동궁과 월지 출토 불상의 봉안양상과 신라왕궁 속 불교시설

Abstract

The Buddhist temple established in the royal palace of Silla (called Inner Temple) has aroused considerable interest among academic circles due to its direct relationship with the Buddhist tradition maintained by Silla’s royal family. Unfortunately, however, it has not been easy to obtain a visual representation of the temple, which is largely due to the lack of related relics, except for those discovered at the Wolji pond. The purpose of this study, which acknowledges the lack of related evidence about the archaeological findspots of the Wolji pond, is to present seven floor plans showing the findspots discovered while comparing the related archaeological reports and field notes. It is assumed that the Buddhist relics conjectured to be objects of worship were enshrined in four buildings (1 to 4) situated to the west of the Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond and in a building located near the Large Islet (Daedo). It is also suggested, as shown by the illustration of a floor plan attached to the main text, that the relics discovered at the sites of Buildings # 2 and 4 and the Large Islet were once kept in a large shrine built during the Unified Silla period. Furthermore, it is concluded that the Inner Temple of the Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond was not a proper Buddhist temple complete - as in the case of Cheonjusa Temple - with a pagoda and the main hall, but rather one that was one housed within a preexisting palace building. The pair of gilt-bronze ears of a statue of the Buddha, which may have been enshrined in Building # 2 in the west, is conjectured to have been attached to the head of the statue after being sculpted separately, as in the case of the statue discovered at the Hwangyong-dong Temple Site. The ears have the same shape as those of the Gilt-bronze Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure No. 83) suggesting that these works date back to the late seventh century. Judging by their style and the appearance of the other related relics, it is conjectured that the gilt-bronze Buddha statuettes, which may have been enshrined in Building # 4, already existed at the time of the temple’s founding in 679 and continued to be enshrined until the ninth century. The style of the Buddhist plaque also suggests that it was made in the late seventh century and kept in a niche. Regarding the inscription composed of five Chinese characters on a lacquered plaque, this study suggests that the characters “王寺龕第⼀” actually mean "first shrine of the royal temple”, thus refuting the existing view that the inscription is rather “壬⼦龕第⼀”. The study concludes, though tentatively, that the two plaques were parts of a Buddhist ritual ewer that was related either with the Large Islet or the building on the eastern side of the pond.