조선시대 사찰계의 고려 결사 전통 계승과 변용- 수행 토대의 지속과 변형을 중심으로 - = Joseon Temple Associations (Sachal-gye) and the Reconfiguration of Goryeo Buddhist Associational Traditions: Jeonghye and Baengnyeon Legacies in Continuity and Change

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the continuity and transformation of Buddhist associative organizations in the Joseon dynasty, with particular attention to the emergence and development of temple-based associations (sachal-gye, 寺刹契) as a pragmatic mode of sustaining the Buddhist community under adverse political and social conditions. While the concept of gye (契) is widely discussed in studies of late Joseon local society and economic history, its Buddhist forms have often been treated as peripheral or reduced to informal financial groups. This paper argues that temple-based gye should be understood not merely as economic cooperatives but as institutional mechanisms that enabled the restoration and maintenance of Buddhist monastic infrastructure and the continuation of religious functions.
By analyzing a broad range of epigraphic and documentary sources—including temple association registers, dedicatory inscriptions, and compilations preserved in digital archives—this study reconstructs the organizational purposes and operational logic of Joseon temple associations. The findings demonstrate that many temple-based gye were established to secure material foundations necessary for monastic survival: rebuilding halls, repairing temple facilities, acquiring ritual implements, and financing printed scriptures or devotional icons. These activities, however, were not ends in themselves; rather, they created the conditions for sustaining Buddhist practice and propagation amid prolonged institutional suppression and the aftermath of repeated warfare.
Furthermore, this paper situates Joseon temple associations within a longer tradition of Korean Buddhist reform movements by briefly revisiting the two influential Goryeo-period precedents—Jinul’s Samādhi and Prajñā Community (Jeonghye-gyeolsa, 定慧結社) and Yose’s White Lotus Society (Baengnyeon-gyeolsa, 白蓮結社). Although Joseon associations differed in form and historical motivation, they retained key elements of earlier communal religious efforts: the prioritization of practice-oriented discipline, the integration of devotional traditions, and the pursuit of communal stability through organized participation of both monastic and lay members. Ultimately, this study proposes that the transformation from the explicit “sangha reform movement” of the Goryeo period to the infrastructural and organizational strategies of Joseon temple associations reflects not decline, but adaptive continuity, revealing how Korean Buddhism reconfigured its institutional resilience under state-imposed constraints.