The Relationship between Buddhist Ritualand Popularization in Middle Silla Buddhism

This study examines how the “popularization” of Buddhism, an important characteristic of Buddhism in the Middle Silla period, was realized in practice, focusing on the social functions of Buddhist ritual. Whereas previous studies have paid attention to the development of doctrine or ideological background, this study aims to clarify that the popularization of Buddhism operated concretely through ritual as a sensory and social device. For this purpose, attention is paid to the performance and transformation of rituals, and the process by which religious experiences formed in the arena of public ritual spread into individuals’ everyday practice is examined. This study analyzes that in public Buddhist rituals such as the Nakseonghoe, the mobilization of sight, sound, and smell functioned as a sensory device that enabled the simultaneous experience of state authority and religious authority. It also examines the process by which such experiences shifted into concrete devotional practices of sutra chanting and Buddha-name recitation, through which the subject of faith was transformed from a “listener” to a “speaker.” Furthermore, it clarifies that the ideology of merit inherent in dhāraṇī recitation and stupa construction contributed to expanding the range of participation in Buddhist faith and spreading it to the lower social strata and local communities. Through this, it is suggested that the popularization of Buddhism in the Middle Silla period was deepened not only by the transmission of doctrine but also through the accumulation of sensory experience and practice mediated by ritual.