Jajang (590–658) was a monk born Kim Seonjong, into the royal Kim family, in the kingdom of

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 ...

. He is credited with founding the temple of

Tongdosa Tongdosa ()Le Bas, Tom :"South Korea" pg 244, Insight Guides, 8th edition 2007 is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Tongdosa is on ...

in 646 CE, near in what is now

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

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 ...

, and played a significant role in the adoption of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

as the national religion of Silla. His biography is told in the anthology of Korean Buddhism: "Jogye Culture Web", Vol 10. Gyeyul ( and Yul jong 律宗, or

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

) monastic order, founded by Gyeomik for the study and implementation of śīla (yuljang 律藏) the ''"moral discipline"'' or ''""Budhhist ethics"''), was lost after the decline of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

. After him, Jajang revived the Gyeyul order and built the

Woljeongsa Woljeongsa () is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. Woljeongsa was founded in 643 by the Silla monk Jajang. History The Origi ...

temple in 643 of

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 ...

of Korean Buddhism on the eastern slopes of Odaesan in today

Pyeongchang County Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in the province of Gangwon Province, South Korea, Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddh ...

. Jajang was born in Silla as a true bone (jin'gol) aristocrat. In 641 CE, Jajang and his disciple Seungsil traveled to

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

China where he received bone relic of Buddha's crown,

Śarīra Śarīra is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the Buddha afte ...

relics and an honorary robe. He also visited Yunju Temple where he stayed until his return to Silla in 643 CE.Gim Yeongsu, 2016
Sheaves of Korean Buddhist History: Joseon Bulgyosa
Korean Buddhism Library.

Training

In 636 Jajang traveled to China to study under the great Buddhist masters of the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, for seven years becoming a taeguksa (Great Noble Priest) upon returning, receiving the highest honors from Queen Seondeok.

Treasures

When Jajang returned from China he was given invaluable holy treasures: a fragment of the original Sakyamuni Buddha's skull, a wooden begging-bowl and monastic-robe of Buddha, and 100 of the Buddha's " sarira" (pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters).

Reputation

Because of his astute mind, he was repeatedly requested by the King to take a position of responsibility at court. Jajang repeatedly refused these requests, so finally the exasperated King issued an ultimatum: "If you do not accept this official position I offer, I will have your head severed for disobedience." Jajang replied, "I would rather die keeping the commandments of Buddha for one day than live for a hundred years while breaking them." The King saw the wisdom in Jajang's reply and relented allowing Jajang to remain a monk.

Temples

Jajang established many temples but

, one of the

Three Jewel Temples of Korea The Three Jewels Temples (삼보사찰, Sambosachal) are the three principal Buddhist temples in Korea, each representing one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, and all located in South Korea. The three temples are: Tongdosa in South Gyeongsang P ...

, is considered the most important. Temples of note: * Magoksa in 640 or 642 *Bongjeongam (Phoenix Bower Hermitage) in 642 * Sangwonsa in 643 * Oseam in 643 *

in 643 *

in 646. * Sinheungsa in 652 * Manggyeongsa Temple in

Taebaek Taebaek (; ) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. Its name is shared with that of the Taebaek Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Taebaek is the second highest city in South Korea, after Pyeongchang. Etymology Taebaek in is derived ...

on the

Taebaek Mountains The Taebaek Mountains () are a mountain range that stretches across North Korea and South Korea. They form the main ridge of the Korean peninsula. Geography The Taebaek mountains are located along the eastern edge of the peninsula and run alon ...

Cin Woo Le
"Simply stunning: 33 incredible Korean temples"
''CNN Go''. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-12

References

{{Authority control 590 births 658 deaths Silla Buddhist monks

Training

Treasures

Reputation

Temples

See also

References