The Contents of the Repentance Manual of Avatamsaka Sutra and Its Influence on the Repentance Manual of Saddharma-pundarika Sutra

The Buddhist repentance ceremony of Avatamsaka Sutra was popular between the 14^th and 15^th centuries in Korea, but the details of it are unknown because of the absence the manual of the ceremony, the Repentance Manual of Avatamsaka Sutra. Recently the authors of this article found the copies of the book preserved in the Huryuji in Japan and the Lanzhou Municipal Museum in China and examined some contents of them. And we found some basic contents of it. The book was confirmed to be edited by Mengshan De’yi, Chinese Zen-master in the 13^th century, as inferred by a prior study. It must have been introduced to Korea between the late 13^th century and early 14^th century with his other writings. The copy of the Horyuji was printed in 1468 for the repentance ceremony during the funeral of King Sejo of Joseon Dynasty by the Buddhist Scriptures Publication Office. But the Office did not made new woodblocks for it. They used the 14^th century wood block which might have been preserved in the Office. The copy of the Lanzhou Municipal Museum was printed in 1612 as a part of the Tripitaka made by the Prince Suxian of Ming dynasty. The contents of the both copies seem identical. In the Essentials of Samadhi Repentance Practicing, the introduction of the book, emphasizes the contemplation of oneself through the awake mind to realize his essence identical with all the Buddhas, which corresponds to the teachings showen in Mengshan De’yis other writings. The Repentance Manual of Avatamsaka Sutra is similar to the Repentance Manual of Saddharam-pundarika Sutra in that it divieds the Sutra to several parts and each part is composed of the elements like the paying respects to the Buddhas, reciting the sutra, meditation of the Buddha, offerings, invitation of the Buddhas, repentance, and strolling with calling Buddhas’ names. Also more than half of the paragraphs of the paying respects to the Buddha and the srolling are identical. In this respect the latter was thought to be made under the influence of the former.