업(業) 설화에 나타난 업신(神)과 그 의미 = The Eop God and its Meaning in The Eop(Karma) Tale

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Complementing the lack of prior research, this study claimed a theory of origin that the term ‘Eop(God)’ of folk belief originated from the Buddhism term ‘Eop(Karma)’. To this end, the association between the ‘Eop(God)’ of folk belief and the ‘Eop(Karma) thought’ of Buddhism with similarities in terms, existence(animal), tale content, personalities, attributes was examined in a wide range.
First, the ‘Eop(God)’ and the ‘Eop(Karma)’, the ‘Eop(God) big snake’ and the ‘Eop(Karma) big snake’, the ‘Eopsin(업神)’ and the ‘Eopsin(業身)’ are homonyms. Second, in folk belief, the typical the Eop god is a big snake and in the Eop(Karma) thought, the animal typically reincarnated by bad karma is also a big snake. Third, Eop god is a guardian deity, which protects the property of a storeroom or the rice jar where he stays. A big snake reincarnated by bad karma is also a guardian deity and lives in a storeroom or the rice jar to protect his wealth of a previous life. Fourth, Eop god and Eop(Karma) big snake both protect the wealth of the house, so they have a personality of property deity and guardian deity. Also, as faith of the Eop god and Eop(Karma) tale are passed down among people, people come to think that Eop god may be the reincarnation of ancestors by Eop(Karma) thought. As a result, the Eop(Karma) big snake is considered to the Eop god, and both Eop god and Eop(Karma) big snake have personality of ancestral deity. Fifth, Both Eop god and Eop(Karma) big snake are snake with ears. People offer boiled rice or porridge to both beings and enshrine them in the Sinche(神體) made of straw. As such, the two beings have similar attributes.
Based on the above grounds, I propose a possibility that the origin of the term ‘Eop(God)’ in folk belief may have been derived from the Buddhism term ‘Eop(Karma)’ and its meaning expanded or changed.