국립경주박물관 소장 신라 <수구즉득다라니>의 金剛神像, 그리고 <금동방형경합>

Abstract

Two paper sheets from the manuscript of the Incantation of Wish‑Fulfillment (隨求卽得陀羅尼, Skt. Mahāpratisarā-dhāraṇī) were recently made known to the world. Originally kept in a gilt-bronze box, the paper sheets are a significant find. There are already several known extant examples of objects or amulets created to embody dhāraṇīs from the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment dating to the Goryeo period. However, the paper sheets discussed in this article are the first discoveries of material dhāraṇīs to be tentatively dated to the Silla period. Analyses of the two paper sheets, one written in Chinese and the other in Indic script (梵字, Siddhamātṛkā), show that they were made using Dakpaper (Korean Paper). This provides strong evidence that the paper amulets were made in the Silla Kingdom. Unfortunately, there is no other evidence that definitively establishes when the two paper sheets were created. This article presents an argument for dating the newly rediscovered Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment manuscript sheets from the collection of the Gyeongju National Museum to the latter half of the ninth century or periods subsequent. This premise is mainly based on an examination of the Vajra deity (jingang shen) pictured in the center of the sheet written in Siddhamātṛkā script as well as on an analysis of the gilt-bronze box originally containing the manuscript pages. There are several key considerations that support this claim. First, is a matter of the decoration and ornamentation of the gilt-bronze box, which includes the figures of Vajra-pani and Vajra portrayed at the center of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment paper sheets as well as the plant designs on the cover and images of generals featured on the four sides of the gilt-bronze box. Second, it is also important to recognize the period during which dhāraṇīs began to be stored in boxes in accordance with Buddhist rituals during the mid to late ninth century. As is well known, amulets containing the Wugou jingguang datuoluonijing (無垢淨光大陀羅尼經, Great spell of unsullied pure light) were discovered in various sites such as the Three-story Stone Pagoda of 706 at Hwangboksa Temple Site, the Five-story Stone Pagoda constructed sometime during the early to mid-eighth century in Nawon-ri, and the Three-story Stone Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple erected in the mid-eighth century. In these examples, the Wugou jingguang datuoluonijing was never stored in a separate container but rather placed in a reliquary alongside sarira without exception. Contrary to this tradition, Buddhist scriptures started to be placed in their own designated containers such as the gilt-bronze box after the latter half of the ninth century. These boxes were always rectangular and constructed separately from the sarira reliquaries. The third and last consideration, is the fact that the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment was one of many texts that were recorded onto physical amulets during a period when dhāraṇīs were widely popular. According to the story of Bocheon, Haeinsamyogilsangt'apki (Myogilsang Pagoda Document of Haeinsa Temple) from Samguk Yusa (三國遺事, Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment was most prevalent towards the late Silla period and afterwards. This does not necessarily mean that the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment was never circulated throughout the Silla Kingdom during the eighth century. Rather, it is a persuasive indication which reinforces the idea that the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment was most popular after the ninth century, further solidifying this timeframe as the most probable production period for the two paper sheets discussed throughout this article.