Yenyeom mita doryang chambeop (Contrition in the Name of Amitabha Buddha)

Chambeop refers to a Buddhist rite of confessing one's sins while reciting scripture, and when it is directed to Amitabha Buddha of the Western Pure Land it is called mita chambeop. In Korea many believers hoped to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, so the practice flourished greatly from the Three Kingdoms period onward. This book was carved onto woodblocks and printed on mulberry paper, bound as one volume covering chapters 1 to 5 and another covering chapters 6 to 10. It measures 37 cm in height and 24 cm in width, and its cover, wrapped in pale green cloth, bears the title 'Jeongtomun' (Text of the Pure Land). At the front of the book are depictions of the Buddhas of the three time-periods — past, present and future — each identified by name, followed by the main text. At the end of the book is a colophon written in 1474 by Kim Su-on, recording the positions and names of the eminent monks and royal relatives who took part in the carving, as well as those involved in the publication, showing that the project was carried out meticulously as a state undertaking of the royal court. Because it was sponsored by the royal court, the book was not widely circulated among ordinary temples; it was reprinted at Haeinsa Temple in 1503 and is now included among the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks (a national treasure) kept there. As a royal undertaking, the calligraphy, the paintings and even the woodblock carving were all done by first-rate craftsmen, making it one of the finest works of the early Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물