Transcription of Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra), Zhenyuan Version, in Silver on Indigo Paper, Volume 31

The Great Expansive Buddha Flower Garland Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, is known for short as the Hwaeomgyeong. The fundamental scripture of the Hwaeom school, whose central teaching is that the Buddha and sentient beings are not two but one, it is one of the sutras that, with the Lotus Sutra, did most to shape Korean Buddhist thought. This is volume 31 of the forty-volume Zhenyuan version translated by Prajna of Tang, carefully copied in silver. Choe An-do and his wife made it in 1337, the sixth year of King Chungsuk's restoration, with the help of the monk Gyoyeon, to increase the blessings of their parents and themselves, to ward off misfortune and to pray for rebirth in paradise. It is painted and written in gold and silver on dark blue paper, in scroll form, 31 cm high and 881.7 cm long unrolled. The cover is decorated with lavish flowers in gold, with the title and the character jeong (for Zhenyuan) also in gold. At the head is an account of why it was made, followed by a finely drawn gold frontispiece summarising the contents. Properly formed and excellent in technique, it stands out among sutras made for private merit.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보