Bulseol ubasaeo gyesanggyeong, the First Tripitaka Koreana Edition

Bulseol ubasae ogyesanggyeong is a scripture that delineates the five basic commandments for ubasae, or lay devotees of Buddhism, and describes sins according to seriousness. It was published as the First Tripitaka Koreana Edition to overcome the invasion of Khitan with the help of Buddha during the reign of King Hyeonjong (r.1011-1031) of the Goryeo Dynasty. This book was translated by Gunavarman of Liu Song and was printed on mulberry paper using woodblocks. Kept as a scroll, it measures 47.3 cm wide and 29 cm long. There are several differences between the First Tripitaka Koreana Edition and the Second Edition kept at Haeinsa Temple. While the carving of the woodblocks is elaborate, it is different from the Second Tripitaka Koreana Edition in terms of the number of characters; it also has pihwi (to abbreviate or replace with other letters out of respect for the name of the late king) or abbreviation without a record of the publication period. There is a difference in the indication of number of pages between the two editions as well. This book uses the Chinese character “丈 (jang)” or “幅 (pok)” to indicate the number of pages without a record of the publication period, whereas the second edition uses “張 (jang).”