Study on Implications of Lotus Buddhist Boy Attendants to Buddhist Early Childhood Education

ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of Lotus Buddhist Boy Attendants focusing on natural features and to explore their implications to the Buddhist early childhood education. A total of 60 Lotus Buddhist Boy Attendants were collected for analysis: 29 from ‘Buddhist Boy Attendants’ of Cheongju National Museum (2003), 25 from ‘Research report of Korea buddhist heritage’ by the Cultural Heritage Administration and Buddhist Cultural Research Institute of the Korean Jogye Order (2002-2014), and 6 from ‘Research report of buddhist boy attendants owned by temples in the nation’ by Yoon-sik Hong et al. (1991) Lotus Buddhist Boy Attendants have distinction of having articles including lotus flower, lotus leaf, lotus bough, lotus bud and lotus leafstalk, where lotus buds were the most found from them. Moreover, the face of Lotus Buddhist Boy Attendants was mostly in a round shape appearing cheerful with quiet smile; and as they have relatively bigger heads compared to their bodies, which resembles actual physical shape of children. Regarding the implications to the buddhist early childhood education, the first implication is the child’s image which represents’ a child who makes all surroundings clean and bright and is not easily affected by bad influences.’ The second is the educational view implying that ‘a child knows there is pure spirit deep down in all existences and he/she develops a skill to purify him/herself.’ This study is expected to be a fundamental information contributing to educational value of buddhist early childhood education from the perspective of personality education as well as a pursuit to develop necessary measures.