the new kingdom controlled
I the vv^hole peninsula. Wang-on realized
I perfectly that the abuse of Buddhism had
I been the chief trouble with Kung-ye. His
' coming into power was largely due to an
[18]
PLATE VII
Geomantic Mast: Chung-ju
[Page 6]
HISTORY
anti-Buddhistic movement. /Still, he him-
self was Buddhist and while he did much
to check the abuses of the religion he con-
tinued to practise it on a more modest
scale. At his new capital he ended the first
year of his rule, 918, with a famous festival
of which we have a description.
I There was an enormous lantern, hung about
with hundreds of others under a tent made of a
network of silken cords. Music was an im-
portant element. There were also representa-
I'tions of dragons, birds, elephants, horses, carts
and boats. Dancing was prominent and there
were in all a hundred forms of entertainment.
Each official wore the long, flowing sleeves,
and each carried the ivory memorandum tablets.
The king sat on a high platform and watched
the entertainment. (Hulbert. )
You see he was very far from cutting
loose from Buddhism. In reality, the re-
ligion flourished over the whole peninsula.
When Wang-on died in 942, he left a
written message for his son and successor.
It contained ten rules of conduct for his
guidance as king, which were numbered
from one to ten. Three had to do with
religion, and, of course, that religion was
[19]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Buddhism. In the first rule he advised
his son to continue to recognize Buddhism
as the state religion. The second rule was
that he should build no more monasteries.
While it was a good thing to continue
Buddhism, it was a bad thing to build
more monasteries, as too much money had
already been expended upon them. The
sixth of the rules was for the establish-
ment of an annual Buddhist festival of the
same nature as the one he had celebrated
at the end of his first year. So Wang-on
did not destroy Buddhism but continued it.
In course of time the old religion re-
gained much of its harmful and destruc-
|tive influence. From history we may cull
I a few events that illustrate its power.
About the beginning of the eleventh cen-
tury there came from China a fuller devel-
opment of Confucianism than had before^
existed. About 1026 this influence be-
came very strong; the official class, as
was natural, was Confucianist; it organized
and directed governmental action; between
the officials, Confucianists, and the priests,
Buddhists, there grew up a deadly conflict
[20]
HISTORY
which lasted on through all the centuries.;
In 1036 the king was devoutly Buddhistic.
He ''decreed that if a man had four sons
one of them must become a monk; because?
of the Buddhist canon against the spilling
of blood, the death penalty was changed to
banishment; another great annual festival
was instituted. The king also encouraged
the custom of having boys go about the
streets with Buddhistic books on thei^
backs from which the monks read alouq
as they went along, to secure blessings for]
the people." (Hulbert.)
In 1046 it is said the king fed and lodged
ten thousand monks in his palace. In 1056
or thereabouts one son out of three wasj
compelled to become a monk. In 11 36 itj
is said that thirty thousand monks were
present at a single ceremony.
Under such circumstances, what would
happen? When a religion had such a hold
on the community — building splendid
monasteries, erecting great temples, mak-
ing idols into whose construction gilt of
pure gold entered in quantity, making
bells of metal that might have been better
[21]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
used for practical ends, draining the people /
of wealth by giving enormous properties
eternally into the possession of religious
establishments — a crash was bound to
come. It came in Korea. The country
had been drained; the people had been
heavily burdened ; the men who as monks
and priests should have led in instruction
and good living were notorious examples
of profligacy and corruption.
At last, in 1392, a man arose who fought
against the king. The excuse for his fight-
ing was the fact that the government was
given over to a corrupt religion. Just as
before it was the successful general who
became the founder of a new dynasty; in
this case also he had been loyal at first to
the deposed king. The man's name was
Yi, and his title Tajo, and he is commonly
known in Korea as Yi-Tajo. He is revered
as the founder of the dynasty which has
just ended. In 1392 the old kingdom of
Korai disappeared and with it the dynasty
of Koryu, and in their place came the
modern Chosen and the Yi Dynasty. Seoul
became the new capital.
[22]
PLATE VIII
The Buddha: cave temple, Sukkul-am -
[Page ii]
HISTORY
Before we leave this period let me say
something about miriok and printing-
blocks. The word miriok has given me
considerable trouble; I cannot learn
whether it is a Korean or a Japanese word,
or what was its first meaning, or whether
it has anything to do with the word
Miroku, the name of ''the coming Bud-
dha." Anyway the name miriok is applied
in Korea to a stone that is worshipped; it
is sometimes a natural stone and sometimes
artificially shaped to more or less of the
form of a Buddha. There are thousands
of them in Korea. There are big miriok
and little. My belief is that they were at
first simple, natural stones, with something
about their shape which was suggestive.
They might be natural pinnacles, or
rounded forms. Probably the old Koreans,
long before the days of Buddhism, wor-
shipped such stones and chiefly in order
that the family might be increased. It was
probably barren women and childless men
who went to miriok and prayed for chil-
dren. Then came Buddhism and took over
the stone-worship of the olden time. Later
[23]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
those miriok which were artificially shaped
to human form — Buddha-like — came into
being. Were there time, we would speak
of various of the larger miriok in Korea,
like the great pair at Paju and the couple
at Ansung. Of the largest, however, that
at Eunjin,- we will say something. There
are many strange stories connected with it.
It is apparently a natural pinnacle of rock,
which has been carved into the shape of a
Buddha; it is more than fifty feet high and
can be seen from a great distance; it is
more than nine hundred years old; in its
present form it is even to-day worshipped
by thousands of people; in the past there
have been times when tens of thousands
gathered at once to worship it. (Plate X.)
It is said that the stone suddenly ap-
peared, pushing up from the ground and
that it cried out with the voice of a boy;
it was seen by a woman who was gathering
ferns for eating; when she reported the
miracle it was confirmed by an official
inspection after which orders were given
that it should be carved to its present
form.
[24]
PLATE IX
BODHISATTVA FIGURE, SuKKUL-AM
[Page ii]
HISTORY
No land surpasses Korea in its abun-
dance of local tales. Every hill, valley,
conspicuous rock, stream and pool of
water has its story. Every miriok of
prominence in the country has traditions
associated w^ith it. The one most com-
monly told of this great miriok runs as
follows : A country man who had been to
the capital, returning to his home passed
this great stone figure. He noticed a pear
tree growing from the head, which bore
several fine pears. The thought occurred
to him to carry one of these to his village
as a present for the magistrate. With
infinite difficulty he climbed up the smooth
surface of the figure, — the magnitude of
the achievement will be evident from an
inspection of the picture. When he
reached the face and climbed over the lips
he hesitated as to whether to pass up
through the nostril, — a foolish procedure
as it was a blind passage, — or climb around
the nose. He decided upon the former
method and proceeded to worm his way
into the opening. He experienced a
mighty shock and, when he came to him-
[25]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
self, found that he was lying on the ground.
His presence in the nostril had irritated
the figure which had sneezed, thus throw-
ing him to the earth. Ruefully rubbing
his bruises, he looked upward at the figure
regretful for his lost effort But he had
after all been fortunate and the same sneeze
which had dislodged him had shaken one
of the pears from the tree and it had fallen
on the grass near by. Picking it up he
hastened on his way rejoicing.
The second item connected with this
period to which I wish to refer is the cut-
ting of wood-blocks for printing the entire
Buddhist scriptures. The set of blocks is
still preserved in the ancient monastery of
Hain-sa. They were made during the
reign of King Kojong and are seven hun-
dred years old. There are eighty-one thou-
sand of these blocks and each of them prints
an entire page of a Buddhist text. Al-
together they print six thousand eight hun-
dred and five volumes, one thousand five
hundred and eleven different works. A
special building is devoted to their pres-
ervation and they have been taken over by
[26]
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HISTORY
the Japanese government as National
Treasure. (Plates XII, XIII.) The blocks
are said to represent the work of monks
through fifteen years and the set is reputed
the best in the world. Several years ago
Count General Terauchi ordered several
copies of the Tripitaka printed from these
blocks. One of these copies was presented
to the Emperor and a second is preserved
in the temple, Senyu-ji, Kyoto.
Yi-Tajo came to power through an anti-[
Buddhist movement. Yet on the whole he
dealt leniently with the religion. He
crippled it but did not destroy it. Through
the greater part of the Yi Dynasty, how-
ever. Buddhism was at serious disadvan-
tage. Only for a short time under the king
Seijo did it have a momentary revival. He
ruled from 1456 to 1468. During his
reign a splendid temple was built in Seoul
of which we have an interesting contem-
porary description;^ no sign of it remains
to-day, but the beautiful pagoda erected
at the same time, and the turtle-borne
monumental stone recording the occasion
of its construction are in existence in Pa-
[27]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
goda Park at the center of the city.^ This
pious king was succeeded in 1469 by his
young son, Chasan. His mother, the late
king's widow, was at first his regent but in
1472 he took the actual reins of power and
almost his first act was to drive Buddhism
out of Seoul. He not only abolished all
the monasteries and temples in the capital
city, but in every city and town through-
out the kingdom. The priests took refuge
in the mountains and from that time down
,' until these latter days there have been no
Buddhist temples in Korean cities. There
have only been monasteries in the moun-
tains, often in inaccessible places.
Those were drastic measures and under
them Korean Buddhism suffered and sank
to lowest ebb. It passed through hard
times during four hundred years and more
of exile. Still the religion was not dead,
and during this period of test it even
showed some signs of worth.
In 1592, Hideyoshi sent his great army
from Japan to conquer Korea. It was
under two generals, one a Christian and
the other a Buddhist. The invaders
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HISTORY
wrought great destruction in the unfor-
tunate peninsula. Many of the temples
and monasteries in the mountains were
destroyed, altars were stripped of treasures,
monks and priests driven from their sanc-
tuaries. During this invasion some of the
priests showed themselves loyal, thus Hul-
bert tells us:
Hyu-Chung, known throughout the Eight
Provinces as the great teacher of Sosan, was
a man of great natural ability as well as of
great learning. His pupils were numbered by
thousands and were found in every province.
He called together two thousand of them and
appeared before the king at Euiju and said:
"We are of the common people, but we are
all the king's servants and two thousand of us
have come to die for Your Majesty." The
king was much pleased bv this demonstration of
loyalty and made Hyu-Chung a Priest-General
and told him to go into camp at Pop-Heung
Monastery. He did so, and from that point
sent out a call to all the monasteries in the land.
In Chulla province was a warrior-monk, Ch'oe-
Yung and at Diamonci Mountain another named
Yu-Chung. These came with over a thousand
followers and went into camp a few miles to
the East of P'yeng-Yang. They had no in-
[29]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
tention of engaging In actual battle, but they
acted as spies, took charge of the commissariat
and made themselves generally useful. During
battle they stood behind the troops and shouted
encouragement. Yu-Chung, trusting to his
priestly garb, went into P'yeng-Yang to see the
Japanese generals.
Thus we see, that notwithstanding the
condition of poverty, ignorance and unim-
portance to which the Buddhist monks
had sunk there were still among them
teachers of great learning with crowds of
students, who were ready to serve their
king in his hour of trial.
( In 1660 a curious condition had arisen,
j With these mountain monasteries open to
all who came, they had become a refuge
for the disaffected. Suppose a man had
trouble with his family, he would become
religious and retire to a monastery as a
monk; if a man failed in business, he might
find refuge there; for one reason or another
it was easy for a man who was vicious or a
failure or unhappy to seek escape in the
mountain monasteries. Thousands flocked
to them until the government became dis-
[30]
)
HISTORY
turbed and about 1660 the king issued anr
edict ''that no more men with family ties
should desert them in this way and that
all monks who had families living shouldj
doff their religious garb and come bad
to the world and support their families
like honest men."
Notwithstanding neglect, poverty, and
limitations the monasteries showed remark-
able recuperative power after the destruc-
tion wrought by Hideyoshi's armies. Thus,
Pawpchu-sa was practically destroyed and
the great mass of fine buildings now there
has been constructed since. Some of the
great monasteries farther south also suf-
fered severely; yet the damage has been
fully repaired. (Plate II.)
Nor did scholarship completely disap-
pear in these later years. When Dr. Legge
translated Fa-hien's diary into English, he
had four editions of the work at hand —
two Chinese, one Japanese and one Ko-
rean; the latter, which bears the date 1726,
was the most satisfactory and was superior
as a piece of book-making.
[31]
KOREAN BUDDHISM:
CONDITION
WITH the exile of Buddhism to the?
mountains several results ensued.
In the first place each monastery
\ became a thing by itself; there was no
unity, no combination, no force in the
movement of Buddhism as such, over the
kingdom. In the second place, not being
permitted to enter the cities, the Buddhist
priests came to be looked upon with con-
tempt by the people; they were, of course,
beggars, vowed to poverty — they had al-
ways been that, but they had had respect;
with their seclusion in the mountain mon-
asteries they lost what honor had been
attributed to them; they became ignorant,
vicious and depraved.
In his History of Korea Dr. Hulbert
says :
" In 1902, a very determined attempt to re-
vive the Buddhist cult was made. The Emperor
[32]
CONDITION
consented to the establishment of a great cen-
tral monastery for the whole country in the
vicinity of Seoul, and in it a Buddhist high
priest who was to control the whole church in
the land. It was a ludicrous attempt, because
Buddhism in Korea is dead."
Remember at just what point in the his-
tory of the nation this effort to restore
Buddhism took place. Japan's war against
China was declared in 1894; it ended in
1895, with the treaty of Shimonoseki; it
was one of the most important wars of
recent times; it was fought over Korea —
in order to see whether Korea owed al-
legiance to China or was an independent
nation. From 1895 on, Korea was a hot-
bed of world intrigue. China, Russia,
Japan, all were struggling on the peninsula
for a continued foothold. Each was trying
to gain advantage. From this condition, in
1904 came the great war between Japan
and Russia, which was ended by the treaty
of Portsmouth. It too, was a war on
account of Korea. It decided the ques-
tion as to whether Russian, or Chinese, or
Japanese influence should preponderate.
[33]
OJT.
KOREAN BUDDHISM
The year 1902 came right between those
two great wars, which were fought on
account of Korea. In 1902 the man who T^'^l
had been King — the last real representa-
tive of the Yi Dynasty had become Em-
peror. One of the results of the war of
1894 was to make Korea an empire, and
her king an emperor. The effort to re-
establish and revive Buddhism was made
then during this period of the empire.
The passage quoted from Hulbert was
printed in 1905. It referred to an attempt
made in 1902, which he says failed, since
Buddhism was dead. To-day is 191 8. I
have been visiting Korea since 191 1 and
have seen what seems to be definite growth
and revival of the old religion. Buddhism
appears to-day to be very far from dead in
Korea. It shows signs of active life and
there may be prospects of its future growth
and large development.
The monasteries of Korea are under
control of thirty head monasteries.^ Some
of these have only two or three unimpor-
tant subordinate monasteries, but others
are the heads of really great groups. For
[34]
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CONDITION
instance, Yuchom-sa, in the heart of the
Diamond Mountains, is the head of forty
monasteries in that remarkable mass of
peaks (Plates III, XVII) ; Pongeum-sa,
which is near Seoul, is said to be the head
of eighty-six monasteries. These head
monasteries in 1902 had become greatly
reduced in property, membership, influ-
ence and splendor. They were estranged
from each other. There was no feeling of
unity among them. Each monastery was
a thing by itself and decay and corruption
were everywhere evident.
But about six years ago the priests of these
thirty liead monasteries came together;
they held a great meeting and discussed
their common interests; they decided
that union was necessary and a forward
movement, a thing such as was tried
in 1902 and which failed then. It was
tried again and has not failed. They
elected a president of their commission,
with a term of office of one year. His
whole time is devoted to the interests of
united Korean Buddhism for that year.
(Plate I.) They bought property in the
[35]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
city of Seoul and erected a central build-
ing, partly temple and partly office build-
ing. The expenses of this head office are
borne by the thirty temples in proportion
to their importance and wealth. The
monasteries are graded into five groups and
each contributes annually a set sum for
the advancement of Buddhism in the
peninsula.
While in Seoul last year, I visited a
theological seminary of Buddhism. It
has a good location in a desirable part of
the city; it occupies a fine old Korean
building; it has a corps of teachers of some
ability; I found sixty-five students in at-
tendance. The institution had been run-
ning for about three years. Most of the
students were already connected with some
of the mountain monasteries; they had
come in for information, for improvement,
for further study; they were looking for-
ward to return to their temples with new
strength and vigor for their work. The
young men with whom I talked seemed to
be earnestly interested and anxious for im-
provement. A definite course of three
[36]
CONDITION
years instruction is offered to them. The
number of students has grown steadily and
no doubt the time will come when there
will be hundreds of students in this institu-
tion.
There is to-day a magazine conducted in
the interests of Korean Buddhism. It has
been published for something like six
years. The history of the editor, Yi Nung
Hwa, is rather interesting.^ His father is
a pillar of the Presbyterian Church in
Seoul, one of the most successful of the
mission churches. The young man himself
was educated in Catholic schools in Seoul;
his education came from foreigners, and
he is now official interpreter for the Belgian
Consul ; but he finds his pleasure and out-
side interest in this magazine for the ad-
vancement of Korean Buddhism. Son of a
Presbyterian Elder, trained in Catholic
schools, speaking French, Korean, Chinese
and Japanese, professionally engaged in
service at a foreign consulate, he is the
editor of a magazine for Buddhist propa-
ganda!
Mr. Yi is also the author of a history of
[37]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Korean Buddhism, which had not yet been
printed when I saw him. It is, I think, the
only history that has been written cover-
ing the entire field of Korean Buddhism.
Everything that is printed in Korea must
pass under the eye of the Japanese govern-
ment, and can be printed only with its per-
mission. It makes no difference whether
the material is secular or religious, social,
economic, literary or political. At the
time when we were speaking about his
book it had been sent in to the government
for examination. It is to be hoped that it
was approved and that permission was
given for its publication. A book of that
kind would have importance and no such
book exists, in any modern form certainly,
for popular reading.
One of the most interesting things in con-
nection with this modern movement of
Korean Buddhism, and one which seems
to show that it has real vitality, is the fact
that Buddhist books for common reading
are being printed. Most Korean books are
printed in Chinese characters and are thus
sealed to the common people; they can be
[38]
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CONDITION
read only by scholars or people of con-
siderable education. Yet Korea is said to
have invented one of the most perfect sys-
tems of writing that the w^orld has seen. It
is known as the on-mun and is competent
to write the language perfectly and easily.
But scholars in Korea have never used the
on-mun; it has been considered suitable
only for the ignorant, for women and chil-
dren. If a book is to reach the common
people, however, and be widely read, it
should be printed in on-mun. The books
issued by the foreign missionaries in their
propaganda have been printed in on-mun,
or in a mixed script of Chinese character
and on-mun. The fact that several Bud-
dhist books have recently appeared printed
in on-mun shows that Korean Buddhism is
reaching out after the common people.
Two of these books deserve special men-
tion. One is called the '' Eight Scenes from
the Life of Buddha." It follows quite
closely the story of Buddha's life as told in
other countries. The book is widely offered
at book stores and street stalls and is said
to have considerable sale. More interest-
[39]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
ing than it, however, is the allegory called
Sei-yeu-ki. You remember that in the
seventh century a Chinese pilgrim, Hiouen
Tsiang, went on foot from China to India,
and that he came back loaded with books
and images for use in religious worship.
That pilgrim was really a historic char-
acter, and he wrote an account of his
journey, a simple and charming diary of
travel. His book was called Sei-yeu-ki,
which in its English translation appears
under the title of ''A Report of Buddhist
Kingdoms." In it he described the coun-
tries through which he had passed, the
monasteries and temples w^hich he had seen,
and the adventures he had undergone.
Now^ in the thirteenth century a Chinese
monk wrote a book with almost the same
name. As pronounced there is scarcely
any dilTerence ; when the names are written
they are easily distinguished. The writer in-
tended to imitate the name of the diary of
the old pilgrim.. In his story, he says that
a certain man named Hiouen-Tsiang — he
uses the actual name of the old pilgrim —
goes on a journey to the West for books,
[40]
CONDITION
idols and information, just as the real
pilgrim did; but instead of telling a true
and simple story this man writes an alle-
gory something of the nature of '^ Pilgrim's
Progress." It is full of astonishing adven-
tures. It seems that the Emperor of China
died and came to life again. He deter-
mined to send Hiouen-Tsiang, ''the Mas-
ter," to the West for books, idols and
pictures. The Master started upon his
errand and as he travelled picked up a
strange group of comrades. The Emperor
had given him a white horse, and of course
he had to have a boy to take care of it; in
addition he had for companions and helpers
a monkey and a pig. The master and his
three human companions were gone, like the
real pilgrim, about fifteen years; they trav-
elled, of course, through the same countries,
but had startling adventures. The master
was very pious, but unpractical; in fact he
was a weak subject for the hero of a story.
But the monkey was fine, and when they got
into trouble it was always the monkey who
rescued them. When the master, through
his lack of knowledge, and practical ex-
[41]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
perience, was caught by the most palpable
traps and tricks only the monkey could rescue
him. Yet they all abused the poor creature.
All were jealous of him and on the slightest
occasion pig or boy or horse urged the
master to make the magic hat equipped
with thorns and pins squeeze and hurt the
monkey's head in order '' that he shall not
become proud." It is really an interesting
and beautiful allegory. It has recently been
translated into English by a missionary in
China and anyone who wishes may read it.
For hundreds of years it has been read in
the original Chinese by Chinese, Koreans
and Japanese. To-day Koreans may read
it in their own language, printed in on-
mun.
All these signs of life seem to show that
Korean Buddhism is far from dead. It is
coming forth from its mountain exile and
bids fair to make itself felt in the future.
Let us examine for a moment the or-
ganization of an ordinary monastery. The
monasteries are scattered through the moun-
tains. Many of them are in remote places
and it is difficult to reach them. Some are
[42]
CONDITION
so far back that it would be impossible for
them to go farther. I have no fears that ordi-
nary tourists will spoil my delight in Pawp-
chu-sa, or Hain-sa, or Yu-chom-sa. If one
desires to see them he must pay the price.
Take Pawpchu-sa for instance. To see it
we dismounted from the railroad train and
took a Ford car across country ten miles
to a little district capital; the next day, by
government automobile, we went out over
a road which had just been put in good
order — there was only one break in it
that was serious; for forty miles we trav-
elled over this mountain road, deeper and
deeper among the hills, up and up into the
narrowing valley, until with mountains on
all sides of us we reached the village of
Poun. There we abandoned the automo-
bile. The party went by horses, but a chair
had been provided for my benefit. I hate
chairs, and would have much preferred a
horse, though Korean horses are little
creatures and disagreeable. Their gait is
as bad as anything one can imagine; there
is nothing like a saddle, but only a broad
cushion, without stirrups, and the trav-
[43]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
eller's legs hang down over the front of
the cushion, one foot on each side of the
horse's neck and the rider has no control
whatever over the horse; nor has anyone
else, although the mapu, or ''boy," runs
along beside and hangs on to the halter or
strikes the beast with stick or whip. I hate
a Korean horse, but I hate a chair worse.
However, we started, the rest on horses.
When we had gone about half a mile the
chair carriers, though professionals, de-
clared they could go no farther; this, of
course, was a mere question of weight; it
was, however, a great relief to me.
Promptly an exchange was made with my
little Japanese photographer and inter-
preter, who took the chair, while I mounted
his horse — the smallest and weakest of the
outfit. We travelled on and on for miles;
we passed one ridge behind another and
another and another, until at last we
reached Pawpchu-sa. Anyone who really
journeys to Pawpchu-sa has my regard and
blessing.
The trip to Hain-sa, where the wood-
blocks are preserved, is a trying one. We
[44]
PLATE XIV
Great Buddha relief on rock face: Inner Kongo
[Page 70]
CONDITION
went by basha. Japanese bashas are bad;
the Japanese themselves think them far
superior to Korean, but I prefer the latter.
A basha is made for six passengers, but
usually carries eight. The Japanese basha
has two benches running lengthwise at the
sides; three persons fill a bench, four over-
fill one. The driver sits in front and a
single horse moves the conveyance. Such
is the Japanese basha. The Korean vehicle
has no benches at the sides like the Japanese
afifair; the passengers sit upon the floor
with thin, rush mats under them, probably
to keep the floor of the vehicle clean; there
are no springs and the roads are rough.
After travelling sitting on the springless
floor for thirty- two miles, we abandoned
the basha^ as there was no longer a cart-
road, and rode about seventeen miles on
horses; it was like travelling over Mexican
trails. Thus we reached Hain-sa. I do not
begrudge a visit to Hain-sa to any person;
those who make the journey deserve to be
treated as friends and brothers.
Each monastery has its official corps.
First comes the head priest. He has a
[45]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
hard time of it. He has to deal with the
outside world and to oversee everything;
he is business manager; he has little to do
with spiritual direction, but has to settle
all the quarrels and deal with all the
problems that present themselves to the
monastery; he gets all the hard work and
shoulders all the blame. He receives, how-
ever, some extra rice and is entitled to an
extraordinary exhibition of respect. He
has a councillor to help him in problems
of a serious nature. Next comes the re-
ligious head, who leads the services and
sees that they are properly observed. The
first religious service of the day comes at
three o'clock A.M. At that hour the visitor
hears the bells and gongs and the droning
of songs and prayers. The people of the
monastery all turn out to early service.
There may be other services throughout
the day; there are also times of meditation,
and in special halls, where no disturbance
is permitted, persons spend hours or entire
days in silence and pious thought. There
is always a steward whose business it is to
attend to the food supply of the entire
[46]
CONDITION
monastery. In a monastery of a hundred
and fifty or two hundred persons in a re-
mote mountain district, the steward's work
is important and exacting. At every mon-
astery there are, of course, one or two cooks,
whose business it is to prepare the food.
There is regularly also, a group of little
fellows, boys from ten to fifteen years of
age, whose business it is to help these others
on every occasion when help is needed.
These boys have little in the way of re-
ligious duties, but sweeping and cleaning,
errands, burden carrying and hard work
in general falls on them. (Plate XL)
The balance of the population in a mon-
astery is devoted to religious living. These
include three different kinds of persons —
priests, acolytes and orphans. The mon-
asteries have always been orphan asylums.
When a child in the country around is left
without parents or other proper guardians
he Is usually sent to the mountain mon-
astery; unless the unexpected happens he
will grow up in the way of religion and be-
come a priest or monk when the time
arrives.
[47]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Many young men come in from the out-
side world for purposes of instruction.
They look forward to becoming monks, but
during their period of study they let their
hair grow long, dress as outsiders and are
regarded as still belonging to the world.
Most of them, however, carry out their
intention and remain permanently in the
monastery. Thirdly, there are the regular
monks and priests. They are dressed, of
course, in characteristic style, and their
heads are shaved. They live on vegetarian
food and are vowed to celibacy. At some
of the more important monasteries there is
a resident teacher, but most of them depend
upon a teacher sent from the head temple.
The greeting given him when he arrives is
beautiful to see. All know when he is ex-
pected, and at the hour they go in pro-
cession, dressed in their best robes, out to
the farthest gate to meet him. When he
arrives all but the head priest prostrate
themselves so that they actually grovel in
the dust. Then, accompanying him, with
the head priest walking before, the whole
company goes back to the monastery and
[48]
o
o
o
Pi
<
CONDITION
the teaching almost immediately begins.
He barely takes a little refreshment and
rests a bit before he undertakes his duties.
During the period of his stay the teaching
continues throughout the day. One class
or group comes in after another; the teach-
ing is sometimes from books, sometimes
from the teacher's own experience and
knowledge.
Are the monasteries really places of great
learning; are they centers of deep piety?
It is hard to tell and much depends on one's
definition.
We must remember that there are two j
vastly different kinds of Buddhism. They'
are almost opposite; the one is certainly!
the negation of the other. The first is the;
Buddhism which the actual Buddha taught.
You remember that he was an historic
character, who lived at about five hundred
years before Christ. An Indian prince, he
is known under various names as Sakya-
muni, Siddartha and Gautama. He pon-
dered much over the problems of life and
devoted himself to the solution of mysteries;
he tried asceticism and listened to one;
teacher after another; he wandered, medi-l
[49]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
tated, fasted; he finally reached enlighten-
ment. He decided that life was an illusion
, and a snare which one would gladly be rid
of; he discovered that the chain that bound
one to this existence could be broken. Re-
lease comes from careful conduct; it comes
through right living, and right thinking;
I it comes in course of time, after many many
1 existences; through right living in one life
man gathers karma which carries him to
higher and higher stages until at last he
becomes a great scholar; finally he becomes
'a Bodhisattva, which is but one step from
Buddha-hood; and finally, from a Bod-
hisattva, through enlightenment, he be-
comes a true Buddha and when his earthly
life ends, passes out into oblivion, blissful,
calm nothingness.
I Buddha was one of the greatest of world
I teachers. His teaching was simple; we
may work out release gradually from the
thraldom into which we are born; through
careful thought and right living we may
pass from stage to stage until at last we
merge into infinity and lose our individu-
ality.
» Buddha taught that we end in Nirvana;
[50]
/^
!
■^^*«8fel : !
. v.,ri;
i
PLATE XVI
Head-priest and Pagoda: Sinkei-sa, Diamond
Mountains
[Page 74]
CONDITION
his doctrine was a revolt against the idea'
of an individual soul that lives forever; in
his religion there were no figures, no idols,'
nothing for worship. Buddhism proper
taught nothing about gods. It simply
taught men to strive for enlightenment;
to become Buddhas and to pass out into
Nirvana. '
But this is not the Buddhism of China,
Korea or Japan. The Buddhism of these^
three countries recognizes an individual}
soul that continues. It has scores of gods
and represents them by images or idols; the
man who lives to-day does not try to work
out salvation for himself through stage
after stage of higher living. On the con-^
trary he seeks salvation through another
and that other is Amida Buddha. The
Koreans call him Amida Pul. You may
see them any day standing outside the
temples repeating over and over again the
formula, '^Namu Amida Pul, Namu
Amida Pul, Namu Amida Pul." They are.
thereby gaining salvation; through faith \^
Amida they will reach the Western Para-j
dise. There was no Western Paradise in
[5.] -•
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Buddha's teaching; there was no continued
existence of the human soul ; there was no
one through whom men might be saved;
one must work out his own salvation. But
in this second Buddhism, any person in a
single moment may gain salvation. It
makes no difference whether a man has led
a good or evil life, death-bed repentance
may save him. A man does nothing for
himself; faith only through the merit of
another wins salvation- — it sounds like
good Presbyterian doctrine.
It is evident that these two forms of
Buddhism could not diverge more widely
than they do. The early Buddhism taught
by Sakyamuni is called Hinayana or the
"Little Vehicle." The other form is known
as Mahayana the '' Great Vehicle." Ko-
rean Buddhism is and for the most part
always has been Mahayana, yet in the Bud-
dhist temples of the Korean monasteries
one finds many a figure of Sakyamuni and
the worshippers seem totally unconscious of
their inconsistency and of the fact that
their worship of Sakya is a contradiction
in terms.
[52]
/
CO
O
Q
o
> ^
< O
w
w
CONDITION
This leads us to Inquire regarding sects.
Japanese Buddhism is divided into many.
Thus we may speak of Shingon, Jodo, Zen,
or Nichiren Buddhism there. Each of
these names stands for a definite system of
doctrinal belief. Every student of Bud-
dhism in Japan know^s the fundamental
differences upon which the dozen or more
Japanese Buddhist sects are based. Know-
ing something of these divisions in Japan
it was natural to ask on coming into contact
with Korean Buddhism what sects they
have. The answer was always immediate
and glibly given. '^We have two sects —
Syen and Kyo^
This was said everywhere, but I cannot
see that there is anything in Korean Bud-
dhism like the sects of Japan. In Shingon
there is a whole series of doctrines and
beliefs and practices; so in Zen, so in every
other sect. Every person belonging to a
given sect holds those dogmas and practises
those ceremonials characteristic of his sect.
No man is at once Shingon and Zen. But
in a Korean monastery we find Syen peo-
ple meditating and Kyo people reading
[53]
/
KOREAN BUDDHISM
and to-morrow the situation will be re-
versed, and it seems as if the terms apply
merely to two modes of discipline, not to
actually different sects. At all events in
the same monastery we regularly find Syen
and Kyo.
The texts of Mahayana Buddhism were
originally in Sanskrit. They have been
translated into Chinese and it is in their
Chinese form that they are generally
studied in China, Korea and Japan.^ In
Korean monasteries we not infrequently
find books that are printed, at least in part,
in Sanskrit characters. Do the Korean
monks know the Sanskrit language? Far
from it. I doubt whether there are a half-
dozen priests in all Korea who know any-
thing whatever of the language.
At every temple one may secure tarani.
A tarani is a sheet of paper with something
printed on it in red from a wood-block.
The wood-blocks at the different temples
vary and while most of the characters in
the printing are Chinese, there is a sprink-
ling of Sanskrit. A tarani is a sort of pass-
port to the Western Paradise and it is
[54]
■>n
-■myC^'f
Kv#i*|
■■■*>'^.
b* *-'^ .Vv
/'
»r»ffi«i«B»aw«*«Ma«oer'WK«-w>i^»sne»»BK!!it3ws3»«^^
«J •
I
O
1—1 P
>^ ..
Q
W
>
KOREAN BUDDHISM
(of the dead body, and they say that only
about one man out of four hundred gives
rise to one of these sari.
I had always had my doubts about them.
One day at Songkwang-sa, where the monks
are exceptionally depraved, a policeman
was with us to see that nothing happened.
Coming to some sari stones we asked a
monk about them. He told us the same
story that we had heard before and we
asked him if he really believed that it was
true. He answered, " O yes, surely it is
true." The policeman, however, expressed
vigorous doubt. The monk replied, ''You
don't believe it, I will show you." So we
proceeded to tear a sari monument to
pieces! It seemed a shocking thing to do.
We took off the top stone, and laid it by,
and then turned the main stone upside
down. At the center was a little cavity
which was neatly covered with a thin sheet
or disk of earthenware; removing this we
found inside a hole filled with packing, in
which was a small tin capsule bearing an
inscription. This was said to be the name
of the man who had honored the dead
[56]
PLATE XIX
Brahmanic Guardian of Buddhism : Songkwang-sa
[Page 79]
CONDITION
priest by erecting the monument to him.
Opening the capsule it was found to con-
tain some packing in the midst of which
was the little gem — all that remained to
represent the worthy dead man. We put
it back with care, replaced the packing,
closed the capsule, repacked it and recon-
structed the monument as it had been orig-
inally. No doubt all these sari stones
really contain some such relic. That
policeman had his doubts — I still have
doubts as to just what sari are, but it seems
certain that all sari stones really have sari
in them.
There is no question that there is much
ignorance and even vice among the monks.
In this monastery where we examined the
matter of sari stones there were only five
men, poor, ignorant fellows. We early
noticed that the head priest there lacked a
tooth, but only found after we had left the
place that the most devout of the five
monks had knocked it out the day before,
having had a fight with his superior. The
neighbors told us that that monastery was
a place of constant disorder and bad conduct.
[57]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
At one monastery we were even moved
to ffive a lesson in behavior. Here we were
accompanied by a Japanese policeman; he
was with us to protect and give such aid as
possible, but was absolutely of no use.
The monks received us coldly, answered a
few questions and then disappeared. Un-
accustomed to such treatment, I complained
to the policeman who replied, ''This mon-
astery has a very bad name in all this
district; the monks are avaricious; they are
thieves; they always treat visitors badly;
they do nothing unless they are well paid.
That is why I came with you." I replied,
''Why don't you do something, then? Tell
them to come out and do their duty." He
shook his head sadly and said, "You do not
know the reputation of this temple here-
abouts; it has a very bad name indeed."
So turning to my interpreter I said, "We
must deal with this problem right here."
Calling a priest I said to him, " I under-
stand that in this monastery you have a bad
name ; there is no time to waste ; we want no
delays; call every monk and priest here
at once."
[58]
PLATE XX A
Deva King, Guardian of World Quarter:
sukwang-sa
[Page 79]
PLATE XX B
Deva King, Guardian of World Quarter:
sukwang-sa
[Page 79]
CONDITION
He did so, and when they had come I
placed them in a semicircle before me and
spoke to them. ^'You are Buddhists; you
bear the name of Buddha, a great teacher;
he was kind and good and cared nothing
for money; he desired to help people and
make them better, and people who are
Buddhists should be like him; I am told
that you are avaricious and when visitors
come here you treat them with unkindness
and discourtesy unless they pay you well;
I shall pay you nothing, but I want you to
think of the disgrace you bring upon your
name by such conduct; I am visiting the
monasteries because I wish to see whether
Buddhism is a living force in this land; I
wish to see how you monks live and what
your conduct is, and what the people say
about you ; go back to your rooms and think
over what I have said; as I go from place
to place, looking at things here, I expect
to have them open, and I wish you to treat
me as a brother and a friend; remember
that others who may come after me deserve
equally good treatment; it is a shame to
bring disgrace upon a cause."
[59]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Well, there was an instant conversion.
Poor, ignorant fellows, living in their re-
mote mountain monastery, how should they
know better? They gave me honey water
and popped rice; they showed me their
buildings and their treasure; they begged
that I would come again and some accom-
panied me, when I was leaving, down to the
outer gate.
As for ignorance, it is probable that very
few of them could pass examination on
any kind of Buddhism, whether Hinayana
or Mahayana. What more could be ex-
pected? Surely we can scarcely throw
stones. What do most of us know about
Christian doctrine? How wise religiously /
are the common people in our churches?
In a recent newspaper it was stated that a
man among us asked five professional men
about the Holy Ghost. Do you suppose
he got much in the way of a satisfactory
answer? In reality he got nothing. All
these educated men had other business than
to know about the Holy Ghost. They were
not well informed in regard to the religion
in which they had been reared; and yet we
[60]
PLATE XXI
Gigantic Deva King, Guardian of World
Quarter: Pawpchu-sa
(The Korean standing by is a man of normal stature)
[Page 80]
CONDITION
expect Buddhists, who have been exiled in
mountain monasteries for four hundred
years to know so much!
How is the population of the monasteries
maintained? Whence do new members
come to-day? There is, of course, always
a supply of orphan children, few of whom
ever go back into the world after they have
been brought up in monastery surround-
ings. Other people drift in for many rea-
sons. Men who have lost their friends and
relatives by death often go to the mon-
asteries. So do those who fail in business,
or who have been disappointed in life
enterprises. The head-priest of one small,
but very famous, ancient monastery, only
recently became religious; he had been
employed as a janitor or helper in a Bud-
dhist temple of Japanese in a Korean city
and became interested and attracted. The
head-priest of one of my favorite mon-
asteries was in the world until he had
reached the age of fifty years or more; he
had been in military service and I believe,
had risen to the rank of Colonel; getting
on in years, however, he began to think
[6i]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
seriously of religious matters and retreated
to the monastery. With one young priest
at Yuchom-sa in the Diamond Mountains
we talked for hours, until midnight. He
was genuine; he had the spirit of true re-
ligion; he was a thinker and was in the
monastery from principle. There are no
doubt many like him.
We were at Tongdo-sa on Buddha's
birthday. It is one of the great monasteries
of the South. They knew we were coming
and therefore we found a place to sleep.
When we were within three or four miles
of it we found ourselves in a crowd of
persons going up to the celebration. The
nearest railway station is about ten miles
away. Most of the people, however, had
walked from their homes. It is a mountain
district, sparsely settled; there are surely
only two or three towns of any size within
fifteen miles of the place. When we
reached the monastery we found one of the
liveliest scenes we ever witnessed in Korea.
The head-priest told us that ten thousand
people slept on the grounds of the temple
that night. The majority of them were
[62]
CONDITION
women. Of course, that would have been
true if it had been a Presbyterian gather-
ing. We were two nights there. On the
full day that we spent with them a wonder-
ful crowd of people was present; there were
a few Japanese — a teacher and one or two
officials — but apart from these the multi-
tude was Korean. Probably fifteen thou-
sand people were there that day. We
found that one of the events of that eve-
ning was a moving-picture show in one of
the monastery buildings. The life of Bud-
dha was to be represented in moving pic-
tures. All this does not look much like
death! It is said that at the other head
monasteries there were proportionately
equal crowds.
We often asked what efforts were being
made at monasteries for general improve-
ment and helping the outside world. The
purpose of a monastery, of course, is not
related to such undertakings. In all re-
ligions, at all times, monasteries have been
only for persons who were seeking indi-
vidual improvement or salvation. In their
very essence they arc not philanthropic or
[63]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
reform movements. Still, with the lack of
temples in the cities and definite teaching
of the people through them, it might seem
as if something would be undertaken by the
monasteries. In reality there is much more
in this direction than could be expected.
At several of the monasteries there is a
school for outside children; some have
undertaken a definite work of teaching and
some others realize that they have a genuine
opportunity to aid in the elevation of the
country. More and more the monasteries
seem to awake to the existence of these
possibilities.
Korean Buddhism has, perhaps, a poli-
tical part to play. When the Japanese took
over Korea, Buddhists came into the coun-
try in great numbers. Japanese priests and
temples came with these settlers. These
priests and temples are in the cities and
larger towns. They do not, however, fit
with the Koreans. There might be thou-
sands of them and they would still not
make Korean converts — not because the
Japanese are not ready to do mission work,
but because the Koreans are not ready to
[64]
I
CONDITION
accept it. The Korean Buddhism of to-day
is actually Korean, not Japanese.
I can imagine nothing that would be
more dangerous to Japanese control than
a strong and vital Korean Buddhism that
was hostile to Japan. On the other hand,
I can think of nothing that would be a
greater help to Japan than a Korean Bud-
dhism developed among those people by
their own priests and friendly to Japan.
What Korean Buddhism is to be in the
future depends upon its relation to the
government now there. If Korean Bud- \
dhism accepts and cooperates with the • /
Japanese control, it will become the might-
iest factor that can be devised to make
Japan's hold on the peninsula secure. If
hostile to Japan, when the crisis comes, as
it surely will come, when Japan will be
tried out again and once for all on Korean
soil, Korean Buddhism may be the decisive
element in that moment of test. *
i
i7
I
f^J
KOREAN BUDDHISM: ART
TO-NIGHT we are to consider art in
Korean Buddhism. We shall ex-
amine it under six different forms
— scenery, sculpture in stone, wood carv-
ing, architecture, images or idols and
painting.
Perhaps it scarcely seems to you as if
scenery — real landscape, not landscape
painting — were art. In the Orient, how-
ever, it is surely such. Eastern peoples
have for hundreds of years been passion-
ately fond of the beautiful in nature.
Chinese, Koreans, Japanese will travel on
foot or by any possible conveyance many
miles to see a famous view. They locate
their houses in pretty places; they build
temples and shrines upon commanding
points. When the Korean monks, in the
fifteenth century, were compelled to take
refuge in the mountains, they located their
buildings in surroundings harmonious to
[66]
y
C/D oo
2 tic
O
O
Ph
I
I
• ?-^
CO
w
w
H
O
Ph
W
1—1
O
h
O
M
H
• •
o
PLh
ART
the religion. Their locations have been
chosen with great care. And there is much
more in scenery than the careless spectator
thinks; for the Oriental scenery always
contains something of the esoteric.
For example, think of the Diamond
Mountains. They are a remarkable tangle
of peaks and ridges; measuring only thirty
or forty miles across, the area is more or
less elliptical in form; it is called ^' the
twelve thousand peaks" or summits. The
Diamond Mountains have been famous
for two thousand years, and famous not
only in Korea, but in China and Japan.
They have been the theme of hundreds of
poems and have furnished material for
scores of books, some of them hundreds of
years old. Artists have delighted in de-
picting their beauties. The Diamond
Mountains with their twelve thousand
peaks are divided into two portions. The
name Diamond Mountains in itself is most
suggestive; the diamond is one of the most
precious symbols in Buddhism — indicat-
ing purity, clearness, brightness — and Ko-
rean Buddhism was a religion of light and
[67]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
illumination. The two divisions of the
Diamond Mountains are known as the
Inner and the Outer Kongo. The traveller
may visit the outer region and realize but
little of the true significance of Kongo-San.
In the Inner Kongo every outstanding rock
is significant. Every building has been
placed with reference to some hidden
meaning of the landscape, and with every
step the visitor goes deeper and deeper into
mystery.
Let us approach a mountain monastery.
The trail is well marked long before we
see the buildings. Once upon the grounds
we come to some of those carved posts or
pillars, devil posts, changson, which were
illustrated in the preceding lecture, and
were no doubt taken over from the old-
time paganism. We pass through the outer
gate. All the gates bear names significant
to the thoughtful worshipper. We pass
through gate after gate like '^ the gateway
of Life," ^' the gate of All-powerful Truth,"
'^ the gate of Illumination." Many of these
gates are pavilions, resting-places, whence
one may view the scenery, or visit with
[68]
00
CT3
Ph
CO
I
O
(Si
H
C/5
3 °
'-^ (75
o
1—1
I— I
Oh
ART
companions, or meditate in preparation for
worship. As we approach the buildings
we may find ourselves in a narrowing val-
ley, or passing some cascade. All the rock
cliffs have been seized and utilized and
bear inscriptions, beautifully cut into the
stone material. We see the formula, con-
stantly on the tongue of Korean Buddhists,
Namu Amida Pul, not once or dozens of
times, but everywhere, repeated hundreds
of times over. The Daimon^ or great gate-
way, is the last; it signifies the gate of death
through which we reach the heavenly life.
At last we come to the mass of monastery
buildings. Every temple has its name
marked clearly on it, sometimes the names
themselves are suggestive, helping the wor-
shipper to clearer thought and serious
meditation.
The second form of art is sculpture
in stone. We have already mentioned
the formulae and other inscriptions cut
upon the cliffs. To the Oriental eye they
are as beautiful and represent as much
artistic skill as figures would. There are,
however, also on the natural rock faces,
[69]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
designs and figures cut in low relief, which
we find in the most unexpected places. In
the Inner Kongo there are many great rep-
resentations of the Buddhas cut upon the
vertical rock face. Here, for instance, are
three figures, twenty feet in height, one of
the great Buddhist trinities. Again, there
is a representation of Monju, of even
greater size. (Plate XIV.) On another
face of rocks are the figures of the famous
fifty-three Buddhas who came so long ago
to live and die among the Diamond Moun-
tains.
In a former lecture we referred to the
cave chapel of Sukkul-am. It is full of
beauty. Excavated in the slope near a
great ridge summit, it looks out upon the
Eastern Sea. In the old days it was ap-
proached by a fine flight of steps. From
its summit a passageway led to the sub-
terranean chamber. It was bordered on
both sides by slabs carved with figures in
high relief. Here are the two guardian de-
mons, the four kings of the cardinal points,
the six generals. Passing between them we
reach the little circular chapel, about thirty
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feet across, subterraneously situated in the
hillside. Its low, vaulted roof is an in-
genious and wonderful construction. The
surrounding walls are filled with slabs
bearing fine carvings. Here are three
splendid figures of Bodhisattvas, with
boat-shaped haloes, three other figures of
Bodhisattvas with round haloes, and distrib-
uted between them the ten first disciples
of the Great Teacher. These ten figures
present marvellous detail of feature; not
only personal differences, but race differ-
ences are sharply brought out; more than
that the figures were originally colored, and
no doubt, different races are indicated by
the different tints. There is no question
that individuals of different races were
among the first disciples of the Buddha.
And in the center of all this beauty, this
flowering of ancient art, sits the stone
Buddha, on his lotus pedestal. It is a
monolith, cut from a block of stone about
eleven feet in height. It is beautiful in
pose, In feature, and in expression. For
almost fifteen hundred years it has sat there
calmly looking out upon the Eastern Sea.
[71]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Every morning it is greeted by the rising
sun.
Besides figures cut in high relief, the old
artists made full sculptures in the round.
Such, of course, was the Buddha figure,
just described. Such are the great miriok,
sculptured from natural rock pinnacles,
like the one at Eunjin. You may remember
the picture of a giant lotus pedestal, lying
in the courtyard of Kumsan-sa (Plates V,
VI), which we showed you in the first lec-
ture; it is at least a thousand years of age.
In the same courtyard, you remember that
we saw a little tower or pagoda of stone,
thirteen stories high, but in reality no taller
than a man. At Pawpchu-sa there is that
splendid bowl of stone, more than twelve
hundred years of age, which in its time, no
doubt, was filled with pure water for the
cleansing of the hands and mouth of wor-
shippers. Sometimes we find stone lanterns
and occasionally these are supported by
animal figures in caryatid forms. Then
there are the sari stones and altars and
turtle-borne monuments.
Look at this series of pictures from
[72]
PLATE XXV
Great figures of Buddhist Trinity, standing:
KuMSAN-SA. Amida, Kwannon, Daiseishi
(Thirty feet or so in height!
[Page 89]
ART
Hoiam-sa, one of the first temples we
visited in 19 17. (Plate XV.) To-day it is
a place of no significance, but it was once a
great religious center and has been asso-
ciated with three famous men. It chanced
the day we visited it that the three monks
who live there were about to celebrate the
day sacred to the memory of these noted
teachers; gifts and offerings and all the
paraphernalia for worship were laid out,
ready. These three men were Muhak,
Chikong and Nanong. Chikong was a
native of India, who spent his last days in
Korea. Nanong was chaplain and pre-
ceptor of King Kong-Min-Oang, the last
king of the Koryu dynasty. Muhak was
the chaplain and preceptor of Yi-tajo,
founder of the Yi Dynasty. Behind the
monastery building there rises a remark-
able narrow-backed and sloping ridge. It
bears a line of monuments reared to the
memory of these three men. The stones
commemorating Chikong and Nanong
were erected by Muhak in the year 1393;
the stones in memory of him were reared
in 1401. The monument to each of these
KOREAN BUDDHISM
worthies consists of four stone objects — a
lantern, an altar, a j<7r/ stone — which I sup-
pose contains the jewel that was left after
the burning of the man in whose honor it
was reared — and a stone turtle figure from
whose back rises a slab bearing a long
inscription. These turtle-stones with in-
scribed slabs are found everywhere in
Korea; the turtle is the symbol of lon-
gevity and its use in this connection breathes
the wish that the memory of the thing
recorded may endure ten thousand years.
These monuments are typical and good
examples of their class. The carving on
Muhak's sari stone is particularly beau-
tiful.
In connection with stone work we must
remind you again of the towers or pagodas
of which you have seen repeated illustra-
tions. Here we show but one to refresh
your memory. (Plate XVI.) Such towers
or pagodas rise in stories, numbering from
three to thirteen, but always odd — three,
five, seven, thirteen. There are hundreds
of them scattered over the peninsula and at
all the old monasteries you will find them.
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Some of those in the monasteries of the
Diamond Mountains claim to be fifteen
hundred years of age or more. They are
symbolical, variously; they may denote the
life of the individual, pointing heaven-
vs^ard, developing from one stage of per-
fection to another; they may mean the body
of the faithful, or the church; the simple
three-story towers symbolize earth, sky and
heaven.
Thirdly, are the wooden figures and
other carvings in wood. And before we
study these in detail let us remember that
all religions are accustomed to borrow
from those that have preceded them. In
Christianity we have quantities of super-
stition lingering on from our days of pa-
ganism. Every religion that attempts a
propaganda is compelled to take over much
from the faiths which it displaces. India
is a veritable mother of religions. One
after another great religious systems have
developed there. In very ancient days
there was the simple nature worship of the
old Aryans, as shown us in their sacred
hymns, the Vedas. Among their gods two
[75]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
of the greatest were Brahma and Indra.
Brahma was the creator, Indra was a
god of heaven, an atmospheric deity who
wielded thunderbolts, who hurled light-
ning strokes against the foe. In course of
time the old Aryans advanced in culture,
and their ancient worship gave way to a
systematized religion, Brahmanism, with
many gods, having definite names and
qualities and attributes. But old Brahma
and Indra lived on from the early days into
Brahmanism. In that system Brahma was
the king of all the gods, Indra was the king
of heaven — having a special heaven of
great beauty. It is said that his lieaven was
situated between the four peaks of Meru
and consisted of thirty-two cities of Devas,
eight on each of the four corners of the
mountain. Indra's capital was at the center
where he sat enthroned, with a thousand
eyes and four arms grasping the thunder-
bolt, in company with his wife and eleven
thousand and nine hundred concubines.
There he received monthly reports regard-
ing the progress of good and evil in the
world from his four Maharajas, heavenly
[76]
PLATE XXVII
Figure and Painting of Kwannon: Pomo-sa
[Page 89]
ART
kings of the cardinal points. The word
Deva in Brahmanism is applied to the gods
in general ; if a god is not specifically named
he is called a Deva.
Brahmanism was the religion of India
when Buddha came. He devoted his life
to its overthrow, and his teaching was
hostile to its assumptions. Curiously, how-
ever, in the popular traditional life of
Buddha many incidents are mentioned in
which the friendliest of relations were
established between Buddha and the Devas
of the old faith. Thus it is said that
Brahma himself appeared to Buddha and
begged him to begin his teaching. Indra
in these stories repeatedly shows his friend-
ship. There is one splendid occasion men-
tioned in which Buddha had been to Indra's
heaven ; when he was ready to descend, stairs
appeared for him made of the choicest and
most beautiful materials, and as he came
down this stairway, Brahma descended by
a side stairway of silver and Indra upon a
stairway of purple gold upon the other
side, while with them came thousands of
Devas, singing Buddha's praises.
[ 77 ]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
The four Maharajas, heavenly kings of
the cardinal points, who reported to Indra
every month, showed themselves equally
friendly. On one occasion Buddha was
without a begging bowl; the Deva kings
came to him and each one offered a begging-
bowl of emerald; the Buddha refused to
take them, as they were of too precious
material; so they offered bowls less fine and
each was strenuous that he should accept
his gift; so Buddha took the four bowls
and placing them together, lo, they became
a single bowl, but with a rim showing how
four had merged, so that none of the kind
Devas was neglected or hurt in feeling, and
the offering of all was accepted by the Great
Teacher; it is said that this begging bowl
was in existence hundreds of years after
Buddha's time, kept as a precious treasure
in a temple.
We need not then, be surprised, to find
that a number of the old Brahmanic gods
were taken bodily over into Buddhism.
Brahma and Indra are in fact to-day con-
sidered in Mahayana to be the chief
patrons and protectors of Buddhism. The
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four Maharajas have also been taken over
completely. And Yama, the very ancient
god of hell, to-day finds himself as com-
fortable in Buddhism as he ever could
have been in Brahmanism, or in the earlier
Aryan worship of the Vedas.
Approaching any Buddhist temple in
Japan or Korea you are almost sure to find
two gigantic figures standing at the outer
gate. They are the old gods Brahma and
Indra. They are represented as full-
muscled men of gigantic size, wrestling
against the powers of evil. (Plate XIX.)
At another gate, farther up the trail,
one is almost sure to find the Maharajas,
heavenly kings of the cardinal points,
under shelter, each in a niche or alcove;
usually there are two on either side as one
passes through the gate.^ Being related to
the cardinal points, they are always ar-
ranged in the same order, and are dis-
tinguished from each other by having
different colored faces, each having the
color proper to the district over which he has
control. (Plate XX, a, b.) Each carries a
characteristic object, thus one bears a pa-
[79]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
goda or tower on his hand, another carries
a blazing jewel, the third varies what he
carries, but frequently he plays upon a
lute, the fourth one has a sword; these four
great Brahman deities are found to-day in
Korea at every Buddhist monastery, at the
gate commonly called '^ the gate of the four
kings"; there they watch, guarding the
monastery against all harm. These are al-
most always figures of wood, but rarely one
may find paintings on the wooden walls
instead of the figures. While these guar-
dian kings are always represented in he-
roic size the series at Pawpchu-sa are of
extraordinary dimensions, probably the
largest in Korea. (Plate XXI.)
Yama, too, was taken over from the older
faith. The god of hell, he was assisted by
ten helpers; each of these served as his
representative in a separate hell, or di-
vision of that place of torment. Yama
judges souls and inflicts penalties, assigns
duties, and directs all the details of his
realm. In most Korean monasteries there
will be a hall of the ten kings in which we
see figures of Yama with his assistants.
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Next we may consider architecture. We
place it fourth because we have pursued a
logical order of approach. Coming through
the beautiful scenery, we have passed over
the trail, noticing the inscriptions on the
cliffs, passing by the guardians of the outer
gate, walking between the four kings on
their ceaseless guard, but at last have come
to the monastery buildings proper and see
them in their age and beauty before us.
We have already seen representations of
many of these temples in the preceding
lectures. You have noticed that all were
built of wood; you have observed the
curious mode of timbering; you have
studied the tangle of projecting timber ends
under the roof — the decorative features
applied to them, the carving and painting;
red, green, black, white and blue, the
gaudiest of colors are used upon them in a
fashion which we could not conceive, and
from which we would expect disharmony,
though the real effect is charming. You
have examined in detail the carved decora-
tion of the doors, sometimes foliage, again
[8i]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
floral, or with figures mingled with the
other designs. (Plate XVIII.)
While the buildings themselves are al-
ways of wood there is a curious use made of
stone at times in the way of supports. You
remember in a picture from Sukwang-sa
this was illustrated. The building was in
the nature of a pavilion where tablets bear-
ing names were left by visitors ; the pavilion
was borne upon upright columns of stone,
highly characteristic of Korea, but not
common elsewhere.
Another feature of the architecture is
wall-painting and here we find two differ-
ent kinds. Pictures may be painted directly
upon the woodwork of the wall. It is
more common, however, to panel the tim-
bered walls with plastering and then to
paint upon the plaster. Let us examine
examples of both kinds.
You remember that among the Buddhist
books recently printed in on-mun was an
allegory by a Chinese monk. The writer's
name was Chiu-Chang-Chun; he was born
in 1208 and died in 1288. His book was
named Sei-yeu-ki; at Pongeum-sa, a scene
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taken from his book is painted on the
wooden wall. We present it as an example
of this kind of decoration. It represents
a scene from the closing part of the old
story. (Plate XXII.)
The pilgrims had almost finished their
journey and were returning in state, on
cherubim, with a great collection of idols
and sacred texts. It was found, however,
that they had suffered only eighty trials,
and it seems that to be perfect they should
pass through eighty-one — nine times nine
— so angels were sent to overtake the eight
cherubim, and tell them privately that they
must let the monks suffer one trial more.
This the angels did. As a sample of the
story, and in explanation of the picture we
quote from Dr. Richard's translation.
" It was a strange sensation to be on the
ground again. They had come down near some
water. The master asked, ' Can anyone tell me
where we are? '
The monkey said, ' Master, this is the mouth
of the Milky Way River.' The river was wide.
It was also a lonely place, without houses or
boats, and they were on the western side. How
could they get across? Two of them suggested
[83]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
that since the master had left his mortal body
behind they could cross the river by magic,
but the monkey said, ' No, it cannot be done.'
He knew that there was one trial more to
undergo, and it was for this they had stopped
on the way. Then they heard a cry, * Chinese
priest, come this way.' They went and found
that it was the white tortoise, who had ferried
them over as they went West, at the time when
they had saved the family at Chen Kia Chwang.
The tortoise said he had been waiting for their
return for a long time and was glad to see them.
The practical monkey said, ' Formerly we had
to trouble you. Now we meet again.*
At this the four pilgrims were very rejoiced
to see the tortoise. He took them and the
horse all on his back and swam across to the
other side. As they neared the Eastern shore
and it was getting dark, the tortoise said,
' Master, when you went West I asked you to
inquire of Buddha for me how I might return
to my former state, and when I might get a
human body. Did you remember to ask?'
But the master had been so absorbed in his own
affairs that he had completely forgotten the
tortoise and his request and so he had nothing
to say. The tortoise, finding that he had been
forgotten, turned a somersault, and threw all
and everything into the river. Happily the
mortal body of the master had been exchanged
[84]
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for an immortal one, and therefore he was safe
In the water. The pig and the monkey, the boy
and the horse, were also at home in the water,
but the books were all soaked."
The old allegory took a strong hold upon
Eastern Asia and there must have been
hundreds of pictures painted in the course
of time representing its incidents.
As an example of the wall-paintings on
plaster we may study a group of paintings,
each representing an individual being, from
one of the main temples at Sukwang-sa.
None of these figures is haphazard, or with-
out significance. Each would be recog-
nized by the well-informed Buddhist.
(Plate XXIIL)
Fifth are the idols or images. In the
Buddhism taught by Sakya there was no
room for them. The Great Teacher rec-
ognized no gods, and his followers should
have no representations of deities. In
Amida Buddhism, however, there are many
gods, and a multitude of figures. The
Buddhas, themselves are all represented
among them including Sakya. When we
examine the figures worshipped in Buddhist
[85]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
temples we find three groups, (a) Bud-
dhas, (b) Bodhisattvas, (c) Arhats or
Rakan. Sakya was not the first Buddha;
in fact he was the twenty-fourth or twenty-
fifth in the line of those who attained en-
lightenment and gained Nirvana. The
Indians reckoned time in long periods or
kalpas; most of the Buddhas were in
former kalpas^ but even in the present
kalpa, in which we live, Buddha had three
predecessors; and before our kalpa ends
a successor will appear, Maitreya, or Mi-
roku, the coming Buddha.^
The two Buddhas most commonly rep-
resented by figures in Korean Buddhism
are Sakya and Amida. Miroku, too, is fre-
quently to be seen, but Miroku is not yet
a Buddha but only Bodhisattva.
Bodhisattvas were human beings who had
piled up karma and passed from stage to
stage until they stood within a single step
of Buddha-hood; during their next exist-
ence they could hope for illumination, en-
lightenment. Nirvana. There are many
Bodhisattvas, but the ones most commonly
represented by Korean figures are six in
[ 86 ]
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number. Their Korean names are Miryek
Posal, Titsang Posal, Kwandyeieim Posal,
Taiseichi Posal, Mounsou Posal, and Po-
hien Posal. These Bodhisattvas are much
better known to the outside world by their
Japanese names, and having introduced
them in Korean terminology we shall refer
to them as we have opportunity under the
Japanese forms.
They become, then, Maitreya or Miroku,
Jizo, Kwannon, Daiseishi, Monju, Fugen.
Curiously enough in Korean iconography
Jizo, a most mild and gentle god, fond of
and loved by children, replaces Yama often
as the king of hell. Kwannon, god of
mercy, usually considered female in Japan,
though not invariably, is usually male in
Korean representation.
The third type of images of figures wor-
shipped in Korean monasteries are the
Arhats or Rakan. These are men who
have made progress; they have meditated,
studied, listened and thought; some of
them are the original students of Sakya; all
have gained a store of helpful karma, and
many of them are worshipped. When
[87]
/
KOREAN BUDDHISM
/ made in figures there are two groups of
Rakan. One known as the sixteen Rakan,
the other as the five hundred. The sixteen
Rakan are all absolutely historical person-
ages of early date, friends, relatives, and
hearers, of Sakya. In figures and in paint-
ings they are represented with character-
istic attributes, readily recognized.
These three kinds of figures are usually
made of wood, painted and gilded; some-
times the gold leaf on them represents ab-
solutely considerable value. The figures of
the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are fre-
quently of large size, and often beautiful.
They may be standing or seated, but in both
cases the position of the hands and fingers is
important and significant. (Plate XXIV.)
Buddhism everywhere recognizes a series
of finger symbols carrying a message. It
is interesting to notice that the Buddha is
usually included in a trinity. This fact is
among many which have led some writers
like Professor Lloyd, Doctor Richard, and
Madame Gordon to think that Mahavana
Buddhism is actually Christianity worked
over and given the name of Buddhism.
[88]
PLATE XXXIII
One of the Eight Scenes in the Life of Buddha:
Sakya gains Enlightenment: Pomo-sa
[Page 91]
ART
Trinities are conspicuous everywhere.
Often we find the central figure of the
three to be Sakya, while to his right and
left are the Bodhisattvas Monju and Fugen.
The former sometimes sits upon a dog or
lion, and the latter upon a white elephant.
Then they are easily recognized by their
mount. When not mounted they are not so
easy of recognition. Even more common
in Korea is the Amida trinity. Amida is
usually accompanied by Kwannon on one
side and Daiseishi on the other. (Plate
XXV.) There are other trinities to be
seen in Korean temples but these two are
common. (Plate XXVL)
These figures are generally in curious
relation with paintings. In most temples
where there are figures on the altar there
are paintings hung up on the wall behind
which usually represent the same beings as
the figures, but accompanied by many more
attendants. This association of pictures
and figures representing the same being is
rare, if it occurs, in Japanese Buddhism.
(Plate XXVII.)
Lastly, we come to paintings. While
[89]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
many are related to figures as just men-
tioned, many more stand by themselves and
are displayed upon the walls of halls and
temples without figures. If we desire to
make a study of the paintings of a mon-
astery we must pass from hall to hall.
Many monasteries are absolute masses of
great buildings. In the main temple there
are usually figures of a trinity of Buddhas
or sometimes even three trinities with paint-
ings hung behind. In the Rakan hall we
may find the sixteen Rakan in figures, in
paintings, or in combinations. In halls of
the five hundred Rakan, we usually find
five hundred little figures set on shelves
thickly around all three sides; no two are
just alike, and it is probable that you will
be told with glee that if you look long enough
you will find your own father represented
among them. (Plates XXIX, XXX.) In
the hall of the Ten Kings of Hell we some-
times find the figures of Yama or of Jizo
with the ten helpers ; if so, behind the fig-
ures are frightful paintings of the ten hells,
a picture of each one behind its proper king.
Sometimes, however, there are only paint-
[90]
PLATE XXXIV
The God of the Mountain: Fuko-an, branch
OF SiNKEi-SA, Diamond Mountains
[Page 93]
ART
ings in this hall. (Plate XXVIII.) At some
temples there is the hall of the Eight Scenes
of the Life of Buddha.^'* These scenes are
definite and fixed in every detail, are tra-
ditional, and have been passed down for
centuries. The whole building is occupied
by the eight great paintings hung upon the
wall. Each contains a mass of detail, and
there may be hundreds of individuals rep-
resented in a single scene. (Plate XXXIII.)
Occasionally there is a hall of portraits at
a monastery; such a one we saw at the mon-
astery where we rebuked the priests for
avarice and impoliteness; the building is
devoted to the portraits which are said to
be reliable representations of the head
priests of this monastery for a period of
almost fifteen hundred years. One might,
however, visit many monasteries without
finding such a hall.
Probably every monastery of any con-
sequence has its hall of Seven Stars. It is
always a little building and on the out-
skirts of the group of temples. Korea must
have worshipped the constellation of the
Great Bear, the Big Dipper or the Seven
[91]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
Stars, long before Buddhism came. Many
Koreans still pay worship to the stars them-
selves. The father of a young man who was
once my Korean interpreter, never fails to
pray to the seven stars on any night when
the sky is clear enough for them to be seen;
the worship is interesting and deserves at-
tention. It was probably taken over early
by Buddhism. The picture always shown
in this little hall is very curious. There is
always a Buddha figure of some kind in it,
but above are Buddha-like figures of the
Seven Stars, heavenly beings, with pale
faces; below there are the representations
of seven earthly ministers corresponding
to them; the idea that heavenly conditions
are reproduced upon the earth is one com-
mon to many religions. (Plate XXXI.)
One other building is certain to be found
at every monastery. It is a wee structure,
sacred to the God of the Mountain. He is
a mysterious being. He is usually rep-
resented with a beard and a beard quite
different from those regularly seen in
China, Korea or Japan. He is always
accompanied by a tiger, particularly notice-
[92]
PLATE XXXV
Portrait of one of the chiefs of the Sixteen
Rakan: Chikchi-sa
[Page 9S]
ART
able for head and tail ; the god of the moun-
tain varies more than any other representa-
tion in Korean art. The features mentioned,
however, are always emphasized. All agree
that the god of the mountain is individual;
he is not the god of mountains generally,
nor a god overseeing mountains every-
where, but ever specifically the god of the
mountain on which his shrine is located.
(Plate XXXIV.)
Sometimes there is another very little
hall known as the hall of the Lonely Saint.
When it occurs it usually stands at the side
of the hall of the god of the mountain and
is of its size. Within there is a hanging
picture of the Lonely Saint. Unfortu-
nately we cannot show a copy of it. We
have planned repeatedly to take it but
something has always happened to pre-
vent. Trollope tells us that the lonely saint
was a historic personage, Chikai, who lived
in China in the sixth century, and was the
founder of the very ancient Tendai sect.
These paintings in Korean temples are
rarely beautiful, but they surely deserve
careful study by competent art students.
[93]
KOREAN BUDDHISAI
The colors used are bright and light. Faces
of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are usually
yellow or white. These high beings are
regularly represented with aureoles, the
boat-shaped aureole occurring commonly
w^ith Kwannon and Aliroku. Gods and
human beings occur in crowds in these
paintings, but no matter how crowded the
composition the individuals are usually
definite and known. The artists are priests
and it is common for the few who have
famous skill to travel from temple to tem-
ple, touching up old pictures and painting
new ones. They stay for weeks or months
and then pass on to new fields. The designs
are certainly traditional and very old, but
the paintings themselves, as we see them in
the temple, are many of them the work of
very recent years. Most of the monks and
acolytes know very little of the meaning
of the pictures, but those who paint them,
and those who are serious students can
identify the actors in the scenes depicted.
We reproduce a picture from Sukwang-sa
which illustrates the crowding of persons
and the attention given to detail. Upon it
[94]
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ART
there are represented one Pul or Buddha,
with three faces, four Posal or Bodhisattvas,
the twenty-eight heavenly kings (each cor-
responding to one of the ancient constella-
tions), and ten times ten gods (they are
actually grouped by tens and there are ten
each of earth, fire, water, small water
bodies, air, the human body, movement,
field work and mountain fortresses). This
design is really a common one, and we have
a photograph of it also from Pawpchu-sa.
Comparison of the two pictures shows
absolute identity in the number and placing
of the individuals. (Plate XXXII.)
We have already stated that there is con-
siderable variation in the picture of the
god of the mountain, though he is always
recognizable by certain features. Pictures
of individual Rakan are common in temples
and these pictures are always precise and
definite, giving in every instance the char-
acteristic features or attributes. (Plate
XXXV.)
Occasionally — perhaps more commonly
than we know — the monasteries possess an
enormous rolled painting of a single Bud-
[95]
KOREAN BUDDHISM
dha. We have seen one at Pawpchu-sa and
another at Tongdo-sa. At Pawpchu-sa they
brought it out from the great temple and
unrolled it for us, in the open, that we
might see its size. At Tongdo-sa it was
already elevated for the occasion of the
celebration of Buddha's birthday. It tow-
ered above the highest building, and was
worshipped by the crowding thousands.
(Plates XXXVI, XXXVII.)
In this brief study of Korean Buddhism
we have but sketched a subject which pre-
sents a vast material, which as yet is almost
unknown and practically untouched by
students.
[96]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gale. The Pagoda of Seoul. Transactions of the
Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol.
VI, Pt. II, pp. 1-22. Seoul: 1915.
Gordon. Some Recent Discoveries in Korean Tem-
ples and their Relationship to Early Eastern Chris-
tianity. Trans. K. B. R. A. S. Vol. V, Pt. II,
pp. 1-39. Seoul: 191 4.
Gordon. Symbols of ''the Way '^ — Far East and
West. Tokyo: 19 16. Maruzen & Co.
Hulbert. History of Korea. Seoul: 1905. 2 vols.
Methodist Publishing House.
Jones. Colossal Buddha at Eunjin. Trans. K. B.
R. A. S. Vol. I, pp. 51-70. Seoul: 1901.
Richard. A Admission to Heaven . . . by Ch'iu Ch'ang
Ch'un. Shanghai: 1913. The Christian Litera-
ture Society's Depot.
TroUope. Introduction to the Study of Buddhisin in
Corea. Trans. K. B. R. A. S. Vol. VIII, pp.
1-4 1. Seoul: 191 7.
[97]
NOTES
I. Aryavannan^ a man of Sinlo (Corea), left
Chang'an a.d. 638. He set out with a view to recover
the true teaching and to adore the sacred relics. He
dwelt in the Nalanda Temple, copying out many
Sutras. He had left the eastern horders of Corea and
now bathed in the Dragon pool of Nalanda. Here
he died, aged seventy odd years.
Hwui-uieh, a Corean, set out for India 638 A.D.,
arrived at the Nalanda Temple and there studied the
sacred books and reverenced the holy traces. I-tsing
found some writing he had left in the temple, where
also he had left his Sanskrit mss. The priests said he
died the same year, about sixty years of age.
Hiiien Tai, a doctor of the law, a Corean, called
by the Sanskrit name of Sarvajnanadeva, In the year
Yiing-hwei (650 A.D.) he w^ent by the Tibetan road
through Nepal to Mid-India; he there worshipped the
relics at the Bodhi Tree. Afterwards going to the
Tukhara country, he met Taou-hi, with whom he re-
turned to the Tahsio Temple (Mahabodhi). After-
wards he returned to China, and w^as not heard of
again.
Hiuen-hau, a doctor of the law, a Corean, went with
Hiuen-chiu, in the middle of the Chengkivan period, to
India, and reaching the Tahsio Temple, he died there.
Two priests of Corea, names unknown, started from
Chang'an by the southern sea-route and came to Srib-
hoja. They died in the country of Po-lu-sse, to the
westw^ard (the v/estern portion of Sumatra).
[99]
NOTES
Hwui Lun, a Corean, otherwise called Prajnavarma,
came by sea from his own country to FuchaUj and pro-
ceeded thence to Chang'an. Following after the priest
Hiuen-chiu, he reached the West, and during ten years
dwelt In the Amravat country and In the SIn-che Tem-
ple (north of the Ganges). Passing through the
eastern frontiers, and thence proceeding northward
he came to the Tu-ho-lo ( Tukhara) Temple. Beal :
Life of Hiouen-Tsiang , pp. xxlx— xxx, xxxvl.
2. Jones In his admirable discussion of the Eunjin
mirlok makes an Interesting suggestion regarding its
location :
But the special Interest these facts have for us
In connection with the great Buddha lies in the
fact that It may have been here that Buddhism
Itself first entered Pakche. Buddhism w^as a for-
eign Importation, being sent to the peninsular
kingdoms by the Eastern Tsin dynasty of China
(a.d. 317-19) and effecting an entrance almost
simultaneously at two points — In the north Into
Koguryu and In the south Into Pakche. Of this
latter event the native historians tell us: — "In
the 5'ear a.d. 384 the barbarian monk Maranant'a
came from Tsin. King Chlp-yu accorded him a
most courteous and ceremonious reception and
Buddhism was established as the national re-
ligion." We do not know at what point the
monk-missionary landed, but it is not so unlikely
that he may have come to this w^ell-known port,
and that one day among the ships making up that
Inextricable mass of masts and rudders at Sl-jin
there may have come the Imperial junk of Tsin
bearing " the barbarian monk Maranant'a " with
his images, Incense, bells, books and vestments to
plant in Korea that cult which was to dominate the
[ 100]
NOTES
people for a tlioiisand years, tluis landing close to
the place where in later years the greatest monu-
ment that Buddhism possesses was to stand. And
two hundred years later (a.d. 552) there probably
embarked from this port that band of Pakche
priests sent by their king to carry to the mikado of
Japan the golden images of Buddha and the triad
of precious ones, the sutras and sacred books, and
to give the faith of Buddhism to the Sun-rise
Empire. And it is said that these relics exist to
this day and are preserved in the city of Nagano
in Japan. Colossal Buddha: p. 62.
3. It occurs in the inscription regarding the Seoul
pagoda and Is particularly interesting as a contem-
porary description of a temple of remarkable splendor.
Reckoning up the number of pillars support-
ing the building they were found to exceed
300. The Hall of the Buddha stood up high in
the center, and the inscription board above was
written Taikiuang inyiing ]un, " Great light glor-
ious palace." To the left was the Sun Tang or
study hall, while to the right was the Oon-chip
or assembly hall. The gate was marked Chak-
kwang Moon, Hidden Light and the outer gate was
called Panya or Likeness gate. Beyond this again
was the Hai-tal Moon. There was a bell-pavilion
also which was called the Pup-noi-kak^ Kiosk of
Buddha's Thunder. The kitchen was named
Hyang-juk, Kitchen House. There was a pond on
the east side, where lotus flowers were planted ;
and on the west was a garden-park where flowers
and trees grew. Behind the Cheung-jun palace
the sacred books were in keeping, and this house
was called Hai-Jang Chun or Sea Covering Hall.
Also a pagoda w^as built of thirteen stories called
[lOl]
NOTES
sul-to-pa, Buddhist pagoda. Within it were placed
the accumulated sari and the newly translated
Wun-gak sutra. The palaces, halls, studies, guest-
rooms, stores, kitchens, outhouses, had each their
particular place. The whole was magnificent
and well constructed, and the ornaments were
lavish, imposing, beautiful, all in keeping and
fair to see. Its equal w^as nowhere to be found.
Also the drums, gongs, etc., necessary for the
service, and other useful implements were abun-
dantly provided for. Gale: Pagoda, p. lo.
4. Gale finds that the history of the erection of the
Seoul pagoda was originally inscribed upon the turtle-
borne slab that accompanies it. Of the pagoda itself,
he says:
1. The Pagoda was therefore built in 1464-
1466 A.D.
2. The builder was King Se-jo, who reigned
from 1 45 6- 1 468 and all the workmen were
Koreans.
3. The form of it w^as modelled after the
Pagoda in Pung Tuk County, w^hich had already
been standing nearly a hundred years, and had
been built by Chinese workmen. There is no
evidence that this pagoda had ever been brought
from Peking though it finds its final resting
place now in Tokyo.
4. It was built to commemorate the excellence
of the Wungak Sutra from which it takes its
name.
5. It is by far the most interesting Buddhist
monument in Korea, p. 22.
5. The list of the thirty head-temples follows:
Yongju-sa Chuntung-sa
Pongeum-sa Pongsum-sa
[ 102]
NOTES
Makok-sa
Pawpchii-sa
Songkvvang-sa
Sunam-sa
Tehung-sa
Pakyang-sa
Ulpong-sa
Posawk-sa
Tongdo-sa
Pomo-sa
Haln-sa
Tonghwa-sa
Chuim-sa
Unhli-sa
Koun-sa
Kumyong-sa
Peyak-sa
Sawngpul-sa
Yungmyung-sa
Pawphung-sa
Poliyun-sa
Kunpong-sa
Yuchom-sa
Ualchung-sa
Sawkwang-sa
Kuichu-sa
6. The magazine conducted by Yi Nung Hwa has
had several breaks in publication and after each the
name has been changed. As here given the names are
English translations of the original :
Monthly Magazine of Chosen BiiddhisTJi.
Nineteen issues, from January 25, 191 1 to
August 25, 1913.
Buddhist Magazine of the Eastern Sea. Eight
issues from November 20, 191 3 to June 20,
1914.
Alonthly Magazine of the Association of Ris-
ing Buddhism. Nine issues from March 15, 191 5
to December 15, 191 5.
Kingdom of Chosen Buddhism. Three issues
from April 5, 1916 to June 5, 1916.
General Magazine of Chosen Buddhism, from
March 20, 191 7. Three numbers had appeared
whtn I received this note in May 191 7.
7. The texts most commonly read in Korean mon-
asteries are the Hokkekyo, Kegon, Kishinlon, Fumon-
hon and A?nidakyo, according to Madame Gordon.
These are Japanese pronunciation.
[ 103]
NOTES
8. The Japanese names of the four guardians are:
Bishamon : east ; blue ; tower.
Komoku : south ; red ; jewel.
Jikoku : w^est ; green ; lute.
Zocho : north ; flesh ; sword.
9. Three Buddhas have preceded Sakyamuni In the
present kalpa and one is still to come before the kalpa
ends. The entire list is:
Krakuchanda (Pali, Kakusanda) , "who solves
doubt."
Kanakamuni (P. Konaganiana) "body radiant
as gold."
Kasyapa (P. Kassapa) " swallower of light."
Sakya?nuni.
Maitreya. Legge : Fa-hien, p. 51.
10. The eight scenes in the Life of Buddha are:
{a) Incarnation.
(b) Birth.
(c) Encounter with age, sickness, death.
{(i) Escape — with aid of the four heavenly
kings.
{e) Asceticism.
(/) Enlightenment.
{0) Preaching — "turning the wheel."
{h) Nirvana.
[ 104]
Date Due
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