조선시대의 혹한기를 보낸 한반도의 불교였지만 승려의 도성출입금지가 해제된 구한말 이후 수많은 엘리트들이 발심, 출가하면서 불교부흥의 기운이 일어난다. 또 한국이 기독교 국가인 미국의 영향 하에 들어가긴 했지만 서구의 저항문화운동 세대와 보조를 맞추어 한국의 많은 사람들이 불교에 관심을 갖게 된다. 퇴옹은 이러한 현대한국불교 태동기의 한 가운데를 살았다. 퇴옹의 일생 가운데 출가 후근 30년간은 철저한 은둔수행의 기간이었지만 1965년 김용사의 설법이후 30년은 하화중생의 기간이었다. 퇴옹의 후반 활동기는 군사정권시기와 겹치는데, 그의 법어 어디에서도 사회현실에 대한 구체적인 언급은 보이지 않는다. 당시의 정치적 혹한기에 섣부르게 사회현실에관여하는 것보다 조선시대를 거치면서 땅에 떨어진 승가의 위상을회복하는 것이 시급하다고 판단했기 때문이었다. 또 퇴옹의 평소 언행이나 열반송 모두가 지극히 역설(Paradox)적인데 이는 그가 매진했던 간화선이 체화되었기 때문으로 짐작된다. 우리의 사유를 딜레마에 빠뜨리는 역설의 구조는 兩邊을 물리치는 간화의 방식과 일치한다. 따라서 철두철미한 간화선사였던 퇴옹을 ‘역설의 화신’이라고 부를 수 있을 것이다.
Buddhism was suppressed in Korean peninsula during the period of Cho-seon(朝鮮) Dynasty. But at the end of 19C the suppression was stopped and many elites of Korea entered the priesthood of Buddhism. In 1960s and 1970s many of Korean people showed interest in Buddhism under the influence of New age movement in America. Venerable Sungchol(性徹) lived a life in this infant age of Korean modern Buddhism. The first half of Sungchol’s life as a monk was a time of seclusion and the last half was a time of engagement. The time of his engagement was also a period of military rule. Although he played a role as a Supreme Patriarch of Jogye(曹溪) Order, we cannot find in his sermons any mentions about the political or social problems of those days. That was because he judged that it was more urgent to restore the status of Korean monks than to concern about the political affairs of Korean society. The speeches and the life of Sungchol were very paradoxical. When a journalist asked him for a sermon, he replied as follows. “Hum, a sermon ……. Don't be deceived by my saying. … by my sermon …. Don't be deceived by my sermon. This is my sermon!”We can find here a typical formulation of ‘Liar paradox’. He required that the one who want to meet him should bow 3,000 times to the Buddha statue. He didn't give any instruction about the social affairs. He made a wall between himself and our society. But after his Nirvāṇa, so many people gathered to attend his funeral. He was regarded as one of the most influential persons in Korea. He lived a life of seclusion, but his social influence was very great. It is also a paradoxical situation. In his Dharma poem written directly before his death, we can find two types of paradoxical sentences. The one is a typical Liar paradox and another is an emotional paradox of penance. Paradoxical situation is also found in the practice of Seon(禪) with Hwadu(話頭). Venerable Sungchol was a master of ‘Seon with Hwadu[看話禪]’. His last Dharma poem was a kind of Hwadu driven to the minds of all the people in Korea. He practiced passionately the ‘Seon with Hwadu’ during all his lifetime. So his speaking and action changed gradually, resembling more and more a paradoxical Hwadu. He was a Master of Gan-hwa-seon(看話禪), an incarnation of Paradox.
目次
Ⅰ. 근대 이후 한반도의 종교 동향 144 Ⅱ. 정치적 격동기에 내려진 퇴옹의 법어들 149 Ⅲ. 불교적인 사회참여와 퇴옹의 역할 155 Ⅳ. 철저한 간화선사 - 역설의 화신 161
