Prakaranaryavaca Sastra (Acclamation of the Holy Teaching), the First Tripitaka Koreana Edition, Volume 3

This is one scroll comprising Volume 3 of the twenty-volume Prakaranaryavaca Sastra, written by the Bodhisattva Asanga of northern India and translated into Chinese by the Tang-dynasty monk Xuanzang. As its title suggests ("a treatise to glorify the holy teaching"), it was composed to expound the Yogacarabhumi Sastra, the most important text of the Faxiang (Dharma Characteristics) school, setting out the idea that all existence arises from consciousness, and that one becomes a Buddha only by rightly understanding and cultivating this principle. Compared with the Goryeo Tripitaka woodblock edition kept at Haeinsa Temple, this print has the same format, but its title is placed at the head of the block, with the page count marked using the character 丈, whereas the Haeinsa edition has the title at the foot of the block, with the page count marked using the character 張. The colophon recording the date of publication, found at the end of the Haeinsa edition, is absent from this Chojo (first) edition. This Chojo print also contains a few omissions and misprints, including a character missing a stroke, all of which were corrected in the Haeinsa edition. This print is one of the woodblocks of the Chojo Tripitaka, carved during the reign of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo in the hope that the power of the Buddha would help overcome the Khitan invasions. Excellently preserved and printed, it is regarded as an extremely valuable resource for research into bibliography and the history of Buddhism.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물