Korea's Tripitaka: More Than Just 80,000 Wooden Blocks

“This is it?” my boys muttered in a chorus.    

I can’t blame them for being grumpy and disappointed after a forceful march across the countryside of Korea to visit another temple (Haeinsa) up on a hill and see tons of wooden blocks in a secured place (Haeinsa Janggyeong Panjeon).

I was in their shoes a long time ago. Detailed pictures with short descriptions in my textbook didn’t inspire me to cherish the national treasure.  I just had to memorize it for my test.     

Though I might have exaggerated to my boys, their reaction was quite a bit inadequate for a national treasure.  It deserves a lot more than that.

The Tripitaka Koreana (Palman Daejanggyeong) is more than 80,000 wooden blocks covered with the Buddhist scriptures. Each block is inscribed on the front and back with 23 lines of text with 14 characters per line.

The full name is “Goreyo Palman Daejanggyeong.” From the 10th – 14th Centuries, Korea was known as “Goryeo.” The Tripitaka Koreana engraving project started in 1011 during the “Goryeo-Kitan War.” The purpose was to mediate the security and bring fortune by invoking the Buddha’s mercy based on their strong faith.   

The project is divided into three publishing works spanning many years.  The first part took 77 years with 6,000 titles published. The second and third parts gathered the missing works and made new issues and addendums for decades.  Unfortunately, the first project was destroyed during the Mongol invasion and some of scattered works were carried to Japan. It was one of the impacts of years of war: The Tripitaka was moved place to place to be completed.  

The Tripitaka was reproduced starting in 1236, under the orders of King Gojong and with the help of monks and scholars. In 1398, it was moved to the Haeinsa Temple (South Gyeonsang Province in South Korea), where it remains today.

This splendid national project contributed greatly toward the processes of publishing, printing, engraving and preserving.  Specially treated wood blocks were used for the engraving.  They were then coated in lacquer, framed and preserved with charcoal (which produces beneficial microorganism and purifies the moisture) in an elevated location.

The historical value of the Tripitaka Koreana is as a collection of Buddhist scriptures and laws in the most complete way. It is the 32nd national treasure of Korea and the depository of Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon has been designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.  It is told that the Janggyeong Panjeon (storage room) has survived seven serious fires and one near-bombing during the Korean War.

The Tripitaka Koreana isn’t just a national treasure to Koreans, but it embodies the spirit of defending our culture from aggression.