Consciousness Body), the First Tripitaka Koreana Edition, Volume 13

Buddhist scripture is broadly divided into sutras (經), vinaya (律) and treatises (論); Abhidharma is the general term for the treatises that systematically expound the Buddha's wisdom. The Abhidharma-vijñānakāya-pāda-śāstra (Treatise on the Aggregate of Consciousness) is the part of this literature that gathers and systematically explains the wisdom needed to attain Buddhahood. This volume belongs to the Chojo Tripitaka, the first Tripitaka Koreana, carved during the reign of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo (r. 1011–1031) in the hope that the power of the Buddha would help overcome the Khitan invasions; it is Volume 13 of the sixteen volumes translated by the Tang-dynasty monk Xuanzang. It is a woodblock print on mulberry paper, made by pasting sheets together end to end so that it can be rolled up and stored like a scroll; twenty-three sheets, each 29cm high and 45.7cm wide, are joined in this way, though the first three sheets are now missing. The Chojo Tripitaka differs in several respects from the later Haeinsa Tripitaka (also called the Jaejo Tripitaka, or Goryeo Tripitaka). Although its woodblock carving is finer, its character count differs from that of the Haeinsa Tripitaka, it carries no record of its year of publication, and it shows occasional instances of character taboo — omitting a stroke of, or substituting another character for, a personal name of a former king out of respect — as well as abbreviated characters. The Chojo Tripitaka also generally uses the character 丈 or 幅 to mark the sheet number, whereas the Haeinsa Tripitaka uses 張 throughout. This volume uses 丈 for its sheet numbering and has no publication-year record at its end, confirming it as a Chojo Tripitaka print. Judging from the state of the printing and the quality of the paper, it is presumed to have been printed around the 12th century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwanak-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물