8~11세기 동아시아 탑내 다라니 봉안의 변천 = The Changing Role and Function of Dharanis in East Asian Stupa Deposits During the Eighth-Eleventh Centuries

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Until now, the dharanis found in East Asian stupas have been generally regarded as dharma relics, which are thought to have the same power and meaning as the Buddha`s relic. However, the question arises whether all the dharanis found in stupa deposits can be identified as dharma relics. This essay challenges the prevalent assumption that all of them were dharma relics. Some of the dharanis found in stupa deposits can be regarded as dharma relics, but after the eleventh century, most of the dharanis in stupas were deposited as ritual materials for chanting rites. Moreover, some dharanis functioned simultaneously both as dharma relics and as ritual objects. Thus, in this paper, I have examined the changing role and function of dharanis in stupa deposits in relation to the ritual of relic veneration in eighth to eleventh-century East Asia. The role of dharanis in stupa deposits has changed from that of dharma relics, originally equivalent to the Buddha`s bodily relic, to that of mere ritual votive objects for the Buddha`s bodily relic with which they were enshrined together during the tenth and eleventh centuries in East Asia. This implies that East Asian Buddhists in the eleventh century considered the Buddha`s bodily relic more valuable and sacred than the dharma relic or dharani sutras despite the latter`s increase in quantity. From this view, the dharanis in stupa deposits after the eleventh century in East Asia should be regarded as the subordinate to the Buddha`s relic veneration.