Haeinsa

“Where eighty thousand woodblocks have breathed for six hundred years”

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Photo: 한국교육방송공사(EBS) · CC BY 4.0

Scenes

A clear pond of the mountain monastery, held by the forestChuckupd · Public domain

Temple halls on the slopes of GayasanMass Ave 975 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Sudarajang depository plaque above its aged wooden lattice windows — Sudarajang, the depository that guards the woodblocksSpongeFan0304 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Inside the depository, light from the lattice windows falls between shelves of woodblocks — Inside the hall where eighty thousand woodblocks rest between dark and lightBernard Gagnon · CC0

The Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks packed row upon row on the shelves — Eighty thousand woodblocks filling the shelvesBernard Gagnon · CC0

The great bronze bell of Haeinsa beneath its painted bell pavilion — The great bell hangs in its pavilionBernard Gagnon · CC0

Meaning

Mountain wind slips through the slatted windows of the depositories, where the woodblocks rest side by side in the dark.

The monastery keeps the woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana, and the natural ventilation of the Janggyeong Panjeon halls that shelter them is held in high regard. Those depositories are inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Field notes

Location: Gayasan · Korea · N35.8° · E128.1°
Best time: The season of autumn leaves, or midday when the mountain breeze moves through the depositories
Getting there: By bus or car to the foot of Gayasan from Daegu or Geochang.
Etiquette: Viewing guidelines are followed in protected areas such as the Janggyeong Panjeon.

Sources

· UNESCO World Heritage
· Encyclopaedia Britannica

Official site Wikipedia

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