Avatamsaka Sutra Chapter on the Vows of Samantabhadra

The Avatamsaka Sutra, often abbreviated to 'Hwaeomgyeong', is the foundational scripture of Korea's Hwaeom school and holds as its central idea that the Buddha and sentient beings are not two but one. This is a separate edition of just the sutra's Chapter on the Vows and Practices of Samantabhadra (Bohyeon Haengwonpum), which sets out the bodhisattva Samantabhadra's practices and aspirations for entering the world of liberation; among all the chapters of the Avatamsaka Sutra, it was the one most often carved and printed. This edition was printed using the Eulyuja movable metal type during the reign of King Sejo (1455-1468). The Eulyuja type was cast, on the order of King Sejo, as large, medium and small bronze characters based on the calligraphy of Jeong Nan-jong, for printing Buddhist scriptures such as the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (Wongakgyeong); because the individual characters were of uneven form, it was not widely used. The page has a single-ruled border on all four sides; the text block measures 17.5 by 10.9 centimetres and has no column-dividing lines, with eight lines of seventeen characters to a line, the annotations running in double columns. The centrefold is plain and unmarked, with black fish-tail marks facing inward at both top and bottom. The book itself measures 23.6 by 14.1 centimetres, and survives as a single fascicle in a single volume in overall good condition. The title given at the head of the text is 'Daebanggwangbul Hwaeomgyeong Ibulsaui Haetal Gyeonggye Bohyeon Haengwonpum' ('Chapter on the Vows and Practices of Samantabhadra for Entering the Realm of Inconceivable Liberation, from the Great and Expansive Buddha Avatamsaka Sutra'), while the running title on the centrefold is simply 'Haengwon' ('Vows and Practices'). Appended to it is the 'Sokjilman Bohyeon Darani', a dharani for swiftly fulfilling the vows of Samantabhadra. As a metal-type edition printed with the Eulyuja type, this Bohyeon Haengwonpum of the Avatamsaka Sutra is a valuable source for the study of early Joseon metal-type printing and bibliography. The Eulyuja type was created in the eleventh year of King Sejo (1465), and surviving editions printed from it are extremely rare.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Danyang, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산