The purpose of this study is to examine how the Huayen Buddhism of Uisang Line, which was formed in the middle Silla (654-780), changed when the South Chan Buddhism was introduced from the China in the late Silla (780-935). The Huayen Buddhism of Uisang Line is the flow of his Huayen thoughts passed down by his disciples from the middle to the end of the Silla. This is a name commonly used in academia to distinguish it from other Huayen thoughts that existed in the Silla Buddhist community and from the Chinese Huayen School which is based on Fazang.
The reason for examining the trend of the Huyen Buddhism of Uisang Line, which met with the South Chan Buddhism in the late Silla, is that the most points of contact can be found between the two groups. To this end, I analyzed the social phenomenon that the latter encountered the former in the late Silla from the perspective of diachronic and historical trend of thoughts.
I started this analysis with two problem consciousness.
First, there is still a research trend that his Huyen Buddhism served as the system ideology of the royal authority, although studies criticizing this claim have already appeared in the mid-1980s.
Second, there is an existing research trend that Huayen Buddhism, which was the mainstream before the late 9th century in Silla, declined after the emergence of the Chan Buddhism. According to texts, the Huyen Buddhism of Uisang Line appeared as the mainstream in Silla after the middle of the 8th century. However, there is a difficulty that cannot be accurately determined whether this Buddhism was already active before the middle of the 8th century or after that as recorded.
The above two research trends start with the problem that there is a limit to the research data on the Huyen Buddhism of Uisang Line.
In this paper, I tried to study by dividing the trend of the Huyen Buddhism of Uisang Line by timing and looking at the change. This is to clarify the pattern, background, and characteristics of change, such as when it emerged as the mainstream of Silla Buddhism, what made it mainstream, what kind of ideas developed, what was the background of many people's conversion to the Chan school in the late of the 9th century, and what was the relationship between it and the North Chan Buddhism introduced from China by monks who went to the Tang Dynasty?
In the early 9th century, when it was introduced by monks who went to the Tang Dynasty and gradually accepted into Silla, the early North Chan Buddhism encountered the Huayen Buddhism of Uisang Line which was the mainstream of the doctrine at the time.
Looking at the fact that most of the early monks who opened the door of the Chan Buddhism in Silla belonged to the Huayen School of Uisang Line and turned to the South Chan Buddhism, we can see that monks who studied the Huayan Buddhism of Uisang Line were less repulsed than other monks of doctrinal schools when they accepted the North Chan.
The unique thoughts and transmission of the Huayen Buddhism of Uisang Line made monks, who went to the Tang Dynasty, familiar with the North Chan Buddhism even though they first encountered it in China.