한국은 고대로부터 ‘한울님’, ‘하늘님’, ‘한임’ 또는 ‘천신(天神)’ 등에 대한 국가 차원의 제천(祭天)의례와 민중 차원의 하늘에 대한 제천의례가 전승되어왔다. 제천의례는 중요한 국가의례 중 가장 중요한 의례이며, 정치의례뿐만 아니라 종교적 상징으로서 그 역사적 의미가 크다. 또한, 한민족의 자주적 독립성과 역사적 정체성을이어가는 중요한 의례로 여겨져 왔다. 고대로부터 고려조까지 이어져 왔던 제천의례는 조선조에 들어 거의 오백년 동안국가적 제천의례가 중단되었다. 이런 상황에서 일반 백성들이 숨어서 지내는 민중적제천의례의 성격은 오히려 강화되었다. 특히, 한국 신종교의 민중 중심의 제천의례와 관련하여 대종교의 선의식(襢儀式), 증산교계 보천교의 고천제(告天祭), 원불교의 산상기도인 법인기도(法認祈禱) 등이 있다. 이는 동학농민운동 및 3.1 독립운동, 대종교의 독립운동 등 한민족의 자주독립과 역사적 주체성을 회복하는 원동력이 되었다. 본 논문에서는 첫째, 근대 민중 차원의 신종교 제천의례 양상을 간략하게 소개하고자 한다. 둘째, 본 논문의 핵심주제인 원불교의 ‘법인(法認)기도’는 대중에게 공개되지 않은 숨은 제천의례이며 희생제의적 함의를 지니고 있음을 밝히고자 한다. 셋째, 법인기도 때에 사용한 ‘팔괘기(八卦旗)’의 상징적 의미와 구조를 역학(易學)적관점에서 해석하였다. 후에, ‘일원팔괘도(一圓八卦圖)’는 원불교의 핵심사상인 일원상의 진리, 신앙, 수행 차원의 교리체계 형성에 기반이 되었으며, 현재도 10인 1단을 상징하여 하늘과 땅, 그리고 팔방을 응하는 우주적 합일을 추구하고 있음을 보여주고 있다.
From ancient times in Korea, rituals to the ‘Han-ul-nim,’ ‘Ha-neu-nim,’ ‘Han-im’ or the ‘Heavenly God’ by the nation and rituals to the Heaven by the people were handed down. A ritual to the Heaven was one of the most important rituals among the national rituals. It had great historical meanings as a political ritual as well as a religious symbol. Also, it had been considered as a significant ritual through which Korean people had kept up autonomous independence and historical identity. The ritual services to the Heaven, that was kept up from ancient times to the Goryeo Dynasty, were discontinued nationally during the Joseon Dynasty almost for five hundred years. In such a situation, on the contrary, the characteristics of ritual services to the Heaven by the people were strengthened that were held secretly by the common people. Particularly, there were the Seon ceremony of Daejong-gyo (faith), the Go-cheon-je (declaration service to the Heaven) of Bocheon-gyo, which was in lineage from Jeungsan-gyo, the prayers at the mountains for the dharma authentication of Won-Buddhism and so on in relation with ritual services to the Heaven by the people in new religions of Korea. They became a driving force to recover autonomous independence and historical identity of Korean people from Japan in the Donghak (Eastern Learning) movement, March First Independence Movement, and the independence movement by Daejong-gyo. First, this paper introduced briefly the ritual services to the Heaven by people in new religions. Second, it elucidated that the ‘prayers for the dharma authentication’, which is the main theme of this paper, were hidden ritual services to the Heaven which were not revealed to people and had meaning of sacrifice rituals. Third, it interpreted the symbolic meaning and structure the ‘flag of Eight Trigrams for divination (palgoae)’, which was used during the prayers for the dharma authentication, from the perspective of the science of change (yi). Afterward, the ‘diagram of Irwon and Eight Trigrams’ became base to form the doctrinal system such as the truth, faith, and practice of Irwon-sang (One Circle Symbol). Even presently, it demonstrates that the Won-Buddhist Order seeks the universal unity that corresponds to the heaven, earth, and eight directions, standing for one unit by ten persons.