Relics Of Buddha Research Articles

Review: Bangkok Utopia: Modern Architecture and Buddhist Felicities, 1910–1973

Review: <i>Bangkok Utopia: Modern Architecture and Buddhist Felicities, 1910–1973</i>

ВОЛОСЫ БУДДЫ: КУЛЬТ, ЖИТИЙНЫЙ НАРРАТИВ, ПАЛОМНИЧЕСКАЯ ТРАДИЦИЯ (IV–IX ВВ.)

The cult of Buddha relics found its diverse reflection in the literature of thе period of wide spread of Buddhism in India. It was one of the manifestations of the entire complex of Buddhist culture. The connections of that cult with other forms of religious activity are of great interest. Multiple descriptions of sacred places contained in the texts of Chinese pilgrims who traveled all over the Indian subcontinent provide the researcher with a wealth of material and gives an idea of the many cult centers and revered relics, their types and their distribution in space. Preserved in stupas and monasteries “Buddha’s hair” belonged to the most important category of relics, called “bodily” (śariradhātu). The analysis of the information collected by pilgrims compared with Indian hagiographic texts makes it possible to identify various semantic associations related to “hair relics”. In the paper an issue is also touched upon the problem of the relationship between the cult of the Buddha’s hair with pictorial canons and formulaic texts of the Buddhist tradition.

Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia by Himanshu Prabha Ray

Reviewed by: Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia by Himanshu Prabha Ray Lars Fogelin Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia. Himanshu Prabha Ray. New Delhi: Routledge India, 2018. 140 pp., 12 figures, bibliography, index. Hardback £95, US $150, ISBN 978-1-138-30489-5; eBook £36, US $49, ISBN: 978-0-203-72854-3. With Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia, Himanshu Prabha Ray has produced the first modern introduction to the field intended for an audience of non-specialists. Coming in at a brief 140 pages, Ray has provided an excellent primer for anyone who is seeking to gain an understanding of the basic outlines of Buddhist archaeology in South Asia. To accomplish this, Ray jettisoned the traditional ways of presenting Buddhism that have dominated scholarship for the last century. Where earlier works would almost invariably begin with the biography of the Buddha, the archaeological sites he is believed to have visited, and a survey of the role of Buddhism in the development of urbanism from mid- to late first millennium b.c.e., Ray centers her book on the lived practice of Buddhists in the first millennium c.e.—the first period in which abundant archaeological remains are available to understand the growth, transformation, and eventual decline of Buddhism in South Asia. It is difficult to think of a better scholar to write this concise introduction to South Asian Buddhism. Since the publication of Monastery and Guild: Commerce under the Satavahanas (1986), Ray has been among the most important and prolific scholars working in ancient Indian history and archaeology. Through her work at Jawaharlal Nehru University and as Chair of the National Monuments Authority, she has helped shift the focus on Buddhist history and archaeology from one that concentrated on Buddhist theology and philosophy, primarily through close readings of [End Page 404] Buddhist texts, to a perspective on the daily lived practices of Buddhist monks and nuns (collectively known as the sangha) and the elite and non-elite lay people who supported them. This new perspective, one that Ray helped create, permeates the whole of Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia. Perhaps the most important aspect of Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia is its emphasis on the diversity of Buddhist practices, whether speaking of the sangha or the laity. More so, rather than present the sangha and the laity as wholly separate, Ray carefully demonstrates the ways that their religious practices and beliefs both diverged and overlapped over time. Ray tracks these issues in five chapters, each focusing on a different theme. In the first two chapters, she examines the spread of Buddhism throughout South Asia, primarily in terms of how specific Buddhist sects competitively expanded into new areas while simultaneously developing the core concepts of the Buddhist dhamma (a difficult term to define, but sometimes glossed as "law" or "teachings"). Rather than a unified, generic form of dhamma, Ray stresses the differences between the 16 sects of Buddhism and the importance of inscriptions for understanding the lived practices, both ritual and otherwise, of the sangha. Overall, Ray credits Buddhist sangha with the spread of Buddhism from its heartland in the Gangetic Plain of North India. In chapters 3 and 4, Ray turns her attention to Buddhist relics, icons, and associated ritual practices and pilgrimages centered on the relics and icons. In a critical move, Ray argues (p. 3), The physical manifestations of the dhamma appeared in the archaeological record as religious architecture at least 200–300 years after the Buddha had preached his dhamma across north India, and especially important are the inscriptions, stupas, images, and other objects of veneration. The key insight here is that the material expressions of Buddhism are no less expressions of the dhamma than the canonical texts that have long been the focus of research. In terms of relics, Ray argues for the centrality of relic veneration in the ritual lives of both the sangha and lay-Buddhists. More so, she sees the frequent disinterment, division, and reinterment of relics in new regions as central to the spread of Buddhism across South Asia. Within this context, the Buddha's relics were viewed as the living presence of the Buddha, and devotees...

불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구 연구

이 논문은 국보 126호 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구의 연구 현황과 양식적 특징에 대해서 종합적으로 검토한 논고이다. 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구는 1966년 석탑 안에서 발견되었으나, 2007년까지 본격적인 연구는 이루어지지 못했다. 2007년부터 2009년에 걸쳐 사리장엄구 중에서 발견된 고려시대의 중수기록인 3종의 묵서지편이 보존처리되어 공개되면서, 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구에 대한 여러 가지 새로운 사실이 밝혀졌다. 또한 2012-2013년 불국사 삼층석탑이 전면해체 보수공사되면서, 1966년에 봉안했던 사리장엄구들이 다시 세상에 공개되어, 그동안 미진했던 자료들이 다시 재검토되었다. 이 글에서는 이러한 최근 자료들을 중심으로, 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구들의 양식적 특징 및 법사리장암벙식의 변화 과정에 대해서 종합적으로 살펴보았다. 이들은 창건기인 통일신라 726년과 고려시대 중수기인 1024년, 1038년을 거쳐 전해진 유물들로서, 신라와 고려시대 불교 문화의 잊혀졌던 독특한 전통과 역사를 연구하는 데에 매우 귀중한 자료들이다.

Korean Crafts History by Hwang Su-young and Chin Hong-sup : Current Historiography and Future Prospects

Hwang Su-young and Chin Hong-sup conducted historical researches on Korean crafts mainly in 1960s and 1970s. Covering various types of crafts and preserving primary sources that had been disappearing, their researches represent the emergence of the field of Korean crafts history. This article examines their researches in Korean crafts history from historiographical perspectives along with changing research environment and tasks for future prospects in the field. Hwang Su-young, who was a professor in the Dongguk University, wrote excellent articles on Buddhist crafts such as Buddhist bells, bronze gong, incense burners, and Buddhist reliquaries. He carried out in-depth researches about ancient Korean pagodas and Buddhist reliquaries, focusing on the relic enshrinements of the wooden pagoda in Hwangryongsa temple site and of the five-story stone pagoda in Wanggungli temple site. In 1978, he founded the Research Association of Korean Buddhist Bells together with Professor Yeom Young-ha in the College of Engineering in the Seoul National University, initiating interdisciplinary studies about Buddhist bells. While serving as the director of the Gyeongju National Museum in 1950s, Chin Hong-sup made great endeavor to excavate ancient archaeological sites in Gyeongju and to preserve metal works such as golden crowns from ancient tombs of Silla. At the same time, he organized special exhibitions of Korean arts in foreign countries including, but not limited to, the US. his overseas experiences gave him much broader perspectives on methodologies in art history and museology. As a professor in the Ewha Womans University, he excavated ancient tombs, pagodas, and kilns with many students and researchers in the university museum. In addition, he wrote several preliminary research books on Korean metalcrafts and ceramics for education. The shared methodology of the two scholars in their studies of Korean crafts history, that is, close and detailed examination of objects, is still valid in current research in the field. However, the research environment in Korean crafts history has dramatically changed since the late twentieth century with the newly excavated artifacts using more advanced archaeological methods; the development of conservation science; and the increasing prevalence of digital materials. For example, various textual records including the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty have been computerized; images of artifacts collected in museums became accessible on the internet; replicas made with the technologies of three-dimensional scanning and printing began to appear. These changes in research environment in Korean art history greatly have affected current scholars in the field of Korean crafts. Under these circumstances, future studies in Korean crafts history have to be processed by combining the traditional method of careful observations on the original artifacts with a new method of scientific investigation.

Vikram Lall. The Golden Lands: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (Architecture of the Buddhist World). Kuala Lumpur: JF Publishing, 2014, 280p.

The Golden Lands: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (Architecture of World) Vikram Lall Kuala Lumpur: JF Publishing, 2014, 280p.This is a large-format (335×260 mm) book with a hard cover, printed on glossy art-quality paper, and contains numerous color photographs by professional photographers as well as sophisticated maps and other graphics. It is thus in danger of being lumped with coffee-table books.The author is a practicing architect based in Delhi. According to his Linkedin description, book is first of a series which is planned to consist of six volumes on of world, (not specifically architecture,) employing an interdisciplinary perspective including architecture, history, religion, and philosophy. The company with which he is associated, Lall and Associates (established in 1969) has obtained commissions for a wide range of projects, in fields of urban planning and design, education (22 schools), hospitality and tourism, residential, offices, transport, industry, and medicine, in addition to institutional and religious buildings. In latter category are a Japanese temple at Bodhgaya (one of eight places where Buddha's relics were originally interred), and Buddha Smriti Park, Patna.1) The firm's client list reads like a who's who of corporate and official India: The Hindustan Times, Tata Power, United Nations, governments of Bihar and Sikkim, State Bank of India, Indian Railways, etc.One of clients on list which is relevant to this topic is Nalanda Educational Society. Vikram Lall's architectual study of Nalanda has been published by School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. An interesting project listed under scientific study/research papers on his website is Schematic conjecture of ancient city of Pataliputra (327 BC) through historical & archaeological study-developed a scale model of conjecture that is displayed at museum at Patna, 1997.The book is organized by country; chapters are devoted to Myanmar (50 pages), Vietnam (38 pages), Indonesia (32 pages), Cambodia (32 pages), Thailand (51 pages), and Laos (44 pages). The book opens with a section which develops a theoretical framework (23 pages). The Myanmar section focuses on 19 monuments, including Bupaya, which is oldest in book (third century). Ten monuments in Vietnam, 8 in Indonesia, 9 in Cambodia, 10 in Thailand, and 8 in Laos are listed in a chronology of selected monuments on pages 6-7.The preface (p. 9) which introduces series of six books, acknowledges that terms Buddhist and architecture have no generally accepted meanings. The preface asserts that of buildings associated with worship has been neglected in comparison with amount of study devoted to other aspects of Buddhism. It also states that buildings devoted to activity are highly diverse, because Buddhism spread over a large part of ancient world before declining in popularity in some areas such as India. The diversity of can also be connected to different symbolic and functional roles played by various types of structures, which together formed a network of meanings. Future books in series will be devoted to the Heavenly Lands (China, Japan, and Korea), Ancient Lands (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), Mountain Lands (the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau), Hidden Lands (central Asia, Mongolia, and Silk Road), and Modern Lands (contemporary architecture).The author is more interested in collective development than in individual monuments. Thus each country section begins with a general overview, and ends with a discussion of a few selected structures. Given broad span of Buddhism's distribution in Southeast Asia, region's renowned cultural diversity, and Buddhism's tolerance of local tradition, it is interesting to note strong continuity in use of certain architectural forms and decorative motifs over six countries discussed here. …

신라 중대 불사리장엄의 다양성과 문화사적 의의

신라 중대 불사리장엄의 다양성과 문화사적 의의

Vocalizing the Lament over the Buddha's Passing: A Study of Myōe's Shiza kōshiki

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)In contemporary Japan the most famous observance of a koshiki ... is the Shiza koshiki (Koshiki in four sessions), which is performed annually during the Jorakue ???, the commemoration of the death of the Buddha, at Kongobuji ???? on Koyasan. Similarly, the Shiza koshiki, or excerpts from it, are performed at other Shingon temples on the memorial day of the Buddha. At Kongobuji, more than one hundred clerics conduct this elaborate, nightlong ritual, starting in the late evening of 14 February and ending shortly before noon on 15 February. The performance also attracts many lay attendees and tourists. Because of the special layout of the hall in which this ritual is performed, lay attendees cannot see much of the ritual activities or the area around the altar. For them, the ritual unfolds its power through its rich chants and recitations. Like any long composition, the Jorakue takes the participants on a musical journey.1The Shiza koshiki was composed by the Kegon-Shingon monk Myoe ... (1173-1232), who is today mostly known for his dream diary and as a strong critic of the monk Honen ?? (1133-1212); but he was also very influential in the development of Japanese Buddhist liturgy and composed many ritual texts.2 With twenty-three koshiki attributed to him, Myoe is one of the most accomplished koshiki authors, second only to the Hosso monk Jokei ?? (1155-1213).3 Myoe composed koshiki for a wide range of objects of veneration, such as Sakyamuni, Buddha relics, Maitreya, the Sixteen Arhats, Bodhidharma, the Kasuga and Sumiyoshi deities, and the Avata?saka Sutra (Jp. Kegonkyo ???). These works reflect the wide range of Myoe's devotional objects, as well as the pluralistic veneration in the Nara in contrast to the so-called new Kamakura schools, which tended to favor a single form of devotion. Myoe's koshiki include many outstanding compositions that were widely performed across sectarian boundaries. The best-known and most often performed koshiki by Myoe, as well as of the koshiki genre in general, is the Shiza koshiki.In this article, I study the performance practice of the Shiza koshiki during Myoe's lifetime in the early thirteenth century and in the Tokugawa period and analyze this koshiki from several different perspectives, including realization, ritual structure, lay participation, scale of performance, and ritual change. While these might appear to be divergent angles of interpretation, I show that they are fundamentally interrelated. Indeed, to focus on only one dimension of koshiki performance is to potentially obscure the multi-dimensional nature of this ritual genre. Such a multi-faceted approach also enables us to see the diversity within the genre as well as to understand its evolution over time.Only in recent years have Western scholars of Japanese religions discovered koshiki as a valuable research field. The first book-length publication on koshiki in a European language was Niels Guelberg's (1999) monograph about the development of koshiki and its influence on Japanese literature. Since this landmark, several studies of koshiki have been published. For example, James Ford has offered the first detailed work on koshiki in English with his study of Jokei's Miroku koshiki ???? (Ford 2005 and 2006). Lori Meeks (2010) has explored the role of koshiki at the convent Hokkeji ???, while David Quinter (2011) has analyzed two Monju koshiki ????, one by Jokei ?? and the other by Eison ?? (1201-1290). Western studies of koshiki, however, have tended not to examine the dimension despite its central role in performances.4 This article examines this overlooked facet of koshiki and demonstrates that various styles of Buddhist vocal music formed a rich sonic landscape. In ritual handbooks and documents that describe the ritual form of koshiki, titles of shomyo pieces signpost the ritual structure of koshiki. Therefore, I also analyze the form of rituals centering on koshiki. …

A Study on the Buddhist Reliquaries in Apraca Kingdom period in Ancient Gandhara

A Study on the Buddhist Reliquaries in Apraca Kingdom period in Ancient Gandhara

Review of the square footstone of the wooden pagoda site in Hwangnyongsa Temple

The present study is aimed to reconsider the time of installation and the purpose of the square footstone located at the center of the wooden pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple, based on related precedent studies. Precedent studies are divided into two streams of assertions: one is that the square footstone was to support the major pillars at the time of building and the other is that it was installed to store Buddhist reliquaries inside the central foundation stone after the wood pagoda burnt down in the Invasion of Mongol. Summarizing the grounds with which the precedent studies support their assertions, they are the relation with Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok, the emerging time of the square footstone, repairing work at the level of reconstruction, additional enshrinement of general Buddhist reliquaries and so on. The present study reviewed the key grounds suggested in the previous studies regarding the square footstone. First, it was determined that the square footstone has nothing to do with Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok, after looking into the timings of appearance, condition and shape in literatures. Rather, it was assumed that Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok resembles a stone column. Next, the square footstone is assumed to be installed after the 4th year of King Kwangjong's rule because the wood pagoda was lost in fire in the 4th year of Kwangjong's rule and it had been left alone for 68 years until the repair work finished in the 13th year of King Hyunjong. It is assumed that repair works at the level of reconstruction had been twice in total, say, once during King Kyungmun and Hyunjong, respectively. Next, looking into the establishment of the general Buddhist reliquaries and the repair work during King Kyungmun, it was not common then to enshrine additional Buddhist reliquaries when repair work progressed and so there was not an additional enshrinement of Buddhist reliquaries after King Kyungmun. However, it is hard to decide that there was no repair work at the level of reconstruction at that time. Last, we can find a similar case to the square footstone of the wood pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple in the copper pagoda in Japanese Yaksasa Temple. In conclusion, it is assumed that the wooden pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple was lost to the fire in the 4th year of King Kwangjong's rule and thus the square footstone had been used as Jinho stone to protect Buddhist reliquaries and used as a propping stone for the major pillars after King Hyungjong.

Narrative Art Between India and the Hellenistic World

The focus of this study by the late Maurizio Taddei, which was translated from the Italian, lies on narratives of the Buddha’s life in friezes on stupas built to contain relics of the Buddha in Gandhāra (in today’s Pakistan) between the late first century B.C.E. and the second century C.E. It pursues five connected issues: The methodological differentiation between pictorial narratives of historical events, myths, and religious icons; the impact of the nineteenth century European appreciation of Buddhism (as opposed to Brahmanism) on emphasizing Buddhist art in archeological work and analysis; the resulting framing of Gandharan art as being primarily influenced and thereby elevated by Hellenistic art and thus characterized more by “Greekness” than by “Indianness;” the original Gandharan development of narrative depictions that incorporate both Indian philosophical and literary sources as well as Hellenistic art forms to reflect a new religious sensibility and offer pilgrims circumambulating the stupa a model for their lives, and, further to the East and Southeast, the eventual move away from this narrative art form while it became a staple in later Roman and Christian art.

Buth Savong y la nueva proliferación de reliquias en Camboya

El artículo describe el movimiento en Camboya en torno del líder budista laico Buth Savong, quien adquirió prominencia en el país desde la década de 1990. Entre las características del movimiento está la atención prestada a la organización espacial de los templos y asram afiliados a Buth Savong y el interés en la instalación de las reliquias de Buda. El artículo expone el movimiento en el contexto del cambio sociopolítico de Camboya y discute la implicación de este nuevo interés en las reliquias con base en tres estudios de caso.

Book Review: Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries [Gandharan Studies Volume 1], written by David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon, Stefan Baums

Book Review: Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries [Gandharan Studies Volume 1], written by David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon, Stefan Baums

Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries. By David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon, and Stefan Baums. (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). pp. 320. Seattle and London, Early Buddhist Manuscript Project, distributed by University of Washington Press, 2012.

Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries. By David Jongeward, Elizabeth Errington, Richard Salomon, and Stefan Baums. (Gandharan Studies, Volume 1). pp. 320. Seattle and London, Early Buddhist Manuscript Project, distributed by University of Washington Press, 2012.

Devotionalism Reclaimed: Re-mapping Sacred Geography in Contemporary Korean Buddhism

This paper provides an examination of the popular practices of contemporary Buddhism and the major Buddhist pilgrimage sites, in particular. These pilgrimage sites are old, sacred places of worship where Buddha's relics were enshrined or are famed for miraculous stories of Bodhisattvas or Arhats. Contemporary sacred places are differentiated from traditional ones by the number of people who flock to them. Traditional places were important mostly to local people and to Buddhist monks. Economic growth since the mid-1980s, however, has caused hundreds of thousands of people to visit these places year-round, and, to accommodate these visitors, temples have built modern facilities, including paved roads, lodging, and parking spaces. With the influx of visitors, these sites have accumulated wealth but are also faced with the many challenges that come with dealing with huge numbers of visitors. Some sites simply offer a convenient place for worship and to receive the blessings of Buddhist deities; others have developed diverse programs of lectures and meditation for their visitors. Since 1994, the Chogye-jong central administration has taken control of some of these sites and has used the wealth for the education of the sangha. Some local factions, however, have fought against such administrative control.

The Buddha Relics and Evidence of Physical Space Conditioning with Unimprinted Intention Host Devices

The objective of this study was to experimentally determine whether an unimprinted intention host device (IHD), electrically activated in the near presence of the Maitreya Buddhist relics for about 72 hours (3 nights), could be imprinted by its loving kindness essence into the IHD. This will be referred to as a "first-degree relic IHD." This first-degree relic IHD was placed in an unused, unconditioned room in a Scottsdale, AZ home in the presence of a water vessel (pH ~ 5.6) being continuously monitored via a pH-sensor system that was computer recorded. This particular IHD was electrically switched on. Initially, no intention instructions were given to the system. After about 2200 hours, an intention statement was written to respectfully ask the first-degree relic IHD that the excess thermodynamic free energy aspect of this loving kindness essence be made manifest in this space so that its thermodynamic magnitude could be experimentally measured via the pH-sensor reading. It was shown that during the first 3 months, only a small increase in water pH was recorded. However, during the postintention period, the pH increased by about +2.5 pH units or ~ 60 meV increase in the thermodynamic free energy of the physical space, a very significant change. The excess thermodynamic free energy suggests that a fundamental change of the gauge symmetry state of the unconditioned room had occurred to a higher state. The following were concluded in this study: (1) Imprinting meaningful information onto a simple unimprinted IHD via passive exposure to the Buddha relics is possible. (2) Activating this IHD information to, in turn, imprint itself onto the space of a particular room so that a quantitative thermodynamic measure of its energetic essence can be physically realized is also possible. (3) Crucially, a verbal request from a deep meditative state by four humans appeared to be a necessary condition for this "imbedded loving kindness essence" to manifest itself in this way.

Symmetry States of the Physical Space: An Expanded Reference Frame for Understanding Human Consciousness

A remarkable phenomenon is taking place around the globe, one that I have been fortunate enough to witness and in which to participate. The relics of the historical Buddha, also known as Siddhartha or Shakyamuni Buddha, still survive today over 2500 years since his enlightenment, and, for the first time in history, are traveling throughout the world. In common Buddhist practice, relics are highly venerated and treasured remains of realized Masters. It is very rare for relics to travel from city to city and be available for viewing by the general public. The Buddha relic tour is demonstrating that a direct experience of the spiritual state is not mysterious, nor is it for a select few. The spiritual state, here defined as a universal theme of unconditional love, is a component of human evolutionary unfoldment, a process through which thousands of human beings have passed, and through which thousands more will pass. We are "waking up" as a species. Consequently, more information is required about this transformation of human consciousness. The Buddha relics offer us a priceless means by which we can obtain a richer perspective about the nature of human consciousness, spiritual realities such as love, and ultimately understanding ourselves.

Ancient Buddhist Reliquaries in China and Korea

Ancient Buddhist Reliquaries in China and Korea

The Re-enshrinement Process of the Buddhist Reliquaries of Jingzhisi Pagoda in Northern Song Dynasty

1969년 중국 河北省 定縣에서 출토된 宋代의 靜志寺塔 地宮에서는 방대한양의 사리장엄구와 공양구가 출토되었다. 여기에서 출토된 유물들은 탑이 창건된 北魏때부터 시작하여 10세기 후반에 地宮이 폐쇄될 때까지의 오랜 기간 동안 5차례에 걸쳐 매납된 것이다. 즉 정지사탑 지궁 출토품은 각 시대별 불사리장엄 방식의 변천과정과 그 영향관계를 파악할 수 있는 중요한 자료가 된다.<BR> 진신사리의 공양과 함께 세워진 탑이 내내 같은 형태로 존재하는 경우도 드물게 있지만, 대부분의 탑들은 戰亂이나 火災, 불교 탄압 등과 같은 여러 가지 이유로 훼손되어서 후대에 다시 세워지거나 보수된 경우가 많다. 이때 탑내의 사리장엄구는 이전의 奉安品을 함께 봉안하기는 하지만, 대부분의 경우 새로운 봉안품과 봉안방식이 추가되면서 이것이 더 중요시되었다. 이러한 불사리의 재매납과정에서 일어나는 장엄방식의 변화에 대한 자료는 현재까지 구체적으로 알려진 예가 많지 않기 때문에, 그에 대한 연구도 어려운 편이었다. 그러나 정지사탑 지궁의 경우에는 北魏時代, 隋代, 唐代, 宋代에 걸쳐 불사리장엄이 새롭게 이루어지는 과정과 관련된 명문들이 사리장엄구와 함께 발견되어 주목된다.<BR> 이 논문에서는 정지사탑 지궁에서 출토된 각종 사리장엄구와 이들의 재매납 과정에 대해서, 기존에 공개된 명문자료 및 관련 유물의 재정리를 시도하였다. 현재까지의 자료에 의하면 정지사탑의 창건은 北魏 453년이었으며, 이후 수나라 606년에 재건되었다. 唐代에는 858년과 889년에 불사리의 공양과 탑의 재건이 이루어졌으며, 최종적으로 지궁이 닫힌 것은 北宋代 977년이었다. 이러한 재매납 과정에서, 앞 시대의 사리장엄구 양식이 뒷 시대의 사리장엄방식에 영향을 미치기도 했다. 한편 현존하는 지궁내 출토 유물과 벽화는 대부분이 송대 유물이며, 특히 定窯에서 만들어진 백자와 동전 등과 같은 중요한 유물들이 상당수 발견되었다. 그러나 송대의 지궁 재매납 과정을 기록한 지석에는 백자나 동전의 봉안 등에 대한 기록이 전혀 남아 있지 않기 때문에, 지석에 기록된 물건들의 목록과 실제로 봉안된 공양구의 물품 목록이 상당한 차이가 있음을 알 수 있다. 그러므로 이 유물들은 지궁에서 발견되는 지석 명문의 내용과 출토품과의 관계를 연구하는 데에도 중요한 자료가 된다.<BR> 불사리 자체의 聖物로서의 속성은 여러 시대에 걸쳐 존숭되었기 때문에 불사리의 재매납은 중국 및 동아시아의 불교문화에서는 종종 볼 수 있다. 그러나 정지사탑 출토품과 같이 역대의 재매납 과정을 자세히 검토할 수 있는 명문자료와 공반 유물이 함께 발견되는 것은 매우 드물다는 점에서, 정지사탑 출토 사리장엄구의 연구는 매우 중요한 의의를 가진다. 또한 정지사탑 지궁에서는 당대 후기 유물과 북송대 초기 유물들이 함께 발견되면서 명문을 통해 그 관계를 이해할 수 있기 때문에, 당대와 송대 미술의 영향 관계를 이해하는 데에도 매우 중요하다.

A Study of Buddhist Reliquaries Donated by Yi Seong-gye

A Study of Buddhist Reliquaries Donated by Yi Seong-gye