조선 불교미술의 범자와 언문 활용: 미술과 언어를 통한 신과의 소통

Abstract

Among the Buddhist art of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), there are many artworks in which Sanskrit characters, Siddham, were written. Siddham characters were written to seek protection directly from Buddha and Bodhisattva. Writing or inscribing Siddham on the surface of the Buddhist artworks continued from the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) but diversified to various objects regardless of art genres such as architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts such as Buddhist bells in the late Joseon dynasty. It is difficult to say that a specific esoteric sect led the use of Siddham. because the locations of the written characters differ from each Buddhist art. In addition, regularity is hardly found in writing Siddham on Buddhist artworks, so we cannot assume that there were any consistent regulations in production. Sometimes only one character, Om, was used. Sometimes Six-syllable Mantra, Cundi Dhāranī, or Dhāranī of purifying the dharmadhā tu were written. These dhāranīs were selected among the essential Dhāranī spells used in rituals. Although writing Sanskrit characters on Buddhist artworks was not the first to occur in the late Joseon dynasty, it certainly expanded to temple architecture, Buddhist ritual equipment, temple bells, and Buddhist paintings during this period. This can be interpreted as the spread of ritual space into the public area, meaning that Buddhism functioned as the center of the coexistence of local communities. The publication of the compiled books of rituals promoted the use of Siddham Dhāranī in the late Joseon dynasty. Through rituals with specific voices, letters, and symbols, believers attempted to communicate with Buddha to fulfill their secular wishes. After the disastrous two wars, the Japanese invasion in 1592 and the Manchu Invasion in 1636, famine and epidemic diseases followed. Subsequently, the Buddhist community in each region performed rituals frequently to comfort the people strengthen the community’s solidarity. To perform rituals accurately, high priests tried to publish Buddhist ritual manuals and mantra books to correct the pronunciation of Siddham spells. Sometimes they wrote the Korean script (Hangul) to designate the accurate pronunciation for the Siddham Dāranī in the collections of mantras. The popular spread of and the woodblock prints of Dhāranī spells led to the participation in Buddhist rituals of far-reaching believers, who could read the Dhāranī with more exact pronunciation.