Tongdosa

“Behind a hall that holds no Buddha statue, where the Buddha's relics rest”

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Photo: 최옥석 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Scenes

The courtyard of Tongdosa with a stone pagoda, chrysanthemums, and pine forest — The courtyard held by pines, chrysanthemums around the pagodaBernard Gagnon · CC0

Monks crossing the stone arch bridge over the stream, framed by pines — The arch bridge crossing the stream into the templeBernard Gagnon · CC0

Monks walking beneath a wave of colorful lotus lanterns — On the Buddha's Birthday, a walk under a canopy of lanternsJaki4594 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Daegwangmyeongjeon hall seen framed beneath the eaves across the courtyard — The eaves frame the Daegwangmyeongjeon hall문화재청 · KOGL 제1유형

Meaning

The deep-aged eaves of the main hall curve against the sky, and behind it, on a stone platform, a stupa enshrining the Buddha's relics stands in silence.

Tradition holds that the Silla monk-master Jajang founded this temple, bringing relics and the robe of the Buddha. Its main hall keeps no Buddha statue, for the relics enshrined on the Diamond Precept Platform (Geumgang-gyedan) behind it are held to be the Buddha himself. As the Buddha-Jewel temple that holds the Buddha's relics, it forms Korea's Three Jewel Temples together with Haeinsa (the Dharma) and Songgwangsa (the Sangha). Part of the UNESCO World Heritage 'Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea.'

Field notes

Location: Yangsan · Yeongchuksan · N35.5° · E129.1°
Best time: The red plum blossoms of spring, or the eighth day of the fourth lunar month when lotus lanterns are hung
Getting there: At the foot of Yeongchuksan in Yangsan, reached by car from Ulsan (KTX) or Busan.
Etiquette: Keep quiet and respectful before the halls and the precept platform.

Sources

· Encyclopaedia Britannica
· UNESCO World Heritage

Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.