Tongdosa
Encyclopedia
Tongdosa is a head temple of the Jogye Order
of Korean Buddhism
and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan
City, Gyeongsangnam-do
, South Korea
.
Tongdosa is one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea
and represents the Buddha
; (Haeinsa
, also located in Gyeongsangnam-do, represents the dharma or Buddhist teachings; and Songgwangsa
in Jeollanam-do
represents the sangha or Buddhist community.)
Tongdosa is famous because there are no statues outside of the main (Sakyamuni) Buddha at the temple because the "real shrines of the Sakyamuni Buddha" (relics) are preserved at Tongdosa. Courtyards at the temple are arrayed around several stupa
s (pagodas) that house the Buddha's relics.
after returning from China in 646
CE, during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla
. It thrived throughout the Unified Silla
and Goryeo
periods, when Buddhism was the state religion, and remained strong even in the Joseon Dynasty
.
Tongdosa is reputeded to house several relic
s of the Sakyamuni Buddha himself, including a robe, a begging bowl, and a bone from his skull, all relics that Jajang brought back from the travels to China he undertook in 636 to study with ten other monks there.
Only one building, the Daeungjeon (main Dharma worship hall), survived the Imjin wars in the late 16th century; the other buildings were rebuilt later that period. In the mid 15th century at the height of its prosperity, Tongdosa is said to have had hundreds of buildings and thousands of monks. For over 1,300 years Tongdosa's Beopdeung (temple candle) has never gone out.
s living in a big pond. Jajang enjoined the evil dragons to leave by reciting a magic Buddhist scripture. The evil dragons refused to leave so Jajang inscribed the Chinese character
for fire on a sheet of paper and tossed it skyward while using his long stick to splash the pond.
The water began to boil. The dragons could not endure the heat so three tried to escape and flew off, became disoriented, and died by colliding into a cliff
called Yonghyeolam ("dragon blood rock"). Five of the dragons flew southwest into a valley now called Oryonggok ("five dragon valley").
The last dragon, blinded by the heat, made a vow to Jajang that if he spared his life and allowed him to stay in the pond forever, the blind dragon would always guard the temple. Jajang granted the dragon's request and the dragon was allowed to stay as protector of the temple.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/Temples/252 Nine Dragons Pond, now called Guryongji, still stands beside the main temple hall.
s which contain Jajang's relics of the historical Buddha.
The road that meanders up to the temple wanders through a forest called "Pine trees dancing in the wind". A total of 65 buildings separately house a shrine for virtually every major Buddhist deity. The temple does not seem especially large because many of the buildings are dispersed throughout the surrounding mountainside. 13 hermitages can be found on the temple complex grounds. The buildings are varied in architectural style with many left unpainted or faded. One of the buildings contains a fine mural depicting a boat escorting the deceased into paradise.
A museum on the temple grounds displays an excellent collection of artwork. Today at this temple there can be found 19 local treasures and 794 local cultural properties.
Approaching the entrance the first bridge one sees is Samseongbanwol - Three Arch Bridge - meaning three stars and a half moon, sometimes also called the One Mind Bridge. The configuration of the Chinese letter is composed of four strokes, when applying the strokes to the name of the bridge, the long stroke stands for a half moon and the other strokes, three stars.
The first gate to the temple, Iljumun
, is called the One-Pillar Gate because when viewed from the side the gate appears to be supported by a single pillar, symbolizes the one true path of enlightenment, supporting the world. Iljumun is the boundary between the spiritual world and the secular world.
The following gate is the Gate of the Guardians of the Four Directions
or Four Heavenly Kings, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma (Buddhist teachings).
Next comes the third gate of the temple, Purimun, known as the Gate of Non-Duality. The world across this gate is one of non-duality, where there is no distinction between the Buddha and human beings, being and non-being, good and evil, and fullness and emptiness. During Purimun's long history the gate has been rebuilt many times.
The present Gate of Non-Duality was constructed in the late Joseon Dynasty and was built to line up straight with the One Pillar Gate, Guardian Gate, and Daeungjeon (main Dharma hall). The gate of Non-Duality is the left most structure in the first picture at the top of the page.
Purimun, the Gate of Non-Duality, is designated South Gyeongsang Provincial Tangible Cultural Property #252.
Tongdosa is one of five temples in Korea, known as Jeokmyeolbogung, which enshrine the relics of the Buddha that Jajang returned from China. Tongdosa is the ‘Buddha Jewel Temple’ because it enshrines Sari Jinsin (the Buddha’s relics) in the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter), a platform for the ceremony prevailing Buddhist precepts, behind Daeungjeon (main Dharma Hall).
There is no image of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas, as is typically found in a worship hall, in Tongdosa's. Instead a Buddhist altar that spans east to west inside along the front with a window, in the place a Buddha image, looks out on the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter).
Tongdosa's Daeungjeon is National Treasure #290.
Jogye Order
The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1,200 years to Unified Silla National Master Doui, who brought Seon and the practice taught by the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, from China about 820...
of Korean Buddhism
Korean Buddhism
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism. Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new...
and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan
Yangsan
Yangsan is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Korea.-Administrative divisions:Currently, Yangsan is made up of 1 eup, 4 myeon, and 7 dong. There are plans, however, to create a new Ungsang-eup, which would include 4 dong.-Railways:...
City, Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
Tongdosa is one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea
Three Jewel Temples of Korea
The Three Jewel Temples of Korea are the three principal Buddhist temples in Korea, each representing one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, and all located in South Korea....
and represents the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
; (Haeinsa
Haeinsa
Haeinsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in the Gaya Mountains , South Gyeongsang Province South Korea...
, also located in Gyeongsangnam-do, represents the dharma or Buddhist teachings; and Songgwangsa
Songgwangsa
Songgwangsa , one of the three jewels of Korean Buddhism, is located in Jeollanam-do on the Korean Peninsula...
in Jeollanam-do
Jeollanam-do
Jeollanam-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Jeolla province, remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...
represents the sangha or Buddhist community.)
Tongdosa is famous because there are no statues outside of the main (Sakyamuni) Buddha at the temple because the "real shrines of the Sakyamuni Buddha" (relics) are preserved at Tongdosa. Courtyards at the temple are arrayed around several stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
s (pagodas) that house the Buddha's relics.
Origins
Tongdosa was established by the monk JajangJajang
Jajang was a monk born Kim Seonjong, into the royal Kim family, in the kingdom of Silla. He is credited with founding the temple of Tongdosa in 646 CE, near in what is now Busan, South Korea, and played a significant role in the adoption of Buddhism as the national religion of Silla.-Training:In...
after returning from China in 646
646
Year 646 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 646 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Alexandria is recaptured by the...
CE, during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla
Queen Seondeok of Silla
Queen Seondeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen...
. It thrived throughout the Unified Silla
Unified Silla
Unified Silla or Later Silla is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, unifying the southern portion of the Korean peninsula...
and Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
periods, when Buddhism was the state religion, and remained strong even in the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
.
Tongdosa is reputeded to house several relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of the Sakyamuni Buddha himself, including a robe, a begging bowl, and a bone from his skull, all relics that Jajang brought back from the travels to China he undertook in 636 to study with ten other monks there.
Only one building, the Daeungjeon (main Dharma worship hall), survived the Imjin wars in the late 16th century; the other buildings were rebuilt later that period. In the mid 15th century at the height of its prosperity, Tongdosa is said to have had hundreds of buildings and thousands of monks. For over 1,300 years Tongdosa's Beopdeung (temple candle) has never gone out.
Legend
Legend has it the at the time of Tongdosa's founding there were nine evil dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s living in a big pond. Jajang enjoined the evil dragons to leave by reciting a magic Buddhist scripture. The evil dragons refused to leave so Jajang inscribed the Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
for fire on a sheet of paper and tossed it skyward while using his long stick to splash the pond.
The water began to boil. The dragons could not endure the heat so three tried to escape and flew off, became disoriented, and died by colliding into a cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
called Yonghyeolam ("dragon blood rock"). Five of the dragons flew southwest into a valley now called Oryonggok ("five dragon valley").
The last dragon, blinded by the heat, made a vow to Jajang that if he spared his life and allowed him to stay in the pond forever, the blind dragon would always guard the temple. Jajang granted the dragon's request and the dragon was allowed to stay as protector of the temple.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/Temples/252 Nine Dragons Pond, now called Guryongji, still stands beside the main temple hall.
Temple today
Korea's largest temple, Tongdosa is often called "The temple without a Buddha" because it contains no outdoor statues of the Buddha, rather it is arranged around several stupaStupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
s which contain Jajang's relics of the historical Buddha.
The road that meanders up to the temple wanders through a forest called "Pine trees dancing in the wind". A total of 65 buildings separately house a shrine for virtually every major Buddhist deity. The temple does not seem especially large because many of the buildings are dispersed throughout the surrounding mountainside. 13 hermitages can be found on the temple complex grounds. The buildings are varied in architectural style with many left unpainted or faded. One of the buildings contains a fine mural depicting a boat escorting the deceased into paradise.
A museum on the temple grounds displays an excellent collection of artwork. Today at this temple there can be found 19 local treasures and 794 local cultural properties.
Approaching the entrance the first bridge one sees is Samseongbanwol - Three Arch Bridge - meaning three stars and a half moon, sometimes also called the One Mind Bridge. The configuration of the Chinese letter is composed of four strokes, when applying the strokes to the name of the bridge, the long stroke stands for a half moon and the other strokes, three stars.
The first gate to the temple, Iljumun
Iljumun
Iljumun is a kind of building functioned as a gate to indicate a Buddhist site in Korea. It is the boundary between the Buddhist temple and human's worldly life. The gate symbolizes the purification and one must left all of their worldly desires before entering the temple...
, is called the One-Pillar Gate because when viewed from the side the gate appears to be supported by a single pillar, symbolizes the one true path of enlightenment, supporting the world. Iljumun is the boundary between the spiritual world and the secular world.
The following gate is the Gate of the Guardians of the Four Directions
Four Heavenly Kings
In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...
or Four Heavenly Kings, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma (Buddhist teachings).
Next comes the third gate of the temple, Purimun, known as the Gate of Non-Duality. The world across this gate is one of non-duality, where there is no distinction between the Buddha and human beings, being and non-being, good and evil, and fullness and emptiness. During Purimun's long history the gate has been rebuilt many times.
The present Gate of Non-Duality was constructed in the late Joseon Dynasty and was built to line up straight with the One Pillar Gate, Guardian Gate, and Daeungjeon (main Dharma hall). The gate of Non-Duality is the left most structure in the first picture at the top of the page.
Purimun, the Gate of Non-Duality, is designated South Gyeongsang Provincial Tangible Cultural Property #252.
Tongdosa is one of five temples in Korea, known as Jeokmyeolbogung, which enshrine the relics of the Buddha that Jajang returned from China. Tongdosa is the ‘Buddha Jewel Temple’ because it enshrines Sari Jinsin (the Buddha’s relics) in the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter), a platform for the ceremony prevailing Buddhist precepts, behind Daeungjeon (main Dharma Hall).
There is no image of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas, as is typically found in a worship hall, in Tongdosa's. Instead a Buddhist altar that spans east to west inside along the front with a window, in the place a Buddha image, looks out on the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter).
Tongdosa's Daeungjeon is National Treasure #290.
See also
- Korean Buddhist templesKorean Buddhist templesBuddhist temples are an important part of the Korean landscape. This article gives a brief overview of Korean Buddhism, then describes some of the more important temples in Korea. Most Korean temples have names ending in -sa , which means "temple", or ancient temple.-Introduction to Korean...
- List of Korea-related topics
- St George and the Dragon