불상형 지권인 비로자나불상의 표훈(表訓) 창안 가능성

Abstract

In the Silla kingdom, there were two types of images depicting Vairocana Buddha in Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ known as ‘tathāgata type’ and ‘crowned type’. In both types, Vairocana Buddha holds his hands in the Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ (fist of wisdom) pose. The distinction is a matter of majestic ornamentation. While tathāgata images are absent of decoration, the crowned Vairocana Buddha is always represented with a crown above the Buddha’s head. The Vairocana Buddha portrayed in the 755 illustrated manuscript, Silla Illustration of the Avatamsaka Sutra, is of the crowned type. The stone statue of seated Vairocana Buddha from Seongnamamsaji Temple site, created little more than a decade later in 766, is of the tathāgata type. Although both examples were made during the mid-eighth century and based on the 80-volume Avatamsaka Sutra, the two images present unmistakably different iconography. This paper seeks to explain why images of the same figure, created almost simultaneously and constructed from a single sutra, show contrasting iconographies. During the mid-eighth century, the Huayan School of Buddhism in the royal capital of Silla was largely divided into either the monk Yeongi (active mid-eighth century) lineage or the monk Pyohun (active mid-eighth century) lineage. The leader of the former group, the monk Yeongi based his activities in the Hwaeomsa and Hwangnyongsa Temples. The leader of the latter group, the monk Pyohun worked at the Hwangboksa and Bulguksa Temples. Through this paper, I purport that the Yeongi lineage created the crowned type image of Vairocana Buddha, while the Pyohun lineage was responsible for developing the tathāgata type. Yeongi, who was influenced by the Chinese monk Fazang (643-712), exactly reproduced the ‘Crowned Vairocana Buddha in Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ from the Middle Esoteric Buddhism iconograhpic interpretation of Mahāvairocana (Great Buddha Vairochana). The resulting image is preserved in the Silla Illustration of the Avatamsaka Sutra created in 755 by Yeongi for the Hwangnyongsa Temple. On the other hand, the head monk Uisang (625- 702) of the Pyohun lineage believed the Avatamsaka Sutra to be an absolute and complete teaching, and immersed himself in the sutra with an emphasis on applied practices. Among Uisang’s followers, Pyohun in particular made his way to the royal capital where he established his position as a preeminent monk after the mid-eighth century. Pyohun and other disciples of Uisang commissioned a stone statue of Vairocana Buddha, the central figure of the Avatamsaka Sutra. However, they did not follow the precedent for recreating the representation of the Mahāvairocana in the tradition of Middle Esoteric Buddhism. Instead, Pyohun and his fellow monks developed a new iconography that focused solely on the Bodhaśrī-mudrā, which they considered the defining aspect of Vairocana Buddha. Aligned with the core philosophy of the Pyohun lineage, Pyohun conceived the ‘Tathāgata type Vairocana Buddha in Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ as a physical symbol of the belief that the Avatamsaka Sutra is the culmination of teachings from all sutras. Thus, the stone statue of seated Vairocana Buddha from the Seongnamamsaji Temple site was the manifestation of a newly established iconography. In all likelihood, the ‘Tathāgata type Vairocana Buddha in Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ originates from Korea. This particular type of Vairocana Buddha image was already being created and enshrined in the royal capital before the stone statue of seated Vairocana Buddha from the Seongnamamsaji Temple site was made in 766. This paper asserts that the monk Pyohun who was a central figure in the royal capital at the time, was the individual responsible for developing a new iconography. His efforts are symbolized in the image of ‘Tathāgata type Vairocana Buddha in Bodhaśrī-mudrā’ that we see today.