몽골 샤머니즘 속 불교의 수용양상 고찰

The Influence of Buddhism on Mongolian Shamanism

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Mongolia has got a strong tradition in Shamanism and Buddhism. For this reason, many scholars agree that Mongolia is a place where Shamanism is well preserved on the one hand and Buddhism is flourishing on the other. Hence it is not unusual that Mongolian nomads are practicing Shamanism in daily life and also there are many Buddhist temples across the country. However, these two religions were strictly oppressed by the socialist regime which lasted nearly 70 years (from 1921 till 1989) and only recently they were both revived after the collapse of socialism. In fact, during the socialist era, most religions including Shamanism and Buddhism were systematically destroyed and eradicated by force and thus Mongolian society had a religious void during this period. Shamanism in Mongolia is a main base of Mongolian nomadic life and accommodates various elements of Buddhism. This was true and this view even is still acceptable today. It means that Mongolian Shamanism has survived from political suppression during the socialist era as well as the inter-mingling with Buddhism in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In particular, Shamanism has adopted a bunch of Buddhist traditions and dieties when active Buddhists oppressed Shamanists. This was a tactical choice to maintain Shamanistic traditions rather than having a confrontation with Bhuddhism. There are several substances of Buddhist elements which were assimilated into Shamanism, such as Shaman’s songs, prayer books and folktales concerning Shamanism. Although Mongolian Shamanism adopted Buddhistic traditions and practices Shamanism still maintained its main contents underneath. It means that Mongolian Shamanism accepted some elements from Buddhism and yet Shamanism preserved its own styles and characteristics.