Hanging Painting of Cheongnyongsa Temple (The Vulture Peak Assembly)

This is a Vulture Peak Assembly hanging painting depicting Sakyamuni preaching; a gwaebul is a large Buddhist painting hung in the courtyard in front of the main hall for great ceremonies and rites, to which worshippers pay homage. In this Vulture Peak Assembly, Sakyamuni Buddha is surrounded by the Six Great Bodhisattvas, the Ten Great Disciples and others. The central Sakyamuni Buddha radiates light from his head and, unusually, makes the gesture of fearlessness with his right hand raised above the shoulder and his left hand resting on his knee, his legs in the full lotus position. Indra, wearing a crown, Brahma, wearing a ceremonial crown and holding a ceremonial tablet, and six bodhisattvas holding books, lotus flowers, water vessels and the like, surround Sakyamuni. Above him are various disciples and four Vajra guardian figures, the Buddha's protector deities, while at the very top of the painting several small Buddha images are depicted. Deep red and blue are the predominant colours, and the complex composition gives a somewhat heavy impression, but the splendour of the upper section and the patterns of the lower section lend it a sense of ease. This painting was made in 1658, the ninth year of King Hyojong, by the monk-painter Myeongok and others. Unlike paintings from the late Goryeo to early Joseon period, in which the main Buddha figure was very large, here Sakyamuni Buddha is smaller, closer in size to the surrounding figures, and the work is regarded as representative of Vulture Peak Assembly paintings of the mid-seventeenth century.

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Where it is

Region

Anseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물