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Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity- Republic of Korea
Yeongsanjae
The Rites of Vulture Peak
Yeongsanjae Guides to the Way of the Buddha

“All living beings must die, and all those who meet must part,” says a widely-quoted Korean proverb. Humans are mortal. In Buddhism, it is believed that the dead can be freed from anguish and suffering by understanding Dharma, or the laws of the Buddha, even after death. The Rites of Vulture Peak (Yeongsanjae) are a combination of exorcism, memorial service and Dharma celebration, which prays for posthumous enlightenment. The rites are served on the 49th day after a person’s death because Buddhists believe that the fate of the deceased for the next life is determined in the 49 days that follow death.

Vulture Peak refers to Mount Gridhrakuta in India, where Sakyamuni Buddha delivered his discourses during his lifetime to an endless mass of people who gathered to listen to his teachings. This assembly was a favorite motif for Buddhist art in Korea, and a large number of paintings were produced under the title “Sakyamuni Buddha Preaching to the Assembly on Vulture Peak” (Yeongsan hoesangdo). The Rites of Vulture Peak are a reenactment of this assembly and one of the most important Buddhist memorial services for the deceased to guide their
souls in the cleansing of the sins they committed in this world and to help them be reborn in the Buddhist paradise. Sometimes, these rites are also performed to pray for the nation’s peace or success in war.

The original form of these rites was a magnificent ceremony performed for three days and nights. Koreans often describe a state or a place of great commotion using a phrase of Buddhist origin “yadan beopseok,” in which “yadan” means an outdoor podium and “beopseok” means the venue for a Dharma meeting where the Buddha’s laws are preached. This phrase came to have this meaning because the Buddha’s teachings attracted so many people that it caused a great commotion. It is said that over three million people gathered when Sakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra on Vulture Peak.

As the Rites of Vulture Peak are a grand-scale event, they go through a complicated procedure composed of a variety of spectacular and solemn rituals. The outdoor rites begin by hanging a large painting of “Sakyamuni Buddha Preaching to the Assembly on Vulture Peak” as a representation of the assembly on the actual site of sermon during the Buddha’s lifetime. Next a procession ushers the objects of worship - the Buddha, bodhisattvas, guardian deities, and the soul of the deceased - into the temple and to the altar. It is followed by a sacrificial rite that pays homage to the invited deities, and the final step is a farewell ceremony to send the guests off. Of all the procedures, the most important part is the prayers offered to the Buddha, and because of this long and solemnly exquisite ritual of prayers the Rites of Vulture Peak take more time than other memorial services for the deceased.

Music is an indispensible part of the Rites of Vulture Peak. All through the rites, monks chant ritual songs (beompae) and play two-stringed zithers (haegeum), drums, double-sided drums (janggu), six-stringed zithers (geomungo) and other instruments. They also perform the cymbal dance (barachum), butterfly dance (nabichum) and drum dance (beopgochum). Beompae, the ritual songs used in various Buddhist memorial services, are one of the three representative genres of traditional Korean vocal music, along with gagok (lyric songs of poetry) and pansori (epic chant).

The Rites of Vulture Peak are not artistic performances for an audience but actual religious rites in which a multitude of people participate in solemn reverence. These rites are intended to guide the souls of the dead and also help the living get closer to the teachings of the Buddha by participating in the spiritual ceremony.