Prints of Darani Sutra woodblocks from Tang Dynasty disclosed

Prints of the Darani Sutra woodblocks, which are believed to have been made during China’s Tang Dynasty, will be open to the public. The Darani Sutra is printing on a sheet of paper of many incantations of Buddhism written in Sanskrit. The Museum of Ancient Prints (Director Han Seon-hak) at Myeongju Temple in Wonju City, Gangwon Province, said, “An exhibition that will display more than 100 pieces, including 40 pieces of talisman prints and books from various countries in Asia, such as prints of the Darani Sutra woodblocks, will take place through May 10.”

The prints of the Darani Sutra woodblocks do not suggest the year of printing, but many bibliography experts estimate that they were produced during the Tang Dynasty. They claim the fact charms are mostly written in Sanskrit involving virtually no Chinese characters suggest that the sutra belonged to the style dating back to the early Tang Dynasty.

At the center of the Darani Sutra, on which various chants are written tightly in the paper measuring 23 centimeters across and 25 centimeters long each, characters inscribed read “Disciple Goh XX, who was born at the Dosolcheon Palace, wishes to meet with Maitreya.”

“The Darani Sutra to be displayed was discovered in the bracelet that was found along with a Buddhist statue in Qinghai, China,” said Director Han. “During the Tang Dynasty, there was tradition in which Darani meant to wish a monk or Buddhist going to Nirvana after death was placed in the bracelet and buried together with the corpse.”