Mindanao State University

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

ARTICLE REVIEW

Buddhism in Ancient Korean Kingdoms

ALOHA JOY F. SAMPORNA

Abstract

Eight hundred years after the death of historical Buddha, when Shamanism was still the indigenous
religion in Korea, Chinese monks and traders came and introduced Buddhism in the peninsula.
Since the latter was not perceived as incompatible with the indigenous religion, Buddhism was
embraced and permitted to meld and coexist alongside Shamanism. It is because of this that the
two religions blended to produce a form of Buddhism that is uniquely Korean, as what was
described as a little bit diverse from its neighbors – China and Japan. As it is discernable today,
Buddhism in Korea now have different competition with Atheism and Christianity, not to mention
a much different form of political system ruling the country. As we all know, for a long period of
time in the history of the Korean Peninsula, the ruling dynasties and monarchies always viewed
religions as a mere political tool in which they can use to unify the common people and control
the monopoly of power by justifying their positions as the one sent by God. Moreover, the purpose
of this review is to look into and provide a critique on the veracity of Korean Buddhism from its
introduction into Korean consciousness, how it became part of their cultural fabric influencing
valiantly the Korean society making it arduous to see where culture, politics and religion sunder.
 TITLE:

Buddhism in Ancient Korean Kingdoms

REVIEWED ARTICLE:

Dasu, Kay. “Buddhism in Ancient Korean Kingdoms”. eJournal of Buddhist Research Studies.

terebess. (n.d.). https://terebess.hu/zen/dasu.pdf

Introduction

Kay Dasu is the contributor of the research article entitled “Buddhism in Ancient Korean

Kingdoms” published under the eJournal of Buddhist Research Studies of the Than Hsiang

Buddhist Research Centre in Penang, Malaysia. She was a postgraduate student at the International

Buddhist College in Thailand and is at the same time part of the academia. She submitted this

research study for publication and made a weighty contribution by putting into light the history of

Buddhism in Korea and its cultural influences leading to indigenous forms of Korean Buddhism.

The writer takes into account and piles up information of how historical eras and each of the ancient

Korean kingdoms played a vital role in the advancement of Korean Buddhist thought by making

use of trade links and cultural exchanges which then led into the formation of a uniquely distinct

and structured form of Buddhism designed for a Korean audience. According to the author,

Buddhism as a living religion has nothing to hide and becomes brighter and brighter when it is

revealed. It just needs more and more scientific investigation to explore its values to the human

life for its wellbeing and progress.

the adoption of Buddhism during the first Korean kingdom of Gojoseon as what was recorded in

the Samguk Yusa, from the first dynasty of Imperial China in 3726 while Shamanism as the

indigenous religion was still in the picture. The latter religion holds the belief that human beings,

as well as natural forces and inanimate objects, all possess spirits which must be appeased. On the

other hand, as the former was not seen to conflict with the rites of nature worship, Buddhism was

allowed to blend in with Shamanism. It is because of this that the two religions blended to produce

a form of Buddhism that is uniquely Korean, as what was described as a little bit diverse from its

neighbors. The writer also mentioned that there are 3 spirits with special reverence and importance

being regarded in Korean Shamanism, to wit: the Mountain Spirit, which they call Sanshin in local

term, who is usually depicted as an old man with a tiger at his feet, Toksong, or the recluse, and

Ch’ilsong which they refer to as the spirit of the seven stars or the Big Dipper. She additionally

discussed that aside from the traditional and the fundamental teachings of Buddha brought by the

Chinese traders, Korean Buddhism also accepted and absorbed these three spirits and, even up to

this day, special shrines are set aside for them in most temples while still honoring Buddha at the

main hall. The author justified this by explaining that this is in case the local mountain spirits

mentioned in Korean Shamanism, on whose land the temple stands, become angry. It is also

because of the blending of these two religions that the mountains in Ancient Korea were at the

same time believed to be the residence of spirits in pre-Buddhist times and became the sites of

almost all Buddhist temples. The second part of the paper gave heavy emphasis on the development

of Buddhism as the state religion, most especially during the time when the Korean peninsula was

politically divided into three kingdoms: Goguryeo in the north, which gave its name to present-

day Korea and now included territory currently in Russia and China; Baekje in the southwest; and
Silla in the southeast. In these eras, Korean Buddhist monks traveled to China or India to study

Buddhism. The author exemplified and provided evidence of how Korean monks of the time

traveled overseas and brought back a large number of texts, as well as engaged in extensive

missionary work across the Korean peninsula. The writer also included a brief historical

development of Korean Buddhism under the Unified Silla period after the T’ang army, with the

help of the Silla state in southern Korea, defeated first the Baekje state in 660 and then the

Goguryeo in the North in 668. During the heyday of the Silla kingdom's greatest expansion and

wealth, Buddhism served as a spiritual anchor for the state, and when Buddhism fell out of favor,

so did the state as a whole. She added that after the Three Kingdoms period in Korea was at an

end, the Goryeo Dynasty ruled Korea and later faced the onslaught of Mongol attacks by the Yuan

Dynasty of China and became the vassal state of the Chinese Empire. In 1392, Taejo of Choson

dethroned the Goryeo king and took over the empire, thus founding the Choson Dynasty where

Korea enforced a policy of strict limited contact with all other countries making them a hermit

kingdom as described by the writer. In this period, Buddhism was slowly replaced by Neo-

Confucianism and their practices was limited if not restricted. Korean Buddhism managed to thrive

in the seclusion of the mountain valleys throughout this period of oppression and rejection.

Although there are some good points and a clear discussion of Buddhism in the article,

there are still some passages that do not contain enough information for the reader to understand.

The political relationship of ancient Korean Kingdoms with Buddhism

For a long period of time in the history of the Korean Peninsula, one thing that the ruling

dynasties and monarchies always have in common was their perceptions on religion as a mere

political tool in which they can use to unify the common people and control the monopoly of
power. They justified this belief by using their positions as the one sent by God to govern their

people. They supplement this belief with the Buddhist teachings of reincarnation and rebirth, based

on the concept of karma. It was mentioned by the writer herself that Goguryeo became the first

kingdom in the region to adopt Buddhism to the extent that the government recognized and

encouraged the Buddhist teachings, and even built many monasteries and shrines during its history.

Following shortly after, the Kingdoms of Baekje and Silla adopted Buddhism in favor of their

previous religious system, which was centered on the notion that the ruler was a son of God. As

what the author puts it, Buddhism became so popular during this Three Kingdoms period that many

kings converted, and the same time several cities and locations were renamed after famous places

during the time of Buddha. As per the researcher, Buddhism flourished under the patronage and

protection of the royal houses and their associated aristocrats. The way I see it, religion offered a

sense of well-being for the state and by extension for the ordinary individual. The author also

asserted that at this time, monks had a high level of social standing and were so influential in

societal matters that they were given the special ranks of a national teacher, which they describe

to in local terms as kuksa and wangsa alluding to the King's teacher. It is also worth noting that the

first monarch of the Goryeo dynasty, King T’aejo was a devout Buddhist who built ten great

monasteries in the capital. However, as it was pointed out by the author in the middle of this essay,

the later Goryeo period saw a sharp decline in the spirituality of Goryeo Buddhism as a result of

the monasteries' gradual accumulation of wealth, their illegal endowment of land, and their

excessive power. Even though it was at first widely accepted and even promoted as the

governmental ideology throughout the Goryeo era, this did not endure long. Buddhism in Korea

suffered extreme repression during the Choson era that lasted for over five hundred years due to

its pro-Confucian national ideology. Even while monarchs continued to embrace Buddhism in
secret, Neo-Confucianism quickly gained popularity, and Confucianism came to dominate and

regulate their culture and the government. As what was previously tackled, Korean Buddhism

managed to thrive in the seclusion of the mountain valleys throughout this period of oppression

and rejection. On the brighter side of the issue, this banishment proved to be quite valuable to

Buddhism. The practice of Buddhism flourished communally, and temples for Buddhist worship

in the highlands served as hubs for this activity. It also because of this that Buddhism became an

instrument that help developed closer ties with the common people.

Critique

The author has done a great job in recognizing the history of several religious traditions of

the ancient Korean Kingdoms. It is good for the author that she demystified clearly the functions

of the clan or tribal leaders during the ancient period and what role they played between their

people and the realm of the spirits. It is as well earthshaking to found out that the fundamental

religion of the ancient period did not disappear with the arrival of Buddhism in the fourth century.

Instead, it became the foundation of all Korean religious experience most especially during the

Three Kingdoms period.

As a reviewer, it is earthshaking to have a practical understanding of how the author has

gained a broader awareness and erudition of the Korean Buddhism. The way I see it, this shows

how devoted she is to publish research papers of Buddhist studies mainly with the intention of

providing them to a wider audience. I felt enchanted the moment she tackled about the Tripitaka,

which is known as the ‘basket’ of Shakyamuni’s sermons to his disciples and the masses. A long

time ago, when word of mouth was the only option and before people realized the importance of

records for posterity, the proper means of documentation was absent. As it was jotted down by the
writer, the human memory is inherently flawed, and any transmitted content varied depending on

how the narrator delivers the message, to the point that in some cases, these contents or messages

became unrecognizable. It is because of this that Buddha’s disciples had to find a solution. Feeling

the need to ascertain and set down the discourse before their memory faded, they gathered to

exchange their thoughts that were afterwards transformed into written Sutras.

Korean Buddhists also have their own Tripitaka Koreana which they call in local term as

Palman Daejanggyeong, carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks in the 13th century. The

52,330,152 characters, which are arranged in over 1496 titles and 6568 volumes, were described

and elucidated by the author as the most complete and historically intact edition of the Buddhist

canon ever created in Hanja script. It is stored in Haein-sa, a Buddhist Temple in South

Gyeongsang province in South Korea, was designated as a National Treasure of South Korea in

1962 and was inscribed in the Memory of the World Register by UNESCO in 2007.

However, as I delve deeper into the spellbound concept of the Tripitaka Koreana in Korean

Buddhism, the interrogative nature as to who engraved those tablets and what does it take for the

carvers to go about this backbreaking task still wanders inside my mind. Another thing is her lack

of demystification as to how did the woodblocks found their way to Haein-sa. which is off the

beaten path even by today’s standards. In my perspective, this could’ve added more veracity to her

study if it were not for the fact that she failed to address this despite of her being aware of these

questions while writing her paper.

Altogether, I commend how she presented in the concluding part of her study that the

religious history of Korea was divided into four broad periods and how she incorporated these

periods with each other. An example was the way she illustrated the blending of the era of
Shamanistic practices with the era of Buddhist teachings, as well how Confucianism replaced

Buddhism dominance, not to mention the post-Confucian era, truly is worthy of confidence.

Conclusion

After thorough deliverance, Buddhism indeed is a living religion that has nothing to hide

and will shine even more brighter when it is revealed with more exploring and investigation on its

values leading into a revelation on its aftermath in the human life’s wellbeing and progress.

Undeniably, each historical era and each Korean kingdom magnanimously played a vigorous role

in the advancement of Korean Buddhist thought. No dubitation, Buddhism in the Korean peninsula

will still prosper and dominates even without the aid of the other religions as these answers the

questions of how abstruse and profound is its political relationship with the state or the different

kingdoms that have existed during its arrival in the Korean Peninsula. This evidently show that

even when Korea was isolated and was then occupied by foreigners, Korean Buddhism

philosophies lay just beneath the surface of the Korean society. Incontestably, it became part of

their cultural fabric influencing valiantly the Korean society making it arduous to see where

culture, politics and religion sunder. As Korean Buddhist thought has adapted, suppressed and still

flourishing over for years, the fundamental teachings of the Buddha have remained.