The Iconographic Transformation of the Diademed Bodhisattva-Type Rocana Buddha in Joseon Buddhism: Doctrinal Reinterpretation, Huayan Thought, and Buddhist Resilience in the Late Joseon Dynasty

This study investigates the historical and ideological foundations underlying the emergence of the diademed Bodhisattva-type Rocana iconography, a form unique to Joseon Buddhism, through three analytical perspectives. First, this iconographic development reflects a doctrinal shift in Mahāyāna, a thought that reconceptualizes Buddha’s corporeality as nirmāṇakāya (emanation body), responding to the expanded notion of Buddha’s rūpakāya articulated within the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition during the Kushan period. Second, the enduring influence of the Huayan (Avataṃsaka) Sutra and Huayan philosophy—dominant across Unified Silla, Goryeo, and subsequently reconfigured Seon-centered Joseon Buddhism—provided a critical hermeneutic framework. The Huayan Sutra’s authority in codifying the aṣṭamahāprātihārya (eight great events of Buddha’s life) significantly shaped the visual standardization and symbolic reinterpretation of these narrative cycles. Third, within the socio-political context of Joseon, characterized by institutionalized suppression of Buddhism under Neo-Confucian hegemony, the diademed Rocana image functioned as an ideologically strategic and visually adaptive construct. It enhanced Buddhism’s discursive legitimacy by emphasizing soteriological themes of compassion and universal salvation. The late Joseon reinterpretation of Buddha’s biography thus reflects a conscious effort by Buddhist communities to negotiate cultural resilience and social sustainability, necessitating a reassessment of emergent Buddha imagery within this transformative historical milieu.