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투고논문

무상(無常)과 실상(實相)
－라브랑사(拉卜楞寺) 수유화(酥油花)의 반야(般若) 미학과 신성성(神聖性)의 함의－

Impermanence and Ultimate Reality: Prajñā Aesthetics and the Sacred Significance of Butter Sculpture at Labrang Monastery

양영봉1 · 이행철２

LIANG, Yong-Feng1 · LEE, Haeng-Cheol２

1절강사범대학교 아동발달 및 교육학과 교수
２상명대학교 한중문화정보연구소 연구원
1Professor, College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University
２Researcher, Institute of Korea-China Cultural Information, Sangmyung University
30 September 2026. pp. 287∼321
PDF Citation
Abstract
Butter sculpture (酥油花，Su Youhua) is a distinctive form of votive sculpture in Tibetan Buddhism, renowned for its refined craftsmanship and long-standing ritual tradition. Although butter is an inherently perishable medium, making the sculptures highly ephemeral, their aesthetic value and religious significance endure through Buddhist ritual practice and the continuity of the Buddhist tradition. Focusing on the butter sculptures of Labrang Monastery (拉卜楞寺), this study draws on theories of religious art and an aesthetic approach grounded in Prajñā (般若美學). Combining textual research with fieldwork, it examines the dialectical relationship between impermanence (無常) and ultimate reality (實相) through the threefold framework of Prajñā (般若): Scriptural Prajñā (文字般若), Contemplative Prajñā (觀照般若), and Ultimate Reality Prajñā (實相般若). From the perspectives of ritual form, the beauty of illusion, and the realm of ultimate reality, the study explores the aesthetic characteristics and sacred significance embodied in butter sculpture.
The findings suggest that butter sculpture embodies the beauty of illusion as an artistic expression of gathering and dispersal of causes and conditions (因緣聚散) of conditioned dharmas (有爲法). Its ontological value is grounded in ultimate reality, revealing the enduring nature of ultimate reality beyond the impermanence of material form. The dialectical unity of illusion and ultimate reality constitutes the distinctive aesthetic mechanism of Prajñā embodied in butter sculpture. By integrating artistic creation, Buddhist practice, and religious experience, this study offers a new perspective on the relationships between impermanence and permanence, illusion and ultimate reality, and art and faith. It also contributes a distinctive Tibetan Buddhist case to the study of the sacredness of religious art.
Keywords
Butter sculpture
Labrang Monastery
Tibetan Buddhism
Prajñā aesthetics
Impermanence
Ultimate reality
Religious art
수유화(酥油花) 예술은 티베트 불교(藏傳佛教) 특유의 공양 조소 예술로, 역사가 유구하고 조형이 정교하다. 비록 수유화의 재질이 쉽게 녹아내려 그 예술적 형태가 뚜렷한 잔혹성과 단명성을 지니지만, 그 심미적 가치와 종교적 의미는 물질적 형태의 소멸로 인해 사라지지 않고 오히려 티베트 불교의 의궤 실천과 신앙 전승 속에서 지속적으로 드러난다. 본 논문은 라브랑사(拉卜楞寺) 수유화 예술을 핵심 연구 대상으로 삼아, 종교예술학과 반야(般若) 미학 이론을 결합하고 문헌 연구와 현장 조사를 병행하는 연구 방법을 채택하였다. 무상(無常)과 실상(實相)의 변증법적 핵심을 중심으로 반야 사상의 3체계인 문자반야(文字般若), 관조반야(觀照般若), 실상반야(實相般若)를 시각으로 삼아, 의궤의 상(相), 환화(幻化)의 미, 실상(實相)의 경계라는 세 가지 차원에서 수유화의 반야 미학적 함의와 신성성의 의미를 체계적으로 해석하여, 수유화가 외재적 의식 형태에서 심미적 관조를 거쳐 궁극적인 실상의 경계에 이르는 온전한 정신적 맥락을 규명하고자 했다. 연구 결론은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 수유화의 현상적 심미 본질은 환화의 미이며, 이는 유위법(有為法)의 인연취산(因緣聚散)을 직관적으로 보여주는 예술적 표현이다. 둘째, 수유화의 본체적 가치는 실상의 항구함에 귀결되며, 형체는 소멸해도 본성은 소멸하지 않는 영원한 의미를 보여준다. 셋째, 환화와 실상의 변증법적 통일은 수유화 특유의 반야 심미의 핵심 기제를 구성한다. 본 연구는 예술 창작, 수행 실천, 종교적 체험을 하나로 융합하여, 불교 예술에 있어서 무상과 영원, 환화와 실상, 예술과 신앙의 관계를 이해하는 데 새로운 이론적 시각을 제공하며, 종교 예술의 신성성 연구에도 티베트 불교 고유의 특징을 지닌 사례와 시사점을 제공한다.
키워드
수유화(酥油花)
라브랑사(拉蔔楞寺)
장전불교(藏傳佛敎)
반야미학(般若美學)
무상(無常)
실상(實相)
종교예술
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Association of Buddhist Studies
  • Publisher(Ko) :불교학연구회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies
  • Journal Title(Ko) :불교학연구
  • Volume : 88
  • Pages :287∼321
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.21482/jbs.88..202609.287
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