Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Silla pagodas were constructed more often for the purpose of safeguarding the nation by the power of Buddha, rather than for the faith of tombs or targets of worships. However, as Buddhist scriptures such as Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhānāma- dhāraṇì-sutra (無垢淨經) flowed into Silla, this brought a remarkable turnaround to the construction of pagodas. It was because of these scriptures that many pagodas were constructed during the Unified Silla period. How it became popular to construct pagodas during the Unified Silla period can be found in Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhānāma- dhāraṇì-sutra . The scripture says that people can build up their virtues by constructing pagodas and repairing collapsed pagodas. With the teachings of Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhānāmadhāraṇì- sutra widely spread in the Silla society, commoners, who had not been qualified to join the construction of pagodas, were allowed to attend the ceremony of turning around the pagoda, which was later part of the kingdom’s customs. Under the influence of the scripture, in the second half of the Silla period, a square altar was installed in front of the pagoda, and a one-level support base was added to the stylobate of the pagoda; this type of pagoda thus was called Mugujeongtap (無垢淨塔). Mugujeongtap changed the state-centered view of pagodas, that pagodas safeguarded the state, thus paving the way for individual commoners to join the construction of pagodas to build up their virtues. Jotapgyeong(造塔經) played an important role in reinstating the original purpose of Buddhists’ faith in pagoda construction. Notably, the representative pagoda of Silla, the Nine- Storied Wooden Pagoda of Hwangryong Temple(皇龍寺九 層木塔), was repaired according to the method provided in Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhānāma-dhāraṇì-sutra , and this attempt was aimed at creating an ideal world of Buddhism where the entire populace could become Buddha.