For more than seven hundred years monasteries in Korea have performed consecration rituals to spiritually activate Buddhist images. The most important element of these rites is preparing dedication materials associated with the five Buddhist directions-a central axis surrounded by four quadrants-and a color: east/green, south/red, west/white, north/blue, and center/yellow. One master Buddhist monk is responsible for preparing dedication materials for each direction.
Dedication materials are placed inside an offering container, which is subsequently enshrined in the inner cavity of the religious image. For Buddhist believers, this act of placing the symbolic materials inside the image, as well as the ritual “dotting of the eyes,” transforms the sculpture into a living spiritual body.
This centuries-old ritual was recently designated as an Intangible Cultural Property in South Korea. The demonstration recorded in this video is the first public presentation of the ritual in the United States.
The Venerable Gyeongam of the Jogye Order leads this group of Buddhist monks. Ninety-year-old Jeon Ki-man, a Living National Treasure of Korean Cultural Heritage, recently carved the standing bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara featured in this demonstration.