• The Journal of Korean Medical History
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.63-76
• /
• 2019

The $S{\bar{u}}tra$ of Great Dhāraṇī of the Uṣṇīṣa-cittā is one of the most widely published scriptures of Esoteric Buddhism during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasty. The sutra is often referred to as a Buddhist medical scripture whose recitation is believed to allay diseases such as difficult birth, chest pain, and infectious and incurable diseases. It utilizes two major methods for healing: reciting and copying the sutra or copying the dharani and talisman which appear at the end of the text with fine cinnabar and ingesting them with aromatic water. In order to understand the medical and historical value of this sutra, this study examines the historical background of its establishment in early China and its migration to Korea in the Goryeo period. This study also investigates the identity and value of the scripture in Buddhist medical history. The oldest known printed texts of the sutra in Korea are dated to the late 11th century. Because of the material benefits of the text, the tradition of printing and distributing the sutra was very popular between the 13th and 19th centuries. Therefore, examples of the sutra having been used for medicinal purposes during rites are found in historical records. Finally, the study tries to identify the relationship between the treatment methods of the Sutra and those of Korean traditional medicine focusing on several Korean traditional medical texts such as the Hyangyak-Jibseongbang (Compilation of Native Korean Prescriptions), the Donguibogam, and the Euibang-Hapbu.