In this chapter, the author argues that examples from Korean religions can do much for developing comparative perspectives on religious texts. Discussing religions in Korea is in practice dealing with many of the so-called religions of the world, as is demonstrated in this book that covers Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, shamanism, and Donghak. Examples from Korea, which is in the position of a bridge, can be applied more broadly. Remarkable religions of the world gather together in this bridge country under the title of Korean religions, strongly influencing the society and people living in it. It is also suggested that scholars of sacred texts should discern and explain more than one dimension of religion which are inseparably comingled. Scriptures, like other religious objects, are recognized as sacred through the comingling of plural aspects in the lives of religious people. Plural dimensions of scripture are supposed to work together when a text is ritualized. For instance, if the semantic and performative dimensions of a text are ritualized, it often becomes easier for it to be recognized as iconic by religious people.

Chapter 2 demonstrates the need to give more attention to the iconic status and the sacred power of Buddhist scripture by describing how lay Korean Buddhists try to appropriate the power of sutras. The oral and aural aspects of scripture, explained by Wilfred Cantwell Smith, provide only a limited understanding of the characteristics of scripture. It should be noted that most lay people before modern times, not only in Buddhist cultures but also in Christian and other traditions, neither had the chance to recite scriptures nor to listen to their recitations regularly. Several clear examples show contemporary Korean Buddhists’ acceptance of the iconic status of sutras and their attempt to appropriate the power and status of those sacred texts. In contemporary Korea, this is done by lay Buddhists in daily life by repeating the texts and possessing physical copies of them. Twenty-first-century lay believers who cannot read or recite in the traditional style have found new methods of repetition, such as internet programs for copying sacred texts and for playing recordings of their recitations. In addition, many Korean Buddhists consider the act of having sutras in one’s possession to be an effective way of accessing the sacred status and power of these texts. Hence various ways of possessing them have been developed in a wide range of commercial products, from fancy gilded sutras to sneakers embroidered with mantras.

Chapter 3 ferrets out the social function and meaning of performative utterance as illustrated by the Bible study meeting in early twentieth-century Korean Protestantism. The main activity consisted of reading the Bible aloud. Many scholars of the history of Korean Protestantism assert that the Bible study meeting played a crucial role in the rapid growth of Korean Protestantism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most agree that the Bible study meeting promoted “the Great Revival,” which led to a fourfold increase in church membership in Korea between the years 1903 and 1907. These meetings have not been widely studied by academics until now. Analysis of Korean public scripture readings from a comparative perspective not only provides a vivid illustration of the social function of the performative dimension of scriptures, but it also suggests the need to further define the meaning of “performative.” As to the first point, the particular ways in which the Bible was read in the Korean context contributed to the growing number of converts to Christianity. Bible readings in the context of study groups in early Korean Protestantism facilitated the absorption of Christianity into Korean culture by building on traditional religious practices and by offering a way for native Koreans to take a leadership role in the growth of the new religion. Second, these scripture readings were performative in the way defined by J. L. Austin’s theory of performative speech and elaborated by Roy Rappaport’s description of the indexical function of ritual, because they led to Koreans’ conversions to Christianity and strengthened their Christian faith. The necessary conditions for performative utterances, as defined by Austin, were satisfied by ritualizing the activity of reading the Bible itself.

Chapter 4 focuses on sensory readings by Neo-Confucian scholars. Chu Hsi (1130-1200) of China and Yi Hwang (1501-1570) of Korea, leading scholars of the Neo-Confucian schools of each respective country, emphasized readings of Confucian scriptures. They believed that Confucian scriptures have transformative power when read repeatedly and deliberately. Chu introduced the concept – further developed by Yi – of encouraging a scholar to activate at least three senses when reading a text, and promoted it above the experience of merely reading the characters of the text. They advised Neo-Confucian scholars to try to make contact with the sages and fully internalize their teaching through the senses of sight, hearing, and taste when reading scriptures, though they did not directly appeal to the physical senses. First, the text should be recited aloud so that the reciters will hear their own voices, and sometimes those of their colleagues when several scholars read together. They imagined, furthermore, that the voices they were hearing while reading were those of the ancient sages themselves. Secondly, while hearing the voices of the sages, the reciting scholars should visualize their images, seeking personal communion with them. Finally, the meditative reading of scholars was frequently likened to savoring a text’s flavor. The act of reading a book was described as eating, biting, chewing, and tasting. When the readers recited the text aloud, pronouncing each syllable using tongues, lips and mouths, they were engaged in a gustatory experience: “chewing” and “tasting” scriptures.

In Chapter 5, a specific ritual named seolwi-seolgyeong is investigated. Seolwi-seolgyeong is a Korean shamanic ritual in which shamans recite scriptures while seated. This ritual illustrates a comprehensive way of performing scriptures: texts are recited, written, and materialized so that their sacred status is secured and their power is maximized. The recitation is the nucleus of this ritual. Though lay participants do not understand the meaning of the recited scriptures, they regard the recitation as effective because the gods and malevolent spirits are thought to understand it. For seolwi-seolgyeong to be most efficacious, the recitation of scriptures should be supported by the materialization of scriptures. Evil spirits become frightened by reading the paper banners on which the names of gods and other words derived from scriptures are written. Geometric paper figures depicting gods visually scare evil spirits and those that reflect the scriptures’ cosmology can hedge them in and trap them. In this ritual process, scriptures are privileged and distinguished as sacred beings in several ways. First, scriptures are ritualized when shamans and other participants in seolwi-seolgyeong treat the scriptures as no less than the words of the gods. Second, reciting the scripture is equated with the proclamation of divine words. This ritualization is considered more effective when scriptures are recited more skillfully. Third, the contents of scriptures are also ritualized when the contents are considered so sacred as to subdue evil spirits and to heal patients and when shamans materialize the contents into paper figures on the basis of their interpretation of the cosmology and theology in scriptures.

In Chapter 6, I will demonstrate that miniature sutras allow Korean Buddhists to feel the Buddha’s presence and protection in their daily lives. Miniature sutras are so small that they are difficult, if not impossible, to read, but these texts are not intended for study. Instead, the mere presence of these miniature sutras is thought to be efficacious. Many Korean Buddhists possess small Buddha statues at home into whose hollow bellies they insert miniature sutras. To those Buddhists, sutras, which are the dharma of the Buddha, activate the statues and turn them into the Buddha himself. In addition, they believe that miniature sutras in their hands or pockets bless them and protect them from evil. Scriptures as the word-body of the Buddha are thought to work for Buddhists irrespective of their semantic content, and without any explicit ritual recitation or repetition.

Chapter 7 deals with the recitation of scripture, usually part of it but sometimes all of it, in Donghak. Most readers of this book will be familiar with the other religions I discuss, but not with Donghak. As I will explain in more detail, Donghak is the name of a religion founded in the late 19th century that quickly became widespread in central and southern parts of Korea. I will show that the theology and practices of Donghak were indivisibly intermingled with each other in the recitation of its two basic scriptures, Donggyeongdaejeon and Yongdamyusa. In the early stage of Donghak, recitation was the most important way of ritually serving God while teaching and publicizing the main myths and doctrines of the sect. It was also the most important means for early members to practice self-cultivation. All early members of Donghak were supposed to recite the incantation (jumun) consisting of twenty-one Chinese characters, just as the contemporary adherents of modern denominations derived from Donghak still do. This incantation is included and explained in Dongyeongdaejeon and is believed to summarize the core doctrines of Donghak. Reciting this incantation was a way of affirming Donghak members’ identification with the sect. Members also believed that their recitation was a way of reifying the core doctrine of “Sicheonju,” or serving God. The book of Yongdamyusa comprises nine pieces of gasa, a traditional Korean poetic genre which was meant to be recited aloud. The founder of Donghak, Choe Jeu, composed the Yongdamyusa in Korean in order to propagate the doctrines to the public who did not know classical Chinese. Yongdamyusa passages were regularly recited by members along with simple tunes and cadences.