Hwaeomsa () is a head temple of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially known as the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the leading order of traditional Korean Buddhism, with roots dating back 1,200 years to the late Silla period. Around ...

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 ...

. It is located on the slopes of

Jirisan Jirisan () is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and is the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. The 1915m-high mountain is located in ...

, in Masan-myeon,

Gurye County Gurye (''Gurye-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in the Provinces of South Korea, province of Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Gurye is a small, picturesque farming town situated between Jirisan and the Seomjin River. In the nor ...

, in

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

, South Korea.

History

Hwaeomsa was established in 544 by Ven. Yeongi Josa. It was expanded in 643 by Ven. Jajang Yulsa, when the Sakyamuni Relic Pagoda, Seven-Story Pagoda, and a stone lantern were added. During the reign of King Munmu, by royal decree, Ven. Uisang Daesa inscribed the Eighty-Fascicle Avataṃsaka Sutra, on stone tablets and preserved them here. In 875, Ven. Doseon Guksa expanded the temple again. In 943 during the Goryeo era, honoring the deathbed wish of Ven. Doseon Guksa, the state began to first establish 500 Seon temples, followed by 3,800 "Bibo-sachal," at sites where bad

geomantic Geomancy, a compound of Greek roots denoting "earth divination", was originally used to mean methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. Its definition has ex ...

energy needed to be transformed. Hwaeomsa was the first temple to be renovated. There were four more renovations thereafter during the reigns of King Gwangjong, King Munjong, King Injong and King Chungsuk, respectively. In 1593, most of Hwaeomsa's buildings were burned to the ground in the Japanese invasion. However, the temple still preserves pieces of Ven. Uisang Daesa's stone tablets inscribed with sutras, "Hwaeom Seokgyeong (Treasure No. 1040)" which were left from the tablets shattered in the fire set by the invaders. Later, Ven. Byeogam Gakseong reconstructed some of the buildings, including the Main Buddha Hall (1630-1636). In 1701, in the 27th year of King Sukjong's reign, the reconstruction of Hwaeomsa was completed, and the king designated it the great temple of the combined schools of doctrine and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

. Buildings and gates completed at this time were: Daeungjeon, Gakhwangjeon, Bojeru, Myungbujeon, Wontongjeon, Yeongsanjeong, Eunghyanggak, Jeongmugdang, Geumgangmun and Cheonwangmun.

Cultural properties

Of the wealth of cultural properties owned by Hwaeomsa, the first one to catch the eye is Gakhwangjeon Hall (National Treasure No. 67), which literally means "a building where enlightened kings reside." Though it was built during the reign of Joseon's King Sukjong, under a state policy that promoted Confucianism and suppressed Buddhism, Gakhwangjeon's size is only exceeded by Geunjeongjeon, the palace building where the king took care of official business. Gakhwangjeon was built on the former site of Jangnyukjeon, which had been burnt down, and King Sukjong gave the name of "Gakhwangjeon" to the newly built hall. In front of Gakhwangjeon stands a giant Stone Lantern (National Treasure No. 12), befitting the size of Gakhwangjeon. Thought to have been sculpted during the United Silla era, it is 6.4 meters (21 feet) high, and 2.8 meters (9 feet) in diameter. Slightly up and to the left of Gakhwangjeon stands the Four-Lion Three-Story Stone Pagoda (National Treasure No. 35) carved in granite. Among non-standard pagodas, it is considered to have a higher degree of completeness, along with Dabotap Pagoda at Bulguksa Temple. Four lions make up the foundation and support the whole pagoda. In the center of the four lions stands Ven. Yeongi Josa's mother to whom, on his knees, he is offering tea out of deep filial piety. Other cultural objects of Hwaeomsa include: Scroll Painting of the Vulture Peak Assembly (National Treasure No. 301); Eastern Five-Story Stone Pagoda (Treasure No. 132); Western Five-Story Stone Pagoda (Treasure No. 133); Daeungjeon Hall (Treasure No. 299); Lion Pagoda in front of Wontongjeon Hall (Treasure No. 300);

Reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported or actual physic ...

from the Western Five-Story Stone Pagoda (Treasure No. 1348); Scroll Painting of the

Vairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...

Buddha Triad in Daeungjeon Hall (Treasure No. 1363); and Seated Wooden Vairocana Buddha Triad (Treasure No. 1548). Two trees here have been designated natural monuments: the Winter-Flowering (Natural Monument No. 38) and the Plum Tree (Natural Monument No. 485). Seon Master Buyong Yeonggwan composed a poem about this plum tree.

Tourism

It also offers

temple stay Templestay () is a cultural program offered in numerous Korean Buddhist temples, South Korean Buddhist temples. Templestay allows participants to experience the life of Buddhist practitioners and learn the various aspects of Korean Buddhist cultur ...

programs where visitors can experience Buddhist culture.Hwaeomsa Temple stay program

Gallery

image:Hwaeomsagakhwangjeonapseokdeung_(Stone_lantern_in_front_of_Gakhwangjeon_Hall_of_Hwaeomsa_Temple).jpg, image:Korea-Mountain-Jirisan-Hwaeomsa-02.jpg, image:Korea-Mountain-Jirisan-Hwaeomsa-03.jpg, image:Korea-Mountain-Jirisan-Hwaeomsa-05.jpg, image:화엄사1.jpg, image:화엄사2.jpg, image:화엄사3.jpg, image:화엄사5.jpg, image:화엄사6.jpg,

References

External links