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Bulguksa: The Temple of Buddha Land
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the name indicates, Bulguksa was designed
as a realization of the blissful land of the
Buddha in the present world. It was intended
to embody the happy land where the mortal
being is released from the suffering of life
by following the teachings of the Buddha,
or the Lotus Land as promised in the Avatamsaka
Sutra, which offered the theoretical foundation
for construction of the temple. Therefore,
the temple had to be not only faithful to
the teachings of the Buddha but beautiful
as well. |
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It is obvious that prominent monks and artists contributed
their thoughts and aesthetic ingeniousness to build the
temple under the guidance of Kim Dae-Seong, who was a
devoted believer and able administrator with a remarkable
eye for beauty.
An imposing complex of beautiful wooden shrines and stone
pagodas built upon decorative stone terraces, the temple
stands on the western midslope of Mt. Tohamsan overlooking
fertile plains and the mythical mountain, Namsan, beyond.
The elevated compound is reached by climing up thirty-three
stone stairs adorned with elaborate railings, named the
Bridge of White Cloud and the Bridge of Blue Cloud, which
symbolize the thirty-three heavens.
The cloistered sanctuary is divided into two realms, the
land of Seokgamoni Buddha and the land of Amitabha, the
Buddha of Boundless Light. The "impure land"
of Seakgamoni Buddha is larger and higher than the "pure
land" of Amitabha. This is because Seokgamoni is
praised as the more noble for the chose to appear in the
mundane world out of his great compassion. The main courtyard
which is dedicated to Seoakgamoni, the Historic Buddha,
includes Daeungjeon, the main worship hall enshrining
a gilt-bronze buddha triad. A pair of famous pagodas,
Seokgatap, or the Seokgamoni Pagoda, and Tabotap, or the
Pagoda of Many Treasures, stand in front of the main worship
hall, A lecture hall named Musolijeon, or the Hall of
No Discourse, stands to the north of the worship hall.
The shrines of Vairocana and Avalokitesvara stand at the
back of the lecture hall.
Geungnakjeon, or the Paradise Hall, dedicated to Amitabha,
the Buddha of Western Paradise, is located to the west
of the main courtyard. From the outer terrain, the hall
is reached through a separate gate and stairs named the
Lotus Bridge and Bridge of Seven Treasures. Amitabha,
who vowed that all who believed in him and who called
upon his name would be born into his paradise, has a broad
following among Koreans. Faith alone ensures rebirth in
his paradise, so it is certainly easier than self-attainment
leading to enlightenment. |
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Among the many
treasures of Bulguksa, the pagoda pair in the main courtyard
have an unmatched reputation. Indeed, part of the fame
of Bulguksa itself is owing to this unique pair. The princely
dignity and simplicity of the Seokgamoni Pagoda dramatically
enhances the complexity of the Pagoda of Many Treasures
that stands some 100 feet away with its lavish decorative
details. The two stone pagoda have stood in dynamic contrast
for over 12 centuries surviving the flames of war that
engulfed all of the temple's original wooden structures.
None of the some thousand stone pagodas scattered across
Korea excel them for profound philosophical depth and
aesthetic charm.
The Seokgamoni Pagoda represents the finest style of Korean
Buddhist pagodas that evolved from China's multistoried
pavilion-type wooden pagodas. The three-story pagoda is
admired for its proportions and simple but graceful style.
The highly decorative Tabotap, symbolizing Prabhutaratna
Buddha, is an exceptional case that demonstrates the wondrous
skill of Unified Silla masonry. The pagoda features what
is assumed to be an enlarged version of a luxurious sarira
shrine supported by a roof-like square slab resting on
four pillars and massive brackets. The pillars stand on
an elevated platform approached by four staircases, each
with 10 steps symbolizing the 10 paramitas, or great virtues.
The arrangement of the two pagodas was inspired by the
legend that when Seokgamoni preached the Lotus Sutra,
the pagoda of Prabhutaratna emerged out of the earth in
witness of the greatness and truth of his teaching. Meanwhile,
the Seokgamoni Pagoda is also called the "Pagoda
without Reflections," denoting the sad legend of
Asanyeo, wife of the Baekje mason, Asadal, who built the
pagoda. The poor woman came to Gyeongju to see her husband
as years had passed without any news from him. No outsiders
were allowed into the site of a holy project and she was
told to wait by a pond near the temple until the completed
pagoda cast a reflection in the water. She waited in vain
and finally threw herself into the pond.
A collection of precious treasures was found in the Seokgamoni
Pagoda during repair work in 1996. They include a paper
scroll of the Pure Light Dharani Sutra, printed between
706 and 751. Measuring 6.2 meters in length and 6.7 centimeters
in width, the scroll is recognized as the world's oldest
printed material. The pagoda also yielded three sets of
exquisitely decorated sarira containers including a gilt-bronze
casket in elaborate openwork, a gilt-bronze box with a
fine engraving of bodhisattvas and heavenly kings, and
a glass bottle containing 46 grains of holy relics.
The Pagoda of Many Treasures was dismantled and reassembled
by the Japanese in the 1920s but no record concerning
the repair or the treasures found inside it remains. Back
in 1593 during the Hideyoshi invasions, a group of Japanese
pirates set fire to the temple upon discovering weapons
hidden in one of its shrines. All of the wooden structures
were burnt down at this time. The temple was reconstructed
over a period of 150 years beginning in 1604 but never
regained its old splendor.
The foundations of lost structures were excavated in an
intensive investigation conducted in 1969. Based on the
result of the excavation, several buildings and cloisters
were reconstructed and the stone terraces were repaired
in the early 1970s. But a lotus pond known to have existed
beneath the staircases leading up to the main courtyard
was left out of the renovations. |
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at Haeinsa
Temple
