This research focuses on the continuity of policies on Buddhism from the late Koryŏ to the early Chosŏn dynasty in terms of Buddhist sects. The state’s tight control and surveillance on Buddhist organizations in the early Koryŏ period was collapsed under the military rule, Mongol invasions and Yuan’s intervention. As a result, the number of Buddhist sects increased and they obtained immense economic and political power. Each sect also conducted the monastic examinations and exerted its influence to award monastic titles.
In the early Chosŏn period, elite bureaucrats mainly criticized Buddhism for the autonomous authority of the Buddhist sects, and claimed reduction of them. This same criticism was initially presented by Yi Saek in the late Koryŏ period. Although King Kongmin of Koryŏ tried to solve this issue in early years of his reign, his attempts were unsuccessful. Under King T’aejong through the reign of King Sejong in the 15<SUP>th</SUP> century, the number of Five Doctrinal Schools and Two Meditative Traditions, as well as the number of monasteries and slaves with in them decreased due to kings’ policies rearranging Buddhist sects. However, their assertion to remove authority to conduct them on astic examination and award monastic titles failed.
After Five Doctrinal Schools and Two Meditative Traditions were vanished in the reign of King Sejong, duties of Buddhist sects moved to administrative centers of the Sŏn sect and Kyo sect which helped to reduce their size. Nevertheless, the authority and roles of each Buddhist sect were still recognized, and their power to conduct monastic examinations and award monastic titles still presided. However, the administrative centers of the Sŏn sect and Kyo sect were abolished under the reign of King Chungjong. In this light, policies on Buddhism in the late Koryŏ dynasty acknowledging the authority of Buddhist sects continued at least until the 15<SUP>th</SUP> century.