Transcription of Avatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra), Zhenyuan Version, in Silver on Oak Paper, Volume 4

The Daebanggwangbul hwaeomgyeong, also known in short form as the Hwaeomgyeong, or Flower Garland Sutra, holds at its centre the idea that the Buddha and all sentient beings are not two but one. As the fundamental sutra of the Hwaeom school, it exerted, together with the Lotus Sutra, a crucial influence on the formation of Korean Buddhist thought. This volume is Volume 4 of the forty-volume Zhenyuan version of the Hwaeomgyeong translated by Prajña of the Tang dynasty, in accordion-fold format that opens out like a folding screen; it measures 31 cm in height and 12.3 cm in width. The dark blue-black cover is decorated with an elaborate floral pattern, and the title of the sutra, together with the character "貞" indicating that it is the Zhenyuan version, is written in gold. The main text that follows is written in silver on brown paper. There is no byeonsangdo, an illustration summarising the content of the text, nor any record of publication, but on the evidence of the decoration of the cover and the quality of the calligraphy in the main text, it is presumed to have been written at the end of the Goryeo period.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물