T. S. 엘리엇의 『가족의 재회』와 불교사상 = Buddhist Thought in T. S, Eliot’s The Family Reunion

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In this paper I have made an attempt to elucidate his literary world focusing on Indian philosophies with a special reference to Buddhism reflected in T. S. Eliot's The Family Reunion. It is generally acknowledged that Indian religions have undergone many stages of development, with new ideas being grafted to the established religion. Among the developmental stages of Indian religions and philosophies, Eliot had a keen interest in those of Hinduism and Buddhism ; many teaching of Buddha are seen scattered throughout his poems. The poet himself show in his poems and essays that Indian religions and philosophies had greate influence on his literary world. In fact, it is widely known that he was interested in Buddhism from his boyhood.
However, it is not easy to analyze his literary world and his philosophy from a Buddhist point of view, for his philosophical system as well as Buddhist is very wide and complicated. I begin the thesis by introducing the way Eliot merges the Indian philosophies with the western philosophy in his poetry.
And then I discuss the nature of the ultimate human goal and the way to achieve it.
They are dealt with on the basis of the old Indian philosophies embodied in the Hinayana Buddhist Scriptures, Nikayas.
The second discusses the Buddhist influences on Eliot's life.
The third compares the Unreal in his poetry with Buddhist Ill : suffering. The First Noble Truth is concerned with the nature of human existence ,which involves suffering (dukkha). The fourth compares desire in Eliot's poetry with the cause of Ill in Buddhism. The Second Noble Truth offers explanation of how dukkha comes to be a conditioning factor of all life. The fifth compares the still point in Eliot's poetry with the Third Noble Truth, nirvana, and the Eightfold Path in Buddhism. The Third Noble Truth affirms that this dukkha-characterized life can be brought to an end.
My analysis of Eliot's poetry in the light of the Four Noble Truths expounded in Nikayas shows that Eliot's poetic world is indebted to Indian thoughts, expecially Buddhism, no less than to Christianity. To sum up, Eliot incorporates his understanding of Eastern and Western philosophies in his works, and illuminates the cultural crisis in the modern world. His literary world cannot be properly understood without an consideration of the influence he received from the Indian philosophies, especially Buddhism.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서 론
• Ⅱ. 엘리엇의 생애에 미친 인도종교의 영향
• Ⅲ. 바퀴의 무상
• Ⅳ. 욕망과 고(苦)의 원인
• Ⅴ. 바퀴의 중심과 적정
• Ⅵ. 결 론
• 참고문헌
• Abstract