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| yna@yna.co.kr 2022-09-01 15:09:36
▲This photo, provided by The Cultural Heritage Administration, shows Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha in Beopbojeon Hall of Haeinsa. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲This photo, provided by The Cultural Heritage Administration, shows Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha in Daejeokgwangjeon Hall of Haeinsa Temple (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- The Haeinsa Wooden Budda, which is the oldest wooden Buddha in South Korea, will have an elevation of status to National Treasure.
The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea announced on Wednesday that they will be appointing both the Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha and its excavated documents in Beopbojeon Hall of Haeinsa Temple, Hapcheon and the Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddha and its excavated relics in Daejeokgwangjeon Hall of Haeinsa Temple, Hapcheon as national cultural properties and national treasures.
Vairocana Buddha, which is the main Buddha of the Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism, is also called the Buddha of light.
The two Haeinsa Wooden Seated Vairocana Buddhas have round faces and bodies, and the folds of the garments which naturally cover the body show traces of the ninth century Seokguram Buddha statue.
The two Buddhas are assumed that it was made in the end of the ninth century according to the results of the scientific investigation.
The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea explained that these relics are meaningful because they are 9th-century relics that have not been long since Haeinsa Temple was built in the year 802, and that they are representative works that depict the Hwaeom ideology of Haeinsa Temple at the time.
Excavated relics are also highly valued in Korean Buddhist history. Excavated relics are relics which are put inside the body of the Buddha statue while being made, and they include huryeongtong (a container inside which votive objects are placed) symbolizing Buddha, various jewelries, woven fabric, Buddhist texts and more.
Excavated relics of the Vairocana Buddha consisted of relics from the Goryeo Dynasty until the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty. It included documents and woven fabrics, which were filled in during the repair of the Buddha statues. In particular, the Huryeongtong (a container inside which votive objects are placed) was perfectly preserved.
It is considered of high academic value by the fact that it enables study of the history of the Buddha statue's repair and Buddhist history, the relationship between Haeinsa Temple and the Joseon royal family, and the procedure for putting in excavated relics.
The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea reported, "It is an excellent Buddha statue with outstanding formability and history as well as ideal religious beauty with great Buddhist historical significance, and it is worth being promoted to a national treasure along with the excavated relics."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Dowon Kim.)
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