Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea
Following the Confucian period of the Chosŏn era, which overshadowed Buddhists and confined them to the margins of society, at the beginning of Japanese colonial rule the possibility of monastic marriage typical of Japanese practice emerged as a viable alternative for Korean Buddhists in the early ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Eötvös Loránd University
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Távol-keleti Tanulmányok |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ojs.elte.hu/tkt/article/view/3181 |
| _version_ | 1811307582468390912 |
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| author | Beatrix Mecsi |
| author_facet | Beatrix Mecsi |
| author_sort | Beatrix Mecsi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Following the Confucian period of the Chosŏn era, which overshadowed Buddhists and confined them to the margins of society, at the beginning of Japanese colonial rule the possibility of monastic marriage typical of Japanese practice emerged as a viable alternative for Korean Buddhists in the early twentieth century. While the repressive memory of Japanese colonial heritage often appears in the relevant literature about clerical marriage today as the main reason for Korean Buddhists to get married, an analysis of contemporary documents presents us with a much more complex picture. Most notably among Korean intellectuals, one of the most significant personalities of the era, Manhae Han Young’un’s (1879−1944) systematically urged the reform of Korean Buddhism, Chosŏn Pulgyo yusinnon 朝鮮 佛 敎 維新 論 (Treatise on the Restoration of Korean Buddhism). In connection with the presentation and circumstances of the thirteenth point formulated to allow polemics and the practice of priestly marriage, we can see that his Confucian education, personality, and life play as important a part in his reasoning as the ideologies of the era, social Darwinism and modernism, and democracy. But primary sources revealing the daily lives and circumstances of the monks also show that the
willingness to marry was also greatly influenced by the new inheritance rules introduced in the Japanese colonial system.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:06:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78138ffc32e24218ab0faa7072f9ef10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2060-9655 2786-2976 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T09:06:57Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Eötvös Loránd University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Távol-keleti Tanulmányok |
| spelling | doaj.art-78138ffc32e24218ab0faa7072f9ef102022-12-22T02:52:58ZengEötvös Loránd UniversityTávol-keleti Tanulmányok2060-96552786-29762021-12-0113110.38144/TKT.2021.1.33181Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in KoreaBeatrix Mecsi0Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) Following the Confucian period of the Chosŏn era, which overshadowed Buddhists and confined them to the margins of society, at the beginning of Japanese colonial rule the possibility of monastic marriage typical of Japanese practice emerged as a viable alternative for Korean Buddhists in the early twentieth century. While the repressive memory of Japanese colonial heritage often appears in the relevant literature about clerical marriage today as the main reason for Korean Buddhists to get married, an analysis of contemporary documents presents us with a much more complex picture. Most notably among Korean intellectuals, one of the most significant personalities of the era, Manhae Han Young’un’s (1879−1944) systematically urged the reform of Korean Buddhism, Chosŏn Pulgyo yusinnon 朝鮮 佛 敎 維新 論 (Treatise on the Restoration of Korean Buddhism). In connection with the presentation and circumstances of the thirteenth point formulated to allow polemics and the practice of priestly marriage, we can see that his Confucian education, personality, and life play as important a part in his reasoning as the ideologies of the era, social Darwinism and modernism, and democracy. But primary sources revealing the daily lives and circumstances of the monks also show that the willingness to marry was also greatly influenced by the new inheritance rules introduced in the Japanese colonial system. http://ojs.elte.hu/tkt/article/view/3181Koreaclerical marriagBuddhismimpacts of Japanese colonial rule |
| spellingShingle | Beatrix Mecsi Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea Távol-keleti Tanulmányok Korea clerical marriag Buddhism impacts of Japanese colonial rule |
| title | Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea |
| title_full | Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea |
| title_fullStr | Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea |
| title_short | Celibacy or Marriage? Dilemmas for Buddhist Monks in Korea |
| title_sort | celibacy or marriage dilemmas for buddhist monks in korea |
| topic | Korea clerical marriag Buddhism impacts of Japanese colonial rule |
| url | http://ojs.elte.hu/tkt/article/view/3181 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT beatrixmecsi celibacyormarriagedilemmasforbuddhistmonksinkorea |