Stone Scriptures of Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra) of Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye

A stone sutra (seokgyeong) is a scripture whose original text has been carved onto stone slabs; the Avatamsaka Stone Sutra is the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland Sutra) carved onto pale blue-toned stone. In the 17th year of King Munmu of Unified Silla (677), the monk Uisang built Gakhwangjeon Hall at Hwaeomsa Temple by royal command and enshrined the Avatamsaka Stone Sutra there. Paintings currently hang on the interior walls of Gakhwangjeon Hall, but it appears that the stone sutra originally formed the walls themselves. The stone slabs are square and seem to have been fitted together, with grooves cut into their edges for joining. According to records, the stone sutra was damaged by fire during the Imjin War (the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598), and its colour changed to greyish brown and other hues. The damaged pieces have been gathered, and about 9,000 fragments survive today. The script is in the regular (haeseo) style, similar to the epitaph for State Preceptor Jingam at Ssanggyesa Temple, written by Choe Chi-won in the second year of King Jeonggang (887); it offers a valuable record of the calligraphy of the period and is noted as a representative example of a rare type of stone sutra. Although only fragments survive, the Avatamsaka Stone Sutra is a symbolic relic of Korea's Hwaeom-sect temples and a precious source for the study of the history of Buddhism in the late Silla period.

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Where it is

Region

Gurye, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물