LOTUS SUTRA, translated by KUMĀRAJĪVA 鳩摩羅什 with commentary by JIEHUAN 戒環.

Myobŏp yŏnhwagyŏng 妙法蓮華經 [Ch. Miao fa lian hua jing; Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma].

One single-page & two double-page woodcut illus. Woodblock-printed. [3], 11, 74 (plus a duplicate of f. 28) folding leaves. One kwŏn in one volume. Small folio (321 x 215 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers, with handwritten title on upper cover, old stitching. [Suncheon, Korea]: Sŏnamsa, 1728.

An attractive illustrated Korean woodblock edition of the Lotus Sutra, with a Preface by Daoxuan 道宣 (596-667) and line commentaries by Jiehuan 戒環 (fl. 1127), a Song-dynasty Chan monk. This edition is a 1728 recarving of a 1660 edition created at the Sŏnamsa Temple 仙嵓寺. The temple, founded in 861 and located in South Jeolla province, played a fundamental role in the development of Seon Buddhism. Our copy includes the first two chapters (K. pum 品) in one kwŏn, preceded by a frontispiece and two double page woodcut pyŏnsangdo 變相圖 depicting scenes from the sutra, the second of which is dated 1646. The original author of the sutra is not known, but we know it existed by 255 CE. The sutra was translated into Chinese by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumārajīva (344-413 CE) in 406 CE. This translation is thought to be the closest to the presumed original version. “The Lotus Sutra is one of the most important and influential of all the sutras or sacred scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, revered by almost all branches of the Mahayana teachings, and over many centuries the object of intense veneration among Buddhist believers throughout China, Korea, Japan, and other regions of eastern Asia.” It is “an important text of world literature”-Watson, The Lotus Sutra (N.Y.: 1993), pp. ix-x).

The Postscript states that the woodblocks for the Lotus Sutra previously held at the Sŏnamsa Temple were destroyed during the second Japanese invasion of Korea (1597), and the carving of the new woodblocks took place in 1652-60. In 1728, new woodblocks were carved, based on the 1660 edition, from which our copy was printed. The volume ends with the list of donors, monks, and carvers involved in the making of both editions.

We do not find any works printed at the Sŏnamsa Temple in WorldCat.

Excellent condition. Personal names, perhaps those of donors or carvers, printed next to the edge of the frame on some pages. One name on the final list of sponsors is obscured. The endpapers are recycled printed sutras.