Abstract
This paper will examine how the Avalokitesvara faith of India was restructured into the doctrines and practices related to the Sinicized version of the deity as Guanyin (觀音) Bodhisattva. Particular focus will be given to the Hangzhou area of China, when the Guanyin faith was still in the process of gaining establishment in China. In the Hangzhou area, Buddhist Orders grew significantly due to the wealth accumulated from commerce using canals and maritime trade, and the Chan (禪 typically known as Zen in English) Orders were particularly active during the Song Dynasty. Zhiyi (智顗), a prominent master from the Tiantai Order (天台宗), based his activities out of Hangzhou. He composed the text known as the Commentary on the Guanyin Petitioning Sutra (Qingguanyinjing-shu 請觀音經疏) based on a reinterpretation of a scripture related to Guanyin, and he systematized the Guanyin Repentance Ritual (Guanyin-chanfa 觀音懺法) by combining the Doctrines of Tiantai with the Guanyin faith. In addition, Ciyin Zunshi (慈雲遵式) reformulated that Guanyin Repentance Ritual into the Guanyin Petitioning Repentance Ritual (qing-guanyin-chan 請觀音懺) to make it into a common ritual that was more accessible to everyday people. The book, Records Regarding the Personal Conduct of the Chan Master Zhijue (zhijue-chanshi-zixing-lu 智覺禪師自行錄), which is written by Yongming Yanshou (永明延壽), a figure from the Fayan Order (法眼宗), one of the Chan Buddhist orders in the Hangzhou area during the Northern Song Dynasty, reveals the acceptance of the Guanyin faith as a daily practice within the 108 daily rituals (108事). In Chinese Buddhism, there were historical examples of monks being worshipped as incarnations of Guanyin Bodhisattva. An example of this includes iconography depicting Baozhi (寶誌), a figure from Jiliang (濟涼) who lived during the Southern Dynasties, as Ekādaśamukha (十一面觀音, Eleven-faced Guanyin Bodhisattva) in keeping with the belief that he was an incarnation of that deity. Monks of the Tiantai and Chan orders operating in the Hangzhou area actively utilized the transmission of Buddhist tales about Guanyin Bodhisattva as related to monks that exhibited miraculous powers (神異僧). This can be understood as a phenomenon demonstrating how Song Buddhism tried to attract more believers through the popularity of the Guanyin Faith.
이 논문에서는 인도의 관음신앙이 중국불교에 정착하는 과정에서 항주지역 불교계를 중심으로 관음보살과 관련된 교의와 실천을 구조화하고, 이를 수용하는 방식에 대해 고찰했다. 항주지역은 운하를 활용한 상업과 해상무역으로 축적된 부로 인해 불교교단들도 크게 성장했으며, 특히 송대에 이르러 선종교단이 왕성했다. 항주 천태교단의 지의(天台智顗)는 관음 관련 경전에 대한 재해석을 바탕으로 『청관음경소(請觀音經疏)』를 저술하고, 천태교학과 관음사상을 융합하여 '청관음참법(請觀音懺法)'을 체계화했다. 또한 자운준식(慈雲遵式)은 관음참법을 대중들의 수준에 맞게 일상의 의례로 재생산한 '청관음참(請觀音懺)'을 정비했다. 북송대 항주지역의 선종 교단인 법안종(法眼宗)의 영명연수(永明延壽)는 그의 저술 『지각선사자행록(智覺禪師自行錄)』을 통해 관음신앙을 '108事'라는 일상의 작은 수행 안에 수용하는 모습을 보여준다. 중국불교에서는 역사적으로 존재했던 승려를 보살의 화신으로 숭배하는 현상도 나타나는데, 십일면관음보살로 믿어졌던 남조 제량(濟涼)의 보지(寶誌)화상이 바로 그러한 사례라고 할 수 있다. 항주지역의 천태교단과 선종교단의 승려들은 이러한 신이승(神異僧)의 관음화현설을 적극적으로 활용하는 모습을 보여준다. 이는 대중들에게 인기 있는 관음신앙을 통해 신도들을 흡수하려 했던 송대 불교의 일면을 보여주는 현상으로 이해할 수 있을 것이다.