Transcription of Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra), Zhou Version, in Silver on Indigo Paper, Volume 37

The Avatamsaka Sutra, often abbreviated to 'Hwaeomgyeong', takes as its basic idea that the Buddha and sentient beings are not two but one. As the fundamental scripture of the Hwaeom school, it had, together with the Lotus Sutra, a great influence on the formation of Korean Buddhist thought. This transcription, Volume 37 of the Zhou version of the Avatamsaka Sutra in silver ink on indigo paper, is a copy of part of volume 37 of the eighty-volume Zhou version translated by the Tang-dynasty monk Siksananda. The text is written and illustrated in gold and silver powder on paper of a deep bluish-black colour, lavishly decorated, and made in a concertina form that can be opened out like a folding screen; folded, it measures 30.5 cm in height and 15.2 cm in width. The cover, painted with splendid gold and silver flower patterns, bears the title in gold characters, ending with the character '周' (ju), which shows that it is a transcription of the Zhou version. At the front of the book is a byeonsangdo, a painting summarising the content of the sutra, followed by the sutra text written in silver characters within gold borders. As no contemporary record survives, the exact date and maker cannot be established, but the work is fully in keeping with the format and technique of Goryeo Buddhist scriptures, and is presumed to date from the fourteenth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwanak-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물