Myobeobyeonhwagyeong(eonhae) Gwon1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1010-1

Category

Books & Records

Era

조선세조9년(1463)

Designated year

1989

Location

서대문구, 서울특별시— 서울특별시 서대문구 충정로9길 10-10 (충정로2가, (재)현담문고)

Coordinates

37.564993, 126.964911Kakao address conversion

The Lotus Sutra, or Saddharma Pundarika Sutra in Sanskrit, is one of the most popular Mahayana sutras whose main teaching is that every human being has the potential to attain Buddhahood. It is a foundational text of the Cheontae (or Tiantai in Chinese) School which has been one of the two schools, the other being Hwaeom (Huayuan) School, that had the greatest influence upon the development of Korean Buddhism. It is also known to have been published more than any other Buddhist sutras known to Korean Buddhists. This particular book of the Lotus Sutra, 34.7 centimeters in length and 24.5 centimeters in width, was printed with woodblocks in 1463 according to a plan established by cabinet ministers led by Yun Sa-ro (1423-1463) with an aim to offer it to King Sejo (r. 1455-1468), the seventh ruler of the Joseon Dynasty who was greatly interested in Buddhist teachings. The publication of the book was carried out by a government agency, Directorate of Sutra Publication (Gangyeongdogam), established in 1461 for the translation of Chinese Buddhist scriptures into Korean. The book also contains commentaries by a Song monk Jiehuan (fl. 12th c.) and notes by Iryeo of which the main text and the Jiehuan’s commentary were translated into Korean. The Volumes 1, 3, 4 of the book were designated as Treasure No. 1010 in 1989 and Volumes 5 and 6 were added in 1995.

Location