Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

This article examines the four-line gāthā (四句偈) inscribed on a copy of the Lotus Sūtra (『法華經』) and an Amitābha Buddha Painting (阿彌陀如來圖) commissioned by Yŏm Sŭngik (廉承益), a powerful court favorite during the reign of King Ch’ungnyŏl (忠烈王). Although previous scholars have proposed various interpretations of the source of this gāthā, this study argues that it derives from the Linian Mituo Daochang Chanfa (禮念彌陀道場懺法), a repentance liturgy widely circulated in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Koryŏ Buddhism.
In the Buddhist ritual practices of late Koryŏ, ch’ambŏp (懺法, repentance rites) were highly valued across sectarian boundaries. This period, particularly under the influence of the Buddhist kyeolsa (結社, devotional association) movement, placed unprecedented emphasis on devotional practice. Within this context, ch’ambŏp, as rituals of repentance, came to occupy an especially important position because their ultimate aim was to eradicate karmic transgressions through repentance and achieve rebirth in the Pure Land. Repentance thus emerged as one of the most significant themes in late Koryŏ Buddhism, regardless of sectarian affiliation. For this reason, Yŏm Sŭngik likely selected the four-line gāthā—the central passage of this text—and inscribed it on the sūtra transcription and Buddhist painting as an expression of repentance and aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land.
The popularity of this gāthā is further demonstrated by its citation in more than sixty Buddhist scriptures through the mid-twentieth century. Among the more than sixty texts in the Chinese Buddhist canon that cite this gāthā, however, only two—the forty-fascicle Huayan jing (大方廣佛華嚴經, Avataṃsaka Sūtra) and the Linian Mituo Daochang Chanfa—were included in the Koryŏ Taejanggyŏng (『高麗大藏經』, Koryŏ Buddhist Canon). This textual circumstance further supports the argument advanced in this study. The article also suggests that when Sunam Ŭisŏn (順庵 義璇) republished the Linian Mituo Daochang Chanfa in China in 1332 and subsequently disseminated it in Koryŏ, the project may have been shaped by the influence of Cho In’gyu (趙仁規), his father, and Yŏm Sŭngik, his relative by marriage.