The Historical Interpretation and Historiographic Significance of Ganjangsa gi(看藏寺記) by Yi Seung-Hue(1224-1300)

Through the analysis of the contents of Ganjangsa gi(看藏寺記), written in 1294 by Dongan geosa(動安居士) Yi Seung-Hue(1224-1300), this thesis attempted to understand his Buddhist faith and ideology in detail and define their character from a historiographical perspective. This data has already been partially used in papers that have studied his Buddhist beliefs. However, no research achievements have been made to properly grasp the nature of this source. Its contents are as follows. When he was dismissed from his post (6th year of King Chungryeol: 1280), he returned to his hometown of Samcheok, and in October of that year, he built a simple house, Yongandang (reading room) with a thatched roof on the ridge of Mureung valley, just away from his house. From there, he borrowed Buddhist scriptures from a nearby temple (Samhwasa Temple), and read 1,000 boxes day and night for 10 years. Then, in 1294, he moved the house to the entrance of the village, rebuilt it, and named it Ganjangsa Temple, where he donated all his assets holding memorial services honoring the king and for the monk's expenses. This record was written in long sentences of 1442 characters. Its main content can be divided into two parts: 'Writings wishing a long life of the king' and 'Records of the situation of the Ganjangsa Temple'. The former part revealed the general overview of Buddhist scriptures, the life story of Sakyamuni, the spread of Buddhism, and the tradition of Buddhist faith since the reign of King Taejo of the Goryeo Dynasty and the details of their wishes. It was revealed that the 1,000-boxes Tripitaka Koreana he read was Goryeodaejanggyeong printed in Ganghwa Island. It was also revealed that he was a Buddhist who had read all of the Palman Daejanggyeong. He described the life story of Sakyamuni because he worshiped Buddha among the Three Jewels: Buddha, dharma and sangha. His description of the life story of Sakyamuni is extracted from the bibliograpy of the Buddha in the Jodangjip (祖堂集) edited at the year of 952 in China. His work is prior to Seokbosangjeol (석보상절) published during King Sejong’s reign in Joseon It can be said that the purpose of his organization of Buddhist ideology in this way was to wish long life for the king who was busy with political affairs through giving Dharma. His religious faith showed strong inclination to the doctrinal school of Buddhism. His achievements in reading through the Tripitaka and summarizing the life story of Sakyamuni Buddha have significance in historiography and Ganjangsa gi is a material showing the reality of Goryeo Buddhism in the 13th century.