Buddhism in medieval Korea is characterized as “State Protection Buddhism,” a religion whose primary purpose was to rally support (supernatural and popular) for and legitimate the state. In this view, the state used Buddhism to engender compliance with its goals. A closer look, however, reveals that Buddhism was a canvas on which people projected many religious and secular concerns and desires.

This study is an attempt to specify Buddhism’s place in Koryo and to ascertain to what extent and in what areas Buddhism functioned as a state religion. Was state support the main reason for Buddhism’s dominance in Koryo? How actively did the state seek to promote religious ideals? What was the strength of Buddhism as an institution and the nature of its relationship to the state? What role did Confucianism, the other state ideology, play in Koryo? This study argues that Buddhism provided most of the symbols and rituals, and some of the beliefs, that constructed an aura of legitimacy, but that there was no single ideological system underlying the Koryo dynasty’s legitimating strategies.

Contents
 Tables, Maps, and Figures ooo
 Kings of Unified Silla and Koryo ooo
 Abbreviations ooo
 Introduction 1
Methodological considerations: religion and political order
4
Korean Buddhism: state protectionism? 13
Sources 21
Structure 24
Part I?Historical and Ideological Background
1 Buddhism and the State in Late Silla 31
The fall of Silla and the rise of Wang Kon 32
Buddhism and the state in Unified Silla 40
The Son school in late Silla: dharma lineages and the Nine
Mountains 49
The economic and social basis of the Son sanmun 62
Buddhism and the state in the Later Three Kingdoms 71
Conclusion 73
2 Foundations of a New Buddhist Policy: T'aejo and Buddhism
75
Wang Kon's policy of legitimation 76
Confucianism in early Koryo 86
Wang Kon's Buddhist Ideology: the Ten Injunctions 89
The first injunction: the power of the Buddhas 93
The second injunction: the relation between Buddhism and
geomancy 101
The sixth injunction: the relation between Buddhism and
native religions 112
T'aejo's relation with Buddhist schools 121
Representation of the ruler through Buddhism 133
Conclusion 146
Part II?The Official Institution of Buddhism
3 Legal Provisions on the Status of Monks 151
Ordination restrictions 153
Other legislation concerning monks 161
Status divisions within the monkhood 168
Conclusion 181
4 The Sa?gha Examination, Ranking and Administration 183
The examination for monks in Koryo 184
The administrative system for the Sa?gha 203
Official institutions and Buddhism in Silla 204
The administration of temples in the Transitional Period
from Silla to Koryo 213
The Sa?gha Registry: the central organ of the Buddhist
bureaucracy 221
Conclusion 236
5 The Royal and State Preceptors 238
The origins of the office of state preceptor 239
The state preceptor in Silla 243
The emergence of the royal preceptor in early Koryo 247
The preceptors after T'aejo 255
Conclusion 267
Part III?The Ritual and Economic Roles of Buddhism
6?The Buddhist Temple Economy in Early Koryo 271
The nature of temple land in early Koryo 273
Land donations to temples: three case studies 286
Official temples in Koryo: the pibo-sa system 295
Private temples 305
Conclusion 310
7?Buddhist State Rituals 313
Defining ritual 315
Main Koryo Buddhist state rituals 319
Royal ancestor worship through Buddhism 335
The Koryo tripitaka and the Koryo dynasty 349
Conclusion 362
 Conclusion 365
Appendix
 Biographical Abstracts of Koryo Monks 375
Reference Matter
 Character List 419
 Bibliography 433
 Index 467