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

Hyonjongnon and Yusogjiluilon were written to justify Buddhism aganinst the argument of anti-Buddhism which flourished during the period from late Koryo(918-1392) to early Choson(1392-1910) by Confucian intellectuals. In the same context, the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism was discussed in these treatises. According to them, the teachings of Confucianism and Buddhism were not different in their essence. However, they regared the two as differing ideologies in their function, but Buddhism over Confucianism, For them, Confucianism, a this-worldly vehicle, was inferior to Buddhism because the former functioned to civilize people, but lacked the ability to lead them to spiritual liberation ; in contrast, Buddhism, the other-worldly vehicle, was superior to Confucianism because the former enabled the people to attain spiritual liberation.Accordingly, the fundamental theory of the relationship between Buddhism and Confucianism of them was designed on the dual framework of the sameness in essence and the difference in function, but in the context of the former over the latter. But there are some differences among Between these two treatises on the idea of the relation between the five disciplines of Buddhism and the five virtures of Confucianism, the understanding of the Concept of Nature, the attiute of dealing I-Ching and the theory of the incarnation of three Buddhist Saints in China, etc. In Conclusion, It seems evident that the writers of these two treatieses are not same, and there were various views on the relationship between Buddhism and Confucianism in Early Choson Buddhist community.