A Dharma bell is one of the main Dharma sound instruments used for assembling and teaching an audience in Buddhist temples. Though they originated from Chinese bells, Korean bells have their own distinct features, and are strikingly different from Chinese and Japanese bells. First, the bell connector used to hold them is not a two-headed dragon of the Chinese style, but a dragon extending its head and legs robustly. Besides the connector, there is a sound tube. And there is a band of vertically-carved patterns and four nipple cases on the bell's surface, all of which are absent from or different to Chinese and Japanese bells; there are 36 nipples inside each nipple case. Moreover, images of apsaras and a beatingspot are carved on the bell. Above all, Korean bells excel in their beautifully curved lines and heart-moving sound. The characters on the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok refer to King Gyeongdeok of Silla's failed attempt to make a large bell using 120,000 geun of copper to pray for the happiness of the late King Seongdeok. After his death his son, King Hyegong, completed the bell on December 14th, 771, in the 7th year of his reign.

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Sacred Bell of the King Seongdeok - Public Info

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Inserted: 08-10-2022 13:10:29