Andong Gwangheungsa Temple Janggeumja Illuminated Sutra

A sagyeong is a general term for a sutra copied out with great care and devotion, as an act of religious merit, and embellished with a byeonsang, a painted frontispiece summarising the scripture's content. This gold-lettered sutra, translated by Kumarajiva of Later Qin, was originally made by joining sheets of paper into a scroll a full 7 m long, so that it could be placed inside the body of a Buddha statue; it now survives folded accordion-style into a booklet measuring 7.4 cm by 16.5 cm. There is no record of its publication, so its exact date cannot be known, but since it includes the recorded sayings of the monk Naong and a votive text setting out the reasons for making the book and the names of those involved, it appears to have been written after Naong's time. The monk Naong (1320–1376) became the teacher of King Gongmin of Goryeo and was in turn given the title Bojejonja. Since this gold-lettered sutra deliberately gives such emphasis to Naong, it is thought to have been written at the latest in the early years of King Sejong's reign. It is an extremely valuable resource for the study of Buddhist scripture and bibliography in the Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Andong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산