靈駕薦度의 도상해석 ‘碧蓮臺와 圓相’ -조선후기 甘露圖과 極樂九品圖를 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper explores the iconographical features of 'the disembodied soul being carried to Sukhāvatī 靈駕薦度' and the circle ‘○’ figure symbolizing enlightenment shown in the late Joseon Buddhist paintings titled Nectar painting 甘露圖 and Sukhāvatī painting 極樂九品圖. One of the key role of Buddhist ritual throughout the history is a funeral service for the dead soul. The blue lotus seat 碧蓮臺 with small cintamani 小圓相 ‘○’ representing the essence of soul begin to appear in the Nectar paintings in the 18th century. The same iconographical feature can also be found in the Sukhāvatī paintings with the big circle (or cintamani) ‘○’ 大圓相 added representing the realm of the truth or the nature of the Buddha itself. A carried soul represented in a small cintamani on the blue lotus seat is about to be unified into the mother Buddhahood represented in the big circle ‘○’ which is a prototype of all incarnated Buddha figures. The scriptural basis presented in the paper was mainly drawn from Avalokiteśvara-Ritual Text 觀音施食文, the Five Commentaries of the Diamond Sutra 金剛經五家解, and Seongaguigam 禪家龜鑑 which are representative texts that influenced greatly in the Buddhism of Joseon dynasty. In the such Buddhist scriptures mentioned above, the circle motive ‘○’ can be frequently found among the sentences as the key figure of enlightenment.