Buddhist Rituals of Ch'ilsŏng, the Seven Stars of the Great Dipper, in Chosŏn Korea

Abstract

The ritual of the seven stars of the Great Dipper thrived during the Chosŏn period. Although the state-level Great Dipper ritual was abolished by the royal court, the ritual was still popularly performed in private among people who prayed to the Dipper to fulfill their various wishes. Buddhism of this period served almost all social strata of Chosŏn, including members of the Confucian elite, in seeking the benign help of the Great Dipper by, for example, presenting ritual manuals for this cult and establishing religious shrines for its performance. Sŏn masters joined this period Buddhist trend, as can be demonstrated in the case of Paekp'a Kŭngsŏn 白坡亘璇 (1767–1852). He compiled one of the most complete Korean Buddhist manuals for the Great Dipper cult, a cult that constitutes one link between Buddhism and Daoist-folk religious cults in Chosŏn society.