preprints.org > arts and humanities > religious studies > doi: 10.20944/preprints202305.0433.v1

Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 3 May 2023 / Approved: 8 May 2023 / Online: 8 May 2023 (03:38:39 CEST)

This article examines offering utensils for the Amitābha Dharma Assembly of the Pŏpch'ŏnsa temple held in 1168. The bronze offering utensils excavated at the Pŏp-ch'ŏnsa temple site were made for use in the Mit'ahoe in Muja year. In preparation for the Mit'ahoe, five monks made these bronze offering utensils during February and March of Muja year. For the Mit'ahoe at the Pŏpch'ŏnsa temple, there were Amitābha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta placed on a lotus pedestal in the Amitābha Hall. In the center of the hall, there was a table on which offering utensils could be arranged. Two big bronze kwangmyŏngdaes, one bronze hyangwan, one bronze hyŏnlo, and one bronze pŏn were placed on the Buddhist altar in front of Amitābha Buddha. The same bronze offering utensils were placed on the altar in front of Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta. The bronze offering utensils made in Muja year have a possibility to be made in 1168. The bronze offering utensils made in Muja year have a relation to offering incense and light. In general, the arrangement of the offering utensils consisted of one incense burner with two candlesticks. The bronze offering utensils excavated at the Pŏpch'ŏnsa temple site give a lot of information about the Mit'ahoe of the Pŏpch'ŏnsa temple held in 1168. We can know what kinds of offering utensil were used, how many offering utensils were made, and which Buddha and Bo-dhisattvas were enshrined.

Pŏpch'ŏnsa Temple; Mit'ahoe (Amitābha Dharma Assembly); Muja Year; Offering Utensils; Bronze hyŏnlo(hanging incense burner); Bronze hyangwan; Bronze kwangmyŏngdae (light stands); Bronze pŏn (candlestick)

Arts and Humanities, Religious Studies

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