As a state-of-the-art “wearable technology” of the time, talismans provided protection, perquisites, and prescriptions for the devotees of premodern Korean Buddhism. Among a varied array of talismans discovered from tombs, stupas, and spell books, this talk focuses on a collage of the twenty-four Buddhist talismans to illustrate how they provided a vocabulary and structure to address believers’ soteriological concerns and transform their cosmological views. By examining these talismans as a crucial part of the Korean Buddhist mortuary ritual, the talk argues for the pervasiveness of talismanic culture in Chosŏn Buddhism, which allowed its followers to manage the fears of disease, demons, and death. My findings further suggest that multiple layers of ambiguities built around talismans, such as tensions between text and image, legibility and illegibility, as well as accessibility and inaccessibility, played a key role in enacting the efficacy and potency of talismans, and that the twenty-four talismans occupied a central place in Chosŏn Buddhist devotional practice. Challenging the common view of Chosŏn Buddhism as being dormant and defeated, this talk presents a surprisingly vibrant and dynamic picture of Chosŏn Buddhism through these little-studied materials.

This event took place on February 6, 2023

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Full transcript: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/3/4/video-wearing-divine-protection