Transcription of Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra), Zhou Version, in Gold on Indigo Paper, Volume 46

The Avatamsaka Sutra, also known for short as the 'Flower Garland Sutra', is centred on the idea that the Buddha and sentient beings are not two but one. As the fundamental scripture of the Hwaeom school, it exerted, together with the Lotus Sutra, a decisive influence on the establishment of Korean Buddhist thought. This transcription, the Avatamsaka Sutra, Zhou Version, Volume 46, in Gold on Indigo Paper, is Volume 46 of the eighty-volume Zhou edition of the Avatamsaka Sutra translated by Siksananda of the Tang dynasty, and contains the first half of the Chapter on the Buddha's Inconceivable Dharmas. It was made by carefully writing the text in gold on dark indigo-tinted paper; the original cover has been lost and a new one attached in its place. Sheets of paper were joined end to end to form a scroll, which measures 28.3 cm in height and 758.2 cm in length when unrolled. At the front of the scroll is a frontispiece illustration (byeonsangdo) painted in gold, summarising the content of the sutra, followed by the main text, likewise carefully written in gold. The lower right portion of the frontispiece illustration is slightly damaged, but the rest of the scroll is generally in good condition. There is no precise record of its date of production, but judging from the quality of the paper and the skill of the painting and calligraphy, it is presumed to be a Goryeo-period work of the fourteenth century, and is highly valued.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangsan, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물