More Than 80,000 Woodblocks Carved by Goryeo 800 Years Ago... Haeinsa Takes Up the Chisels Again

Buddha-Informing Ceremony Held for New Tripitaka Koreana Carving Project; 50- to 100-Year Undertaking Begins
About 15 Carvers to Train the Next Generation; More Than 670 Learn Traditional Techniques at Woodblock-Carving School
300 Tons of Mountain Cherry Wood Secured; "Tripitaka Town" Planned; National Treasure Original to Remain Preserved
Goryeo's Aspiration to Overcome Mongol Invasions Expands into a Prayer for Peace for Humanity in the 21st Century

Eight hundred years ago, the people of Goryeo carved Buddhist scriptures into wood to repel Mongol invasions and pray for the peace of their country. Those woodblocks are the Tripitaka Koreana, preserved today at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province. Now, the carving tools are being taken up once again. In an age when artificial intelligence (AI) can reproduce and translate vast scriptures in an instant, carving more than 80,000 woodblocks by hand is expected to take anywhere from half a century to a century.

A woodblock carving class in progress at the woodblock carving school at Haeinsa on the 12th. Haeinsa, Yonhap News.

On Oct. 29, Haeinsa Temple, a Dharma Jewel Monastery of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, held the "Buddha-Informing Ceremony for the Haeinsa Janggyeongdogam Tripitaka Woodblock-Carving Project" in the courtyard of the Beomgye Pagoda at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province. The ceremony is a ritual to inform the Buddha of the start of a Buddhist undertaking. The event marks the beginning of a major project to carve the entire Tripitaka Koreana anew.

More than 2,000 people attended the event, held under the theme "Carving the Tripitaka Again, Toward Humanity." They included Venerable Haksan Daewon, head monk of the Haein Monastic Complex; Venerable Jinwoo, president of the Jogye Order; Venerable Hyeil, abbot of Haeinsa Temple; and representatives from the Buddhist community, the central and local governments, and the congregation.

Before the ceremony, a launch ceremony for a 10,000-day prayer was held in the courtyard in front of Beopbojeon Hall to pray for the successful completion of the project. This was followed by a demonstration in which 30 people, including monks, instructors from the woodblock-carving school, and students, carved characters into woodblocks using traditional methods.

The Tripitaka Koreana is a collection of Buddhist scriptures carved onto woodblocks by Goryeo to overcome the national crisis through the Buddha's teachings in the face of Mongol invasions. Produced in the 13th century, the woodblocks are a record of an extensive body of Buddhist scriptures meticulously carved into wood. They are currently preserved at Haeinsa Temple's Janggyeong Panjeon.

The "Daejanggyeong Woodblocks at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon," designated a National Treasure in 1962, were inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2007. Haeinsa Temple's Janggyeong Panjeon, where the scriptures are stored, was also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. The buildings are recognized for preserving the woodblocks for hundreds of years through an architectural design that facilitates natural ventilation and humidity control.

This project goes beyond remaking woodblocks dating back more than 800 years. While the people of Goryeo carved the scriptures to pray for peace and well-being for their country and its people, the project today seeks to pray for peace and life for all humanity amid war, the climate crisis, nuclear threats, and the fragmentation of communities.

Haeinsa Temple emphasized that the project is not intended to replace the existing National Treasure or simply produce a replica. The temple said its core aim is to pass traditional woodblock-carving techniques, and the spirit of Buddhist practice embodied in the process, on to future generations.

Woodblock carving involves preparing a block, transferring the characters onto it, and carving them one by one with a chisel. The shape of each character varies depending on the direction of the wood grain, the angle of the chisel, and the pressure applied by hand. Unlike reproducing text and images with digital technology, the process requires years of practice and intense concentration.

In his sermon at the event, Venerable Haksan Daewon, head monk of the Haein Monastic Complex, asked, "When the tip of the carving knife you hold today touches the wood, is it the wood that is being cut away, or are your afflictions being cut away?" He presented woodblock carving not merely as an act of production, but as a form of Buddhist practice.

Preparations are also underway. In 2023, Haeinsa Temple established Janggyeongdogam, an office overseeing the teaching of traditional woodblock-carving techniques and the creation of the Tripitaka. At its woodblock-carving school, more than 670 monks and laypeople are learning traditional techniques under the guidance of a faculty of about 10, including master woodblock carvers recognized as national or local intangible cultural heritage.

About 15 carvers are currently taking part in the actual work. Haeinsa Temple plans to carry out the project by having them train the next generation while continuing to carve the blocks. The temple estimates that completion will take 50 to 100 years, far longer than the 5 to 10 years initially reported.

The temple is also securing materials needed to make the woodblocks. It has secured about 300 tons of mountain cherry wood, a key material, and is processing and drying it. To ensure a long-term supply of timber, it has also planted 2,000 wild pear trees on land owned by the temple.

Going forward, the temple plans to create a "Tripitaka Town" on about 330,000 square meters of temple-owned land, where traditional woodblock-carving education and woodblock production can continue. The plan includes not only making the woodblocks, but also researching and teaching carving techniques and building a digital archive.

In his prayer text at the event, Venerable Hyeil emphasized training people who will carry on the spirit of woodblock carving, saying, "We will put the devotion of bowing three times into carving each character." He added, "I hope the creation of the Tripitaka will become an undertaking that prays for sustainable happiness and peace for all humanity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.