Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia

58. ESOTERIC BUDDHISM UNDER THE CHOSŎN

Henrik H. Sørensen

Introduction

Korean Buddhism as it unfolded in the course of the Chosŏn dynasty
(1392–1910) has often been considered an inferior and degenerated
form of Buddhism—a tradition that on the one hand was blemished
by superstitious beliefs and practices, and on the other hand a religion
that was becoming steadily impoverished and weak due to dwindling
support from the country’s elite and other members of the wealthy
classes. This popular and distorted view should be seen against the
backdrop of late nineteenth to early twentieth century observations by
both Western and Japanese missionaries, who of course had their own
private agendas to promote.
Contrary to this simplistic and superficial view, it is a proven fact
that Buddhism, despite the many setbacks it suffered, was relatively
vital during long periods of that dynasty, with the sixteenth to sev-
enteenth centuries constituting the most flourishing phase.^1 In fact,
the Buddhist communities enjoyed many of their old privileges and
continued to be an active and important player in the spiritual life of
the Koreans. The bleak picture sometimes painted of dilapidated and
poor temples with derelict monastic populations is only valid for the
period immediately following the Imjin War of 1592–1598 and in the
final decades of the nineteenth century when the political apparatus
fell apart in the face of large-scale natural disasters, massive civilian
unrest, and foreign incursions. During certain reign-periods Buddhist
rituals were performed at the royal court, and the religion also com-
manded a steady following among the nobility.^2

(^1) The rebuilding and restoration of most of the temples that had been ravaged by
the Japanese during the Imjin War, the continued production of high-quality religious
artifacts, as well as the numerous new editions of Buddhist books that were printed
after 1600 reveal that the Buddhist monasteries on the whole were neither poor nor
without access to resources. 2
For an excellent survey of the Buddho-Confucian conflict, see Jorgensen 1998,
189–242. See also the excellent paper by Pu 2005, 25–46.