조선시대 제주 사찰의 문헌 고증 = A Textual Analysis of Buddhist Temples on Jeju during the Joseon Dynasty

국문 초록 (Abstract)

조선은 건국 후 억불숭유의 정책을 펼쳤다. 조선 전기 때 편찬한 (신증) 동국여지승람에 따르면 당시 제주에는 총 16개의 사찰이 전한다. 이들은최소한 고려시대 탐라부터 존재하였으며, 그중에서도 묘련사(妙蓮寺), 법화사(法華寺), 수정사(水精寺) 등의 사찰은 제주를 대표하는 사찰이었다.
하지만 제주 관아 등의 건물 창건, 중수 때면 어김없이 예전 사찰들의 기와와 목재가 재활용되면서 제주의 사찰들은 폐사(廢寺)의 길을 걷게 되었다.
급기야 기와의 사찰 건물은 판옥(板屋), 초옥(草屋) 몇 칸 정도로 축소되었다. 1702년(숙종 28) 이형상(李衡祥) 목사 때는 대대적인 음사(淫祀), 불교철폐가 추진되어 그나마 제주 불교의 명맥이 거의 끊어졌다. 또 제주 승려들은 육지부와 달리 대처승(帶妻僧)으로 명맥을 이어갔고, 오직 존자암(尊 者庵)의 승려만이 홀로 불도를 닦는 수행승이었다. 그뿐 아니라 남자 승려는 있지만, 비구니는 없는 ‘유승무니(有僧無尼)’도 제주 불교의 한 특징이었다

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

After its establishment, the Joseon dynasty adopted a state ideology characterized by the suppression of Buddhism and the promotion of Confucianism. According to the (Revised and Augmented) Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam, compiled in the early Joseon period, a total of sixteen Buddhist temples were recorded on Jeju Island at that time. These temples had existed at least since the Goryeo period, when the island was known as Tamna.
Among them, temples such as Myoryeonsa(妙蓮寺), Beophwasa(法華寺), and Sujeongsa(水精寺) were regarded as representative Buddhist institutions of Jeju. However, during the construction and renovation of governmental offices and administrative buildings, roof tiles and timber from former temples were repeatedly reused. As a result, Buddhist temples on Jeju gradually fell into decline and were eventually abandoned. Ultimately, tile-roofed temple buildings were reduced to only a few panok(wooden plank houses) or chook(thatched huts) structures. In 1702 (the 28th year of King Sukjong’s reign), under Magistrate Lee Hyeong-sang(李衡祥), a large-scale campaign was launched to eradicate ‘illicit shrines(Eumsa) and suppress Buddhism’, which nearly severed the remaining continuity of Buddhist practice on the island. Unlike their counterparts on the mainland, Buddhist monks on Jeju maintained their lineage as married monks(帶妻僧), while only the monks of Jonjaam(尊者庵) practiced celibacy and pursued solitary ascetic training.
Moreover, another distinctive characteristic of Jeju Buddhism was the absence of Buddhist nuns, a condition described as yuseung muni (the presence of monks without nuns).