Spotless Pure Light Dharani Sutra

[Traveler]
Next, we will see some ancient Korean printed materials that are even older than Jikji. This scroll is a reproduction of a woodblock-printed book made in the eighth century on the Korean Peninsula. The original copy is kept at the Seoul Central Buddhist Museum. Why is a reproduction exhibited here, although the original copy is just two hours’ drive away? This printed material is as important as Jikji. While Jikji is the world's first metal type-printed book, this material is the world's oldest woodblock-printed book.

This scroll concerns Dharani, a special spiritual Buddhist power. Its name means “tremendously clear, clean, and shining Dharani.” It was believe that if a transcription of a phrase from the scroll was enshrined in a pagoda, health and peace will be bestowed upon the believer. This object, discovered inside a pagoda, has a unique shape. This small scroll measures 6.6cm in width and 6cm in length, so it could fit in a small containers.

Interestingly, this discovery was made thanks to an unsuccessful robbery. In 1966, a robber tried to dismantle the pagoda and steal treasures from it, but since he had no time, he roughly reassembled the pagoda and ran away, pledging to come back again later. Monks found the disrupted pagoda, and tried to repair it, when they found a treasure inside it. Even 1200 years later, the paper was not seriously damaged. This proved the superiority of ancient Korea's typography, paper and ink to the world.