. esoteric buddhism under the chosn 625
numerous ritual manuals dedicated to it, but is also reflected in the
primary Buddhist as well as the official sources.^18 These rites prolifer-
ated from the very start of the dynasty, and a significant number of
them were held on behalf of or directly sponsored by the royal court.
In the course of the fifteenth century the water and land feast declined
temporarily as court rites in tandem with the increasing Confucianiza-
tion of Chosŏn society. At the same time, however, they seem to have
increasingly gained in popularity among the common people among
whom Buddhism, and its rituals in particular, was still an important
spiritual force. As far as the sources allow us to conclude, we may dis-
tinguish between two kinds of water and land rituals performed dur-
ing the Chosŏn period: the large-scale, communal type comparable to
those known from China; and the private, small-scale type performed
by a few people or even by an individual. In fact the suryuk rite was
probably the most important of all the public Buddhist rituals, and they
continued to be performed until the very end of the Chosŏn period.^19
Although the water and land ritual is a purely Chinese invention, it
incorporates and borrows many elements from the Esoteric Buddhist
tradition including an extensive use of mantras and spells, mudrās,
and overall ritual concepts (figure 1) (see Stevenson 2001, 33–38).
Although many modifications and augmentations were introduced
into the ritual by the Koreans in the course of the Chosŏn, the core
of all the suryuk rites would seem to follow the overall structure and
directions of the Chinese manual, the Fajie shengfan shuilu shenghui
xiuzhai yigui (Rules of the Excellent
Assembly for the Observation of the Feast for the Dharmadhātu’s
Holy and Worldly in Water and on Land).^20
(^18) The Chosŏn shillok contains numerous references to the (mainly official ) perfor-
mances of suryuk rituals that took place in the course of the dynasty’s history. Like-
wise, the compilations of important monk’s literary works, such as those of Hyŭjŏng
and his immediate followers, feature the texts of formal addresses given on these
occasions. 19
For such a description from the late Chosŏn period, see the Ch’ŏnbyŏn suryuk
sajŏk pimun (Stele Inscription Recording the Affairs of the Ch’ŏnbyŏn Water and Land
[Ritual]). It took place in Yŏnghyŏn-ri, Anju-myŏn, Anju-gun, in South P’yŏngan
province during the early eighteenth century. This inscription itself dates from 1731
(cf. CKS vol. 2, 1121–1123).
(^20) ZZ (1975–1989) 1497.74, 784b–823a. As this is the version that was augmented
by Zhuhong, it is of course of a later date than the one used by the Korean Buddhists
during the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries.