Religious Syncretism in the Shilla Period: The Relationship between Esoteric Buddhism and Korean Primeval Religion

Abstract

Religious syncretism, the mixture of folk religion with one of the religions from the so-called great traditions, is an important element in the development of Buddhism in the ancient states of Korea. As we shall demonstrate in the course of this study, syncretism was from the very beginning the process by which Buddhism gained acceptance in the Korean states, and the influence of this syncretic Buddhism may be found in even the most sophisticated relics of high Buddhist culture and art. In spite of its great importance, however, studies of ancient Korean Buddhism seldom make reference to the syncretism which was typical of that period. Usually one is left with the impression that Buddhism in the ancient period was unaffected, unadulterated by the indigenous religion and that the two religions existed side by side in two separate worlds (Han 1970: 99-102). This paper, then, will illustrate the development of syncretic Buddhism in Korea by considering the stages of the growth of Buddhism in the kingdom of Shilla. Because Shilla Vgff defeated its rivals for supremacy on the Korean peninsula, the kingdoms of Kogury6o 6fiJIg and Paekche ~W, in the mid-seventh century, the historical records for this state are comparatively greater, and consequently it will be easier to show the development of syncretism through the course of Shilla history. In this paper, it will be shown that there are four essential stages: a period of contact, a period of accomodation, a period of maturation, and a period of a sophisticated synthesis. Each successive stage built on the stage before