602 henrik h. sørensen
them was not easy to integrate into the local culture and religion. It
would seem that tantric Buddhism of the Tibetan variety appeared
strange and perverse in the eyes of both the Confucian government
officials as well as to the local Buddhists. The KS contains a number
of references to Tibetan lamas and their activities in Kaegyŏng during
the late thirteenth to early fourteenth centuries that are enlightening
for our understanding of the way that Koreans saw this “new” form
of Esoteric Buddhism.^18 By the time Mongol power in China began to
crumble during the middle of the fourteenth century, there were no
more lamas in Korea, and their influence on Korean Buddhism as a
whole was negligible with the exception of late Koryŏ Buddhist art.
Esoteric Buddhist Rituals
As we have seen in the previous chapter on Esoteric Buddhism under
the Silla, the use of dhāraṇīs and mantras was widespread in Korean
Buddhism beyond sectarian limits, and this trend can be observed as
having continued during the following dynasty. In addition to the
use of spells and ritual magic, a whole new range of Esoteric Bud-
dhist rituals was introduced and developed by the receiving culture
in the course of the Koryŏ.^19 Many of these rituals formed part of
the hoguk pulgyo ideology (Buddhism as protector of the
kingdom) and were directed against a wide range of dangers perceived
as being a threat to the kingdom.^20 The KS contains much informa-
tion on the types, occasions, time and numbers, and locations for the
(^18) For a study of the Tibetan lamas in Korea, see Sørensen 1993a. The KS contains
a lengthy account of a Tibetan lama who arrived in Kaegyŏng in 1276 C.E. That the
lama in question, who is recorded as having enjoyed women, meat, and wine, did not
meet with great understanding from the Korean courtiers is no wonder. The exten-
sive and undoubtedly costly ritual he performed was so alien to or different from the
Buddhist rituals to which they were accustomed that nobody was able to relate to
it. In the end he was forced to leave, and although other lamas arrived in Kaegyŏng
later, Tibetan tantric Buddhism never really caught on in Korea (KS vol. 3, ch. 89,
biographical section, ch. 2, 20b–21a). See also CPT vol. 1, 287–288. In the Yuan shi
(History of the Yuan), in the section describing the tantric rituals practiced at the
court of Emperor Shun (r. 1333–1367), we find a similar critical and moralistic tone. 19
A detailed discussion of religious, social, and historical aspects of these rituals
can be found in Kim Chongmyŏng 2001. See also Kim Hyŏng’u 1992; this study is
important for its useful statistics. See Sørensen 1997a.
(^20) For an overall discussion of the concept of hoguk pulgyo during the Koryŏ, see
Hŏng 1977, 11–32 and Ko 1977, 33–60. Note that both contributions are somewhat
tendentious and have strong nationalistic undertones that reflect the political reality
of South Korea during the 1970s.