Intangible Culture ISSN:2799-3868(Print) 무형문화연구

Jinheo Palgwan(振虛捌關)’s Sammunjikji(Instructions on Three Entrances in Buddhism, 三門直指) was made up of three parts, I.e. Enterance of Yeombul(念佛門), Entrance of Shortcut Sŏn(徑截門), and Entrance of Complete and Sudden Buddhism(圓頓門). Of these, I have focused and studied only the part of ‘Enterance of Yeombul’. Especially, I would like to find out that whether the concept of Yeombul is ‘Entirely Chanting of Namo Amitabha’ or not. In proceeding Article, I extracted the concept of Yeombul from the first part of the ‘Entrance of Yeombul’ in which 5 kinds of Yeombul has been presented by Jinheo Palgwan. As a result, I ascertained that there have been the impact of Sŏn Buddhism, Mahāyāna Boddhisattva path in ‘Enterance of Yeombul’ too. It is time to research that whether ‘Enterance of Yeombul’ include any other Buddhist thoughts or practices besides Pure Land Buddhism or not. what its text have been studied is the second part of the ‘Entrance of Yeombul’, I.e the contents of Ritual by Chanting. As a result, the faith of Avalokiteśvara Boddhisattva, practice of Repentance, and the faith of Bhaiṣajyaguru Tathāgata(藥師如來) were also found in ‘Enterance of Yeombul’. Especially, there are many dhāraṇi(呪文) from Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism says that by chanting their dhāraṇi, One can go to the Pure Land. Can Pure Land Buddhism agree to the logic and dhāraṇi of Esoteric Buddhism? Of course. I think that the chanting of dhāraṇi doesn’t contradict Amitabha’s vow which would like to save every sentient beings. Also, we can approve that when we chant esoteric dhāraṇis, there might be the image on Amitabha. Pure Land Buddhism says that we can go to the Pure Land by not only chanting Amitabh’s name but also holding image on Amitabha. So, I found out that there have been combination between Pure Land Buddhism and Sŏn Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara faith, Bhaiṣajyaguru faith, and Esoteric Buddhism. Its characteristic is the reflection of the sprit of the age.

Cheonghwa’s (淸華, 1923~2003) Yeombulseon(念佛禪) is an intangible cultural heritage of Buddhism that has had a profound influence on the development of modern Korean Buddhist practice culture. Discussions were held on ways to inherit and disseminate the values ​​contained within it and to utilize it in conjunction with the Cheonghwa Memorial Hall. This discussion was based on the premise that Yeombulseon is a collective memory of its members that encapsulates the thought and practice of Korean Buddhism, and that the Cheonghwa Memorial Hall serves as the foundation for its dissemination. It was stated that experiences and practices must be expanded through the development of Yeombulseon contents and the planning and utilization of exhibitions aimed at recontextualizing this collective memory. The core of this discussion lies in the fact that the development of cultural contents is essential for the utilization of Yeombulseon, and that this requires the establishment and utilization of a digital archive. First, the direction for planning cultural contents for Yeombulseon should be as follows: first, digitize and establish definitive editions of source materials regarding Yeombulseon; second, produce a digital chronology of historical information related to Cheonghwa and Yeombulseon to build diverse interconnected information; and third, plan contents development through the analysis and reprocessing of source materials. Materials related to Cheonghwa have already undergone significant digitization, making them highly advantageous for archiving. We proposed step-by-step guidelines for utilizing Yeombulseon contents at Hyeunsa Temple in Muan, the birthplace of Cheonghwa and home to the Cheonghwa Memorial Hall. Furthermore, we proposed the development of a , using the ‘Manil Yeombulseon Gyeolsa’ as the temporal axis and the ‘Seon Pilgrimage’ as the spatial axis to disseminate Yeombulseon contents. Through this, the Cheonghwa Memorial Hall will establish itself as a space that honors the great achievements of Cheonghwa, who opened a new path for the practice of Yeombulseon - a precious intangible Buddhist cultural heritage of Korea - and leads a new culture of practice. Through this discussion, we aim to elevate the value of Cheonghwa and Yeombulseon, and contribute to the creation of a forum for diverse discussions so that the utilization of Yeombulseon contents can resonate deeply not only within Cheonghwa’s sacred sites, including Hyeunsa Temple, and the local community, but also across the globe.

This study aims to examine the transmission process and ritual significance of the Sejong Buddhist Nakhwa-beop, which was designated as an Intangible Heritage of Sejong Special Self-Governing City. Based on fieldwork and oral interviews conducted at Seollseondang Hall of Yeongpyeongsa Temple in Sejong on August 30, 2025, the study analyzes transmitted ritual objects together with related documentary sources. The findings confirm that, in 1975, during his tenure as abbot of Buseoksa Temple, Hwanseong received from Pyeongyang Nojang not only the method of producing nakhwa, but also the ritual procedure centered on the Sugu Dharani, a liturgical practice combining nakhwa offering and contemplative visualization, as well as the symbolic items of transmission, including the monastic staff (jujangja), the brazier, and the key ritual text, the Odae Jineon-jip. These findings suggest that Nakhwa-beop should be understood not as a simple folk amusement involving fire, but as a Buddhist ritual grounded in the structure of tri-guhya, incorporating mantra recitation, offering, and the contemplation of the luminous radiance of flame. Hwanseong practiced this ritual during his years at Buseoksa in both seasonal observances and private devotional rites, and after founding Yeongpyeongsa, he preserved and transmitted it to Deokmun and Wonhaeng, thereby laying the foundation for its modern continuation. Subsequently, through the establishment of the Sejong Buddhist Nakhwa-beop Preservation Society and the development of the Nakhwa Festival, the tradition expanded into a form of public cultural heritage engaging the local community, culminating in its designation as a Sejong municipal intangible heritage in 2024. Therefore, the Sejong Buddhist Nakhwa-beop can be evaluated as both an important component of Korean Buddhist ritual tradition and a living religious-cultural heritage in which preservation and contemporary adaptation coexist.

This study aims to explore directions for the sustainable development of Buddhism and effective propagation strategies in contemporary Korean society, where demographic structural changes are becoming increasingly pronounced. The analysis shows that, since the 2000s, regional population changes have been influenced more significantly by social increase and decrease caused by interregional migration than by natural increase and decrease resulting from births and deaths. In particular, the concentration of young adults in their twenties and thirties in specific urban hubs has intensified the polarization of age structures among regions. Although this younger generation is largely composed of non-religious individuals, Buddhism was found to have the highest favorability among the three major religions in Korea—Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity. This appears to be because young people tend to accept Buddhism not so much as an object of traditional religious faith, but rather as a form of lifestyle. Buddhism’s perceived attitude of “offering comfort without coercion” functions as a psychological safe zone within a society dominated by competition. Furthermore, Buddhism is understood as a force that alleviates anxiety and provides emotional stability, in resonance with the recent sociocultural trend referred to as “harmless power” (無害力). Therefore, it is necessary to develop propagation strategies that can continuously maintain and manage the positive disposition of young adults toward Buddhism. This is particularly important in light of the fact that a relatively high proportion of previously non-religious young people tend to convert to religious affiliation after entering their forties. Accordingly, this study suggests the need to apply differentiated propagation strategies in areas where young adults are highly concentrated. It further proposes that, at the institutional level of the Buddhist order, “strategic propagation temples” should be separately designated and managed, with corresponding institutional and financial support concentrated on them.

This paper examines the major discussions in modern Western philosophy of language and the Buddhist problematic of the expressible (言說, abhidhāna) and the inexpressible (不可說, anabhilāpya) from a comparative philosophical perspective. First, by comparing Wittgenstein’s language-game theory with Nāgārjuna’s concept of provisional designation (假名, prajñapti), it demonstrates that while both share an awareness of the non-essentialist and context-dependent nature of language, Buddhism advances further toward an epistemological and ontological elucidation of the very process by which linguistic discrimination is formed, through the Yogācāra theory of linguistic habituation (名言習氣, abhilāpa-vāsanā). It then compares Priest’s paraconsistent logic with the Buddhist tetralemma (catuṣkoṭi), identifying both structural similarities and a fundamental teleological difference: between the accommodation of contradiction at the level of truth-values and the dismantling of the presuppositions underlying propositional formation, which culminates in the practice of liberation. Furthermore, by intersecting the Dreyfus-McDowell debate with the Yogācāra distinction between non-conceptual cognition (無分別智, nirvikalpaka-jñāna) and conceptual cognition (分別智, savikalpaka-jñāna), the three-nature theory (三性說, trisvabhāva), and the Madhyamaka argument for the inseparability of the two truths, this paper examines how the opposition between pre-reflective intuition and conceptual perception can be reconciled within Buddhist thought. The pre-conceptual self-awareness (自證分, svasaṃvedana) articulated in the Yogācāra four-aspect theory of cognition offers a perspective that transcends the dichotomous framework of this debate, while Wŏnhyo’s reconciliation through the logic of “neither identical nor different” (非一非異) demonstrates that the tension between the expressible and the inexpressible is grounded in the dual manifestation structure of reality itself. Through these comparisons, this paper argues that the Buddhist discourse on the inexpressible is not merely a negative declaration regarding the limits of language, but a performative practice that simultaneously manifests the tension between the expressible and the inexpressible within the very act of linguistic engagement, and thereby opens new possibilities for dialogue in East-West comparative philosophy.

Since the nineteenth century, the transmission of Buddhism to Europe has evolved from an elite intellectual interest into a complex and pluralistic religious field. This paper argues that the traditional sociological distinction between “convert” and “ethnic” Buddhism is no longer sufficient to explain the contemporary European Buddhist landscape. Using a historical-sociological approach, the study proposes a tripartite analytical framework consisting of Convert Buddhism, Diaspora Buddhism, and Lineage Buddhism. Convert Buddhism is characterized by individualized spiritual practice and philosophical engagement; Diaspora Buddhism emphasizes cultural continuity and communal identity among Asian immigrant communities; while Lineage Buddhism refers to transnational institutional networks that maintain direct doctrinal and organizational authority from Asian monastic centers. The paper examines the internal dynamics of these three forms and highlights the paradox that convert communities often dominate public visibility despite the demographic predominance of diaspora traditions. It also analyzes the influence of secularization and commodification, particularly through the rise of “secular mindfulness” practices detached from traditional Buddhist ethical frameworks. The study concludes that the future development of Buddhism in Europe will depend on the ongoing negotiation between local cultural adaptation and the preservation of transnational lineage authority.