Facilitating Buddhism through Portable Absolution : Miniature Clay Buddha Tablets (塼佛) and Stupas (塼塔) of the Ōtani Collection

Abstract

This article is a study on the miniature day Buddha tablets and stupas collected by the Otani Expedition presently at the National Museum of Korea. Similar examples were found in the Dunhuang cave temples, Buddhist stupas of Xi Xia, and through English and American expeditions of the early twentieth century. A comparative study estab-lishes the functions and characteristics unique to the Otani day tablets and stupas. Such artifacts were once believed to absolve the transgressions of the dead or com-missioner, while also allowing one to accumulate merits for an improved afterlife. Well-suited for Buddhist missionary work, these tablets and stupas were produced in all regions where Buddhism was prevalent. Though small and made from a mod-est material, the miniature day tablets and stupas represent an important genre of Buddhist art that expresses the universal role of religious art.