Votive Books and Documents of Songnimsa Temple

During a survey by the head office of the Jogye Order in 2002, a total of 34 volumes comprising 21 kinds of sacred texts, dharani (Buddhist incantations), and a huryeongtong (a votive container placed inside a Buddhist image) were found within the votive deposit (bokjang) of the Cheonjang Bosal (Bodhisattva of the Heavenly Treasury) statue, together with a votive text recording the statue's restoration. The restoration votive text bears no date, so it is not known exactly when it was written, but it briefly states that the Cheonjang Bosal statue was restored in the hope that "all disasters be dispelled, blessings and longevity increase, and that deceased parents, grandparents and all departed souls be reborn in the Pure Land." The sacred texts number 21 kinds in all. The oldest is the Diamond Sutra (金剛般若波羅密經), printed in the first year of the Hongzhi era (1488) at Hwaamsa Temple in Gosan, and the most recent is the Amitabha Sutra (佛說阿彌陀經), printed in the eighteenth year of the Qianlong era (1753) at Donghwasa Temple on Palgongsan Mountain. This suggests that the making of the Trinity of Bodhisattvas, including the Cheonjang Bosal, cannot be dated earlier than 1753.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Chilgok, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산