Lotus Sutra vol. 1~7

The Lotus Sutra is traditionally said to have first been translated into Chinese around 406, during the Later Qin dynasty, and it contains the essence of the Buddha's forty years of teaching. Together with the Avatamsaka Sutra (Hwaeomgyeong), it is one of the two principal scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, and is commonly abbreviated as the "Beophwagyeong". Its content sets out the original purpose behind the Buddha's appearance in the world after he attained enlightenment in the city of Gaya; the text used here is Kumarajiva's Chinese translation, with annotations by the Song-dynasty monk Gyehwan. The copy of the Lotus Sutra held at Sudosa Temple comprises seven fascicles bound in seven volumes, a complete set by volume and fascicle count. Of the seven volumes, only the first (fascicle one) is from a different edition. Whereas volumes two to seven each bear a title slip (jecheom, a label pasted onto the cover) reading "Myobeop Yeonhwagyeong" (妙法蓮華經), volume one has no title slip but instead carries the title "Myobeop Yeonhwagyeong" (妙法蓮華經) printed directly on the cover as a cover title (pyoje). There are also differences in the size of the printing blocks: the width is almost identical, at 14.2-14.3 cm, but the height of volume one is about 1.0 cm greater than that of the other volumes. At the opening of volume one, a floral design bearing the name of the chief patron, Jang Sanam, is followed by an illustrated frontispiece (byeonsangdo, a picture depicting scenes from the sutra). At the end of fascicle one is an ink inscription recording the purpose and date of the printing, including the wishes "may the three palaces of the sovereign enjoy ten thousand years of life", "chief patron Kim Nan-yeon", "the monk Hakil", and "the monk Taejin", followed by "sponsor of the printing, the monk Singyeong", and finally "printed in the seventh month of imsul, the second year of Tianqi" - that is, 1622. This record indicates that volume one was printed in 1622 or earlier. Volumes two to seven (fascicles two to seven) were printed at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan between the sixth and eighth months of 1649, the year of King Hyojong's accession. This is known from the colophons carved at the end of each fascicle, with the exception of fascicles two and six. At the end of fascicle three is the wish "may the Queen enjoy a life equal to Heaven, the King ten thousand years of life, and the Crown Prince a thousand autumns", followed by a list of chief patrons including Choe Gi-ryang and a list of proofreaders, and the colophon recording that it was printed in the sixth month of gichuk, the sixth year of Shunzhi (1649), at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan, Gyeongsang Province. At the end of fascicle four the same wish for the Queen, King and Crown Prince is followed, as in fascicle three, by lists of patrons and eminent monks, with a colophon recording the same date and place, further specifying Chwiseosan Mountain. At the end of fascicle five is likewise a list of chief patrons and a colophon recording that it was printed on the twentieth day of the eighth month of gichuk, the sixth year of Shunzhi, at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan. In fascicle seven, the stated purpose of the printing, besides the same wish for the Queen, King and Crown Prince, adds - perhaps reflecting the hardship of the time following defeat in the war with Qing China - the hope that the country might be free of war, the land at peace, and all the people able to devote themselves properly to farming and sericulture. It further records that the edition was reprinted at Tongdosa Temple. The base text used for this reprinting was the woodblock master copy prepared by Seong Dal-saeng in 1443, the twenty-fifth year of King Sejong. Volumes two to seven each bear, at the beginning and end, a large collector's seal apparently belonging to a former owner, and every page carries marginal notes believed to be in that same owner's hand. Other copies of the same 1649 Tongdosa edition survive: one volume (fascicle four) at the National Library of Korea, one volume (fascicle three) at Yeungnam University Library, two volumes each (fascicles one and two) at Korea University and at Gyeongsang National University libraries, and three volumes (fascicles one to three) at the Seongam Museum of Old Books - but none of these is a complete set. The copy held at Sudosa Temple is likewise not a complete set; even so, at six fascicles in six volumes it exceeds the other surviving copies, is in relatively good condition, and carries handwritten ink marginal notes on fascicles two to seven - features that enhance its value and are the grounds for its designation as a Seoul Tangible Cultural Heritage.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Nowon-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산