Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Sutras Working in Buddha’s Belly and Buddhists’ Pockets: Miniature Sutras in Korean Buddhism

Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts - Kristina Myrvold

Yohan Yoo [+-]
Seoul National University
Yohan Yoo is a Professor of Comparative Religion at Seoul National University. His previous publications include three books in Korean: Myths of Our Era (2012), Understanding Religious Studies (2020), and Understanding Religious Symbolism (2021). He has also co-authored Cosmologies of Pure Realms and the Rhetoric of Pollution (Routledge, 2021) and co-edited Books as Bodies and as Sacred Beings (Equinox, 2021) with James W. Watts.
Woncheol Yun [+-]
Seoul National University
Woncheol Yun is Professor of Buddhism in the Department of Religious Studies at Seoul National University.

Description

This chapter argues that miniature sutras allow Korean Buddhists to feel Buddha's presence and protection in their daily lives. Miniature sutras are so small that they are difficult, if not impossible, to read, but these texts are not intended for study. Instead, the mere presence of these miniature sutras is thought to be efficacious. Many Korean Buddhists possess small Buddha statues at home into whose hollow bellies they insert miniature sutras. To those Buddhists, sutras, which are the dharma of the Buddha, activate the statues and turn them into the Buddha himself. In addition, they believe that miniature sutras in their hands or pockets bless them and protect them from evil. Scriptures as the word-body of the Buddha are thought to work for Buddhists irrespective of their semantic content, and without any explicit ritual recitation or repetition.

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Citation

Yoo, Yohan; Yun, Woncheol. Sutras Working in Buddha’s Belly and Buddhists’ Pockets: Miniature Sutras in Korean Buddhism. Miniature Books - The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 201-215 Sep 2019. ISBN 9781781798614. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=37769. Date accessed: 11 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.37769. Sep 2019

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