Commentary on the Maha parinirvana Sutra (The Nirvana Sutra), Volumes 9-10

The Maha parinirvana Sutra, or Nirvana Sutra, is a scripture dealing with the Buddha's entry into nirvana, composed to give sentient beings a deep religious and philosophical understanding of it. This work consists of the Nirvana Sutra as translated by Dharmaksema, with commentary added by the Tang-dynasty monk Fabao; volumes 9 and 10 are bound together as a single book. It is a woodblock-printed edition on mulberry paper, measuring 35.5 cm in height and 32.7 cm in width. It was recarved during the reign of King Sejo at the Directorate for the Publication of Buddhist Scriptures, an office established in 1461, the seventh year of King Sejo, to translate Buddhist scriptures into Hangeul and print them, working from a copy of the Gyojang. The Gyojang refers to the canon that State Preceptor Daegak Uicheon compiled and printed at Heungwangsa Temple in 1099, the fourth year of King Sukjong of Goryeo, using scriptures he had obtained from China, Liao and Japan. That this book is not the Gyojang itself but a recarving made after consulting it is shown by its format, which follows that of a scroll yet is bound as a book, and by the quality of its paper, which is characteristic of the early Joseon period. This is further confirmed by a colophon preserved at the end of the Gaehyeon-cho, a commentary on the Diamond Sutra kept at the same temple (Treasure), which records that it too was recarved from the Gyojang original. The colophon at the end of the original text shows that Jang Mo wrote the characters for the woodblocks, in the calligraphic style of Ouyang Xun that was popular at the time. As it was published by the state-run Directorate for the Publication of Buddhist Scriptures, the sutra was carved with as much care as the original edition, and it is valued not only as a Buddhist scripture but also as important material for the study of Korean printed books.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물