the temple building, creating a MANDALA-like arrange-
ment with a figure of Vairocana in the center sur-
rounded by attending bodhisattvas.
Holy Buddhist mountains such as Mount Emei in
Sichuan and Mount Wutai in northern Shanxi
province, being the abodes of the bodhisattvas
Samantabhadra and Mañjus ́r, respectively, the pri-
mary attendants of Vairocana Buddha, have long been
associated with the Huayan Buddhist tradition.
Korea
Huayan (Korean, Hwao ̆m) Buddhism reached the Ko-
rean peninsula during the late seventh century, where
it soon achieved the same importance and popularity
as in China. A number of prominent monks, includ-
ing U ̆ISANG(625–702) and his contemporary WO ̆NHYO
(617–686), actively propagated the teachings prior to
the actual founding of the Hwao ̆m school in the early
eighth century. During the eighth century a number of
monasteries belonging to the Hwao ̆m school were built
in different parts of the country. Outside the Silla cap-
ital of Kyo ̆ngju, King Kyo ̆ngdo ̆k (r. 742–765) con-
structed SO ̆KKURAM, a manmade grottolike sanctuary,
as a symbol of the close link between royal power and
Buddhism. It would appear that the central buddha
image at So ̆kkuram, an impressive sculpture in pol-
ished granite, was meant to depict S ́akyamuni Buddha
at the moment he manifests as Vairocana in accordance
with the opening chapter of the Avatamsaka-sutra.The
image is iconographically identical to ordinary images
of S ́akyamuni, but the context of the shrine itself, with
its central altar and special rounded ground plan (per-
haps a symbolic representation of the dharmadhatu),
as well as the secondary images carved in relief along
the sides, suggest that the So ̆kkuram Buddha is actu-
ally a representation of Vairocana.
During the ninth century, Esoteric Buddhism be-
came increasingly popular in Korea, and many of its
elements, such as its ritual practices and its art, were
adopted by other schools of Korean Buddhism.
Among other things this process resulted in the cre-
ation of Vairocana images that reflect the dual influ-
ence of both Hwao ̆m and Esoteric Buddhism (Korean,
milgyo). Vairocana images in early Korean Buddhism
are always unadorned, that is, they are without crowns
and bodily ornaments. It is only during the Koryo ̆dy-
nasty (918–1392) that adorned images chiefly associ-
ated with Esoteric Buddhism become prominent.
With the first printing of the Buddhist CANONdur-
ing the eleventh century, which established the Buddhist
scriptures in their definitive form, the Koreans also fixed
the associated iconography. It became common to carve
frontispieces on the blocks with an opening chapter of
a given scripture, whereby iconographical forms and ty-
pologies became standardized. This was also the case
with the Avatamsaka-sutra,which enjoyed a special pop-
ularity during the Koryo ̆. Hence, all the major themes
and scenarios of the sutra were illustrated with ex-
planatory cartouches inserted throughout.
During the Choso ̆n dynasty (1392–1910) the im-
portance of Hwao ̆m Buddhism as an intellectual tra-
dition declined. However, its imagery and cosmology
still captivated the minds of the Korean Buddhists. ThisHUAYANARTVairocana, the Cosmic Buddha. (Chinese bronze sculpture, Sui
dynasty, 581–618.) The Art Archive/Dagli Orti. Reproduced by
permission.