A Study on the Development of the thought of Buddhism and Enlightenment in the Early Enlightenment Group : The Buddhist Influence of Chusa on Oh Kyung-seok

This study is to reveal how Chusa’s practical Buddhist thought influenced the formation of Oh Gyeong-seok’s enlightenment thought. It is widely known that several members of the enlightenment faction were devout Buddhists. However, it has not been revealed for what reason they believed in Buddhism. Among them, there is a person who formed the thought of enlightenment early on and was called the godfather of the enlightenment faction, and he is Oh Gyeong-seok(1831~1879). He was also famous for his deep Buddhist faith, which was greatly influenced by Chusa’s Buddhist thought. First, he studied under Lee Sang-jeok, who inherited Chusa’s Buddhist tendencies as a child. In addition, he had direct academic exchanges with Chusa and was close enough to have private conversations through letters. Previous studies suggested the possibility that Chusa’s Buddhist thought influenced Oh Kyung-seok, but it did not progress to in-depth research due to problems such as a lack of historical records on Oh Kyung-seok. Therefore, this study aims to redefine the relationship between Chusa and Oh Gyeong-seok by breaking away from the limitations of established studies by analyzing their correlation. And it is hoped that through this, we will be able to catch a clue about the reason for the Buddhist faith of the Enlightenment faction.