Guinsa (), in the Yeonhwa area of the

Sobaek Mountains The Sobaek Mountains (, literally mean little Taebaek Mountains) are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are tradi ...

located near Danyang in

Chungcheongbuk-do North Chungcheong Province (), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. No ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, is the headquarters of the

Cheontae Uicheon, the founder of the Korean Tiantai school Cheontae is the Korean descendant of the Chinese Buddhist school Tiantai. Tiantai was introduced to Korea a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the tim ...

school of

Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...

. Guinsa is the administrative center of over 140 sub-temples and hermitages of the Cheontae sect. Although the architecture of Guinsa follows that of many other Buddhist

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, it is also markedly different in that the structures are several stories tall, instead of the typical one or two stories that structures in many other Korean temples have. This may be due to the restraints of the valley in which it is located and to modern construction techniques, but it creates a visual experience that is both beautiful and unique from what one sees at other temples. Up to 10,000 monks can live here at any one point while the kitchen can serve food for twice that number when needed. The temple maintains and operates a large farm system covering over 60,000 pyeong/0.198 km²/0.0765 sq MI and provides much of the food prepared and consumed at the temple. As with many Korean temples, free simple vegetarian meals are served for all visitors in Guinsa at setting time (about 6:30-7:00 for breakfast, 11:30-13:30 for lunch, 18:30 for dinner), no matter your race or religion. But as Buddhism believing everything people enjoy now comes from

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

of their past acts and thoughts, they have to finish their meals, whatever they have taken. The ubiquitous black slate roof tiles found commonly on Korean temples is occasionally replaced by orange glazed tiles reminding one of those seen on the roofs of Beijing's Forbidden City. Some buildings resemble the

Potala Palace Potala Palace ( Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ་ཕོ་བྲང Chinese: 布达拉宫) is the name of a museum in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, built in the ''dzong''-style. It was previously a palace of t ...

in Lhasa with their use of height and vertical lines. Guinsa operates

Geumgang University Geumgang University is a South Korean university with a residential college model, located in the countryside next to Gyeryongsan, Gyeryong Mountain, between Nonsan and Daejeon. The campus is within the administrative boundaries of Nonsan's San ...

between

Nonsan Nonsan (; ) is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddie ...

and

Daejeon Daejeon (; ) is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of nearly 1.5 million. Located in a central lowland valley between the Sobaek Mountains and the Geum River, the city is known both as a ...

. The 2 days Temple Stay Program, twice a month, includes getting up at 3am for the morning ceremony, can be booked via internet or phone.http://temple.cheontae.org

History

Unlike many of Korea's temples, Guinsa is fairly new, dating only back to 1945. The temple is strikingly located, squeezed into a narrow valley surrounded on all sides by mountains, and its location was decreed by head monk Sangwol Wongak's (上月圓覺) interpretation of the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

. The original temple was burned down during the Korean War, but the reconstruction of the first building was completed in 1966 and the complex, which now incorporates over 50 buildings, is still expanding. In 1967 the Cheontae school is reestablished at Guinsa and registered with the Korean government as the Cheontae Order. Master Sangwol assumes his position as the First Patriarch of the Order. The 5-Story Dharma Law Hall (5층 대법당 ''Ocheung Daebeoptang'') is completed and becomes the largest building of its kind on Korea. 1982 brings the establishment Geumgang Buddhist College at the Geumgang Institute.

Early history

Early history leading to the establishment of Guinsa: *594 AD - The Chinese

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

master

Zhiyi Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also called Dashi Tiantai (天台大師) and Zhizhe (智者, "Wise One"), was a Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, Buddhist philosophy, philosopher, meditation teacher, and Exegesis, exegete. He is considered to be the foun ...

completes the Three-part

and establishes the Cheontae school. *581~597 AD - Master Yeongwang of the

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

dynasty studies the "Sublime Contemplation of the Lotus" under Master Zhiyi in China later returning to Silla to teach the Cheontae Doctrine. *730 AD - Silla monks Peopyung, Ieung and Sunyeong study the Cheontae teaching under Grand Master Chwagye Hyeonrang and return to Korea to transmit the Cheontae doctrine. *1097 AD - The Cheontae school of Korea is founded by National Master Daegak Guksa at Gukcheonsa (temple). *1424 AD - The Cheontae school is consolidated into the Zen ( Seon) school as part of the Yi dynasty's anti- Buddhist policy. This resulted in the Cheontae teachings being merged with folk Buddhism. *1855 AD - Layman Weolchang Kim Taehyeon writes "Seonhak Lumun (Gateway to Zen)", an exposition of Cheontae meditation practices, to help preserve the Cheontae traditions.

Structures

Notable structures include: * The Great Teacher Hall (대조사전 ''Daejosajeon''), a shrine erected in the memory of Sangwol Wongak, a large statue of whom can be found inside. * The Four Heavenly Kings Gate (사천왕문 ''Sacheonwangmun'') is a two-story stone structure, containing statues of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

, marking the start of the temple complex. * The 5-Story Dharma Law Hall (5층대법당 ''Ocheung Daebeoptang''), also referred to as the 5-story Grand

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

Hall, completed in 1980 is reputedly one of the largest temple buildings in Korea, and like so many of the other buildings on the temple complex, is elaborate in both terms of painting and structural design. The first and second floors contain meditation halls for the monks. The third and fourth floors have shrine rooms for devotees wishing to offer prayer. The fifth floor contains the huge Dharma Hall housing a large gilded altar of the main Buddha Shakyamuni, Supreme Budda of the present, flanked by his attendants. On the left sits Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion, and on the right sits Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva of wisdom. A unique

Thangka A ''thangka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled ...

behind the Buddhas is a painted raised wood carving.Chon Un Dok "Guinsa" *The Cafeteria Hall (향적당 ''Hyangjeokdang'') contains the huge kitchen and large temple cafeteria. *The Three Story Stone Pagoda (''Samcheung Seoktap''), located in front of the main sanctuary is a reliquary housing the sarira of the Buddha brought back from the monastery of the Jetavana in India. Three elephants support the base of the pagoda and these strong, intelligent animals symbolize the Buddha's Dharma.

Gallery

File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Sawoosil 2896-07.JPG, Guinsa Sawoosil (Dormitory) File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa 3005-07.JPG, One of the ornate temple halls on the grounds of Guinsa. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Tohang Hall2978-07.JPG, Guinsa Tohang Hall is a cafeteria and dormitory for the monks. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Hall Glazed Roof 2975-07.JPG, Guinsa Hall with Maroon and Blue-Green Glazed Roof Tiles. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Gold Tiled Roof 3014-07.JPG, Guinsa's golden glazed roof tiles reminiscent of the roof tile in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

in China. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Ocheung Daebeoptang 2926-07.JPG, Shakyamuni Buddha in the 5-Story Dharma Law Hall (Ocheung Daebeoptang) housing the impressive gilded main altar of the Buddha Shakyamuni flanked by his attendants. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa 3006-07.JPG, Decorated stairway alongside a Guinsa hall. File:Korea-Danyang-Guinsa Sangwol Wonga 2981-07k.JPG, Guinsa's Grand Patriarch Sangwol Wongak's golden image in the hall dedicated to the founder. File:단양 구인사 아미타회상도.jpg, Mural Painting in Guinsa (단양 구인사 아미타회상도) File:Danyanggun Travel Day2 16 (31517058394).jpg File:Danyanggun Travel Day2 14 (32320415256).jpg File:Danyanggun Travel Day2 13 (32239464321).jpg

References

External links

Cheontae official site's page on Guinsa
(in Korean) *https://web.archive.org/web/20150816035410/http://www.guinsa.org/ * {{Wikivoyage-inline 1945 establishments in Korea Buddhist temples in South Korea Cheontae Buddhist temples Buildings and structures in North Chungcheong Province Tourist attractions in North Chungcheong Province Temples that participate in Templestay