King Taejong and Buddhism
Buddhism reform had long been every Confucian scholars’ desire. During King Taejo’s reign, Docheop system was already coming into effect.
(* Docheop system (도첩제, 度牒制) : If you want to be a Buddhist monk, you should pay some amount of money to the government office. )
“If you don’t have money, you can’t be a Buddhist monk.” King Taejo (Yi Seong-Gye) : Don’t touch Buddhism. After the death of King Taejo who advocated Buddhism, his son King Taejong (Yi Bang-Won) started sorting out the number of Buddhist monks, Buddhist temples, and their estate.
But royal ladies including the queen still went to Buddhist temples to worship, And King Taejong himself was looking for Buddhist monks in case of emergency.
For example, when his queen’s condition was so critical… King Taejong : If your religion has any power, show your supernatural powers right now. If my queen shows no improvement….
King Taejong : … I’ll completely exterminate you and Buddhism. Therefore, the Buddhist monks desperately offered prayers for the queen’s recovery, even burning their foreheads, hands, and fingers. Monks : Save us, merciful Buddha! Fortunately, the queen got better, and King Taejong praised the monks and gave rewards. King Taejong : Give the temple land and grains. Monks : (Sigh of relief)
- From Park Si-Baek’s “Annals of the Joseon Dynasty” comics vol. 3 King Taejong
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Buddhism was the state religion of Silla and Goryeo dynasty. Founding Joseon said goodbye to it. If you watch Queen Seondeok (2009) TV drama written by the same writing team, you can see the religious shift from Korean Shamanism (Mishil’s) to more advanced religion (Queen Seondeok’s Buddhism). About 700 years after Queen Seondeok’s reign, founding Joseon means another religious shift : from Buddhism (religion) to Confucianism (the age of reason, science). Confucianism is a custom rather than a religion, and Buddhism still remains as the biggest religion in Korea. But Buddhism had lost the position as the state religion since Joseon was founded. If you watch Tree with Deep Roots (2011) TV drama, King Sejong is hugely criticized by Jung Ki-Joon because the king used the new created hangul alphabets to publish Buddhist scriptures. Jung Do-Jeon was also the biggest criticizer on Buddhism, calling it superstition. You must consider that Buddhism was extremely corrupt at that time.
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Post time 23-11-2015 11:24 AM
nak souvenir pasir pantai lombok..
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