Yŏm Sŭngik and Healing through the Conception of the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī-Maṇḍala Image in the Late Goryeo Dynasty.

Abstract

Yŏm Sŭngik was a ch'ongshin or court favorite of the late Goryeo dynasty who was recognized for his ability to cure diseases using dhār ī and subsequently appointed prime minister of the country. Yŏm's quick ascension to such a distinguished post attests to the great significance of dhāraṇī among the people of Goryeo. Memorizing dhāraṇī as a way to obtain one's desire was a preexisting concept in the Silla period. However, unlike their predecessors, the people of Goryeo preferred the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī (Precious Casket Seal Dhāraṇī) over the Mugujŏnggwang Taedaranigyŏng (The Great Dhāraṇī Sutra) as they believed the former text to be a more concise and effective vehicle for serving their needs. In this article I propose that Yŏm Sŭngik used his understanding of the period's spiritual and religious beliefs to combine the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī with the maṇḍala of Esoteric Buddhism to create a new iconographic image in 1276. Sixteen years later in 1292, Yŏm supplemented the original image with spells from the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī and added other details such as the name of the image's creator as well as the place and date of production. In this new version of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image, the various mantras from Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī are arranged in a circle that is imbued with the power of dhāraṇī and its therapeutic potency. The center of the circle is a maṇḍala composed an eight-petaled lotus as well as the thirty-seven deities symbolizing the birth and source of life. In this way, Yŏm condensed the essential components of Buddhist ideology that most appealed to believers to create a modified dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image that was produced in great quantities and distributed throughout Goryeo. Both the 1276 and 1292 versions of Yŏm's dhāraṇī-maṇḍala discovered in Buddhist sculpture. However, only the latter image continued to be made after the Goryeo dynasty. One example of the second version was found stamped on a silk chŏgori discovered in the Wooden Seated Child Mañjuśrī statue of Sangwŏnsa Temple in P'yŏngch'ang. Created in 1466, the Mañjuśrī statue was an important commission by the royal court. Thus, the stamped image of Yŏm's 1292 dhāraṇī-maṇḍala in this example of Buddhist sculpture demonstrates the influence and relevance of a new iconography that had persisted well into the Joseon dynasty. The dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image conceived by Yŏm Sŭngik in 1292 was worn or kept on the body in the belief that this act alone protected the wearer from affliction. Known as "an old man who practiced thaumaturgy by memorizing spells," Yŏm created the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala as an iconographic instrument that would cure any sickness that might plague the bearer. Perhaps most importantly, the new dhāraṇī-maṇḍala image was accessible to all as both a convenient and affordable means of healing. Lastly, Yŏm's dhāraṇī-maṇḍala was also incorporated into the garments of bodhisattva and Buddha statues, which served to amplify their divine powers of dhāraṇī.