무인집권기 임춘의 은거관념 －불교를 중심으로－

Abstract

This article examines the seclusion concept of the intellectuals during the military regime, centering on Im Chun’s 『Seohajip』. This is because, Im Chun’s thoughts about the concept of seclusion are richly described in the 『Seohajip』. Im Chun’s concept of seclusion was briefly addressed in relation to Confucianism. However, he was interested in not only Confucianism, but also in the seclusion concept of Buddhism. Therefore, Im Chun’s concept of seclusion needs to be dealt with newly in relation to Buddhism. Im Chun tried to grasp the history of seclusion related to Buddhism throughout the Korean history. This is why he had a profound interest in the seclusion of the Silla period, and continued to summarize the aspects of seclusion that took place during the middle period of Goryeo. All of this was to suggest how seclusion should be in his time. Based on this, Im Chun emphasized to monks and inhabitants that the temple is a place of seclusion. At this time, he paid great attention to what spirit Buddhists should pursue when they seclude at the temple. As a criterion for evaluating the seclusion, he focused on whether the believers are properly practicing the truth of Buddhism, that is, Tao. For this reason, he criticized very harshly when the believers’ seclusion was in wrong direction. Moreover, he claimed that even if the believers seclude, it must be a truthful seclusion, not a false one. Meanwhile, Im Chun also had interest in the monks’ participation in reality. To him, participation in reality and the seclusion were not separate from each other. However, he thought that even if the monks participate in reality, they should return to their original place after the participation and seclude. He believed that there are still many things that the monks can do for the world, even in the temple. Thus, he revealed how the concept of seclusion is different between the Buddhism and the Confucianism. For the monks, essential path is to seclude. Whereas participation in reality is the proper path for the Confucian scholars. Only then could Buddhism be able to give the right help to society of Goryeo at that time. Through this, he believed that the social problems of Goryeo, that occurred due to the military regime, can be correctly solved.