Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra

The Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra (地藏菩薩本願經, commonly abbreviated as the Ksitigarbha Sutra) is the basic scripture of Ksitigarbha devotion, translated by Śikṣānanda of Tang China, and is also known by such titles as Jijang Bonwongyeong, Jijang Bonhaenggyeong and Jijang Bonseoryeokgyeong. The work sets out the vows made by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in his past lives and their benefits, and stresses the inconceivable merit of the sutra itself, asserting that even reciting or hearing a single phrase or verse of it can wash away immeasurable karmic sin. This copy, held by the Seoul Museum of History, binds the upper, middle and lower volumes into a single book, with page numbers marked in each volume: the upper volume runs from "Jisang" page 2 to page 13 (地上 二丈～十三丈), the middle volume from "Jijung" page 2 to page 13 (地中 二丈～十三丈), and the lower volume from "Jiha" page 10 to page 12 (地下 二丈～十一丈). At the back of the lower volume is a eulogy by Muuija (無衣子讚), and at the end is a colophon reading "printed at Hwaamsa Temple in the eighth month of the gyeyu year, the fourth year of the Gyeongtae era (1453)" (景泰四年癸酉八月 花岩寺 開板), together with a list of donors including Busajeong (Deputy Commandant) Gu Hyeon and his wife, and of craftsmen including the engraver, Grand Seon Master Uimyeong, the calligrapher Gongam, the monk Haeun, and the sponsor-in-charge, the monk Hyejun. At the end of the donors' list is a handwritten note reading "Ju-i, with a personal signature mark," identifying an owner of the book. These records show that this Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra was printed at Hwaamsa Temple in the fourth year of the Gyeongtae era, that is 1453 (the first year of King Danjong), with the calligraphy done by Gongam, the woodblock carving by Uimyeong, and Hyejun serving as sponsor-in-charge. Throughout the whole text, gugyeol reading marks (Korean grammatical glosses added in ink to the Chinese text) are written by brush, and among the donors' names are several native Korean names recorded in idu, the traditional method of writing Korean using Chinese characters, including 姜內隱同, 斤金, 梁者叱金, 勿乙金, 者音尙, 月乙古之 and 加叱朴只. No pages of the book are missing, but compared with the original text an error made when it was rebound in thread-bound (seonjangbon) format has caused a misordering of pages within the middle volume: to match the original, the present sequence of pages 1 to 8 should be followed by pages 18, 16 and 17. This Ksitigarbha Original Vow Sutra, volumes 1 to 3, is an early Joseon woodblock print whose date, occasion and place of printing are all clearly established. Apart from the cover and title slip, the printing is sharp and clear, and because it contains numerous gugyeol reading marks and native Korean names, it is regarded as important material for the study of early Joseon bibliography and the history of the Korean language.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산