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Bongnimsan Sect – Bongnimsa-ji Temple Site (Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do)
The Bongnimsa sect was located at the Bongnimsa-ji Temple Site in present-day Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. The founder of this sect was Hyeonuk (787-868 A.D.). The temple was first founded during the reign of King Hyogong of Silla (r. 897-912 A.D.). Hyeonuk’s family name was Kim, and he was from Dongmyeong. His father was the vice minister of defence, and his name was Kim Yeomgyun. His mother belonged to the Bak clan. Hyeonuk was born in 787 A.D., and he used to build sand stupas since the time he was a little boy, so people used to say that he would eventually become a great Buddhist monk. When Hyeonuk grew up, he…
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Cheonbulsa Temple – 천불사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Cheonbulsa Temple is located to the north-east of Mt. Yongcheonsan (544.7 m) in the eastern part of Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The name of the temple means “Heavenly Buddha Temple” in English, and it was originally constructed in 1974. Cheonbulsa Temple’s name refers to the energy of the temple that it gets from the heavenly realm of Tushita. When the head monk at Cheonbulsa Temple wanted to build a temple, he held a memorial service for one thousand days in a cave at Yaksuam Hermitage near Baekyangsa Temple in Gwangju. During this memorial service, the head monk received a divine revelation. In this revelation, he learned that he should find…
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Yeoyeojeongsa Temple – 여여정사 (Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Yeoyeojeongsa Temple is located on the western slopes of Mt. Geumosan (766.1 m) in southern Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do. The name of the temple means “Watch, Listen, and Act With a Still Mind Temple” in English. The head monk at Yeoyeojeongsa Temple first opened a temple in Busan in 1995. He called this temple Yeoyeoseonwon Temple. Then, in 2005, he bought some land in Miryang, where he decided to build Yeoyeojeongsa Temple. And it would take a decade and a half to complete the temple. Temple Layout As you make your way up to the temple parking lot, you’ll pass by four stone statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. Having…
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Ilbungsa Temple – 일붕사 (Uiryeong, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Ilbungsa Temple is located in the rural and remote Uiryeong, Gyeongsangnam-do. And just to the south-west, you’ll find Mt. Seonamsan (528 m). For a Korean Buddhist temple, Ilbungsa Temple is uniquely situated next to the Yugok-cheon River in front of a sheer rock cliff wall. In 727 A.D., the monk Hyecho returned to the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C. – 935 A.D.) from a Buddhist pilgrimage to both China and India. During his travels, Hyecho had a dream in which Jijang-bosal (The Bodhisattva of the Afterlife) appeared. Jijang-bosal appeared in the Buddhist monk’s dream, while smiling peacefully on a cliff surrounded by rocks of fantastic shapes and sizes. In…
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Seonjisa Temple – 선지사 (Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Seonjisa Temple is located in the western part of Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam-do to the south of Mt. Gyeongunsan (377.2 m). Seonjisa Temple was officially registered as a temple with the Korean government in 2007. The name of Seonjisa Temple is in reference to the local town, Seonji. It is also the name of a local pond called Seonji, as well. Before 2007, it’s believed by some that there had been a temple on the Seonjisa Temple grounds until it fell into disrepair and disappeared altogether. For nearly thirty years, this temple was nothing more than a tent that the head monk lived in. Two lay women, or “bosal” in…
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Seoamjeongsa Temple – 서암정사 (Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Seoamjeongsa Temple is located in Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do in the northern part of Jirisan National Park. Seoamjeongsa Temple was built over a thirty year period starting in 1989. The temple is most famous for the cave Geukrak-jeon Hall. The cave was built by the monk Woneung to appease the spirits of those that were killed during the Korean War (1950-1953). Purportedly, this part of Mt. Jirisan (1,915 m) has a horrible history of death and misery related to the Korean War. When the monk Woneung was travelling around this part of the mountain, he heard the cries of numerous dead spirits that had lost their lives during the Korean…
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Cheonggoksa Temple – 청곡사 (Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Cheonggoksa Temple is located in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do on the southern slopes of Mt. Wolasan (468.9 m). Cheonggoksa Temple was first built in 879 A.D. by the famed monk Doseon-guksa (826-898 A.D.). Doseon-guksa is perhaps best known for his geomancy methods, or “Pungsu-jiri” in Korean. And the location of Cheonggoksa Temple was chosen according to Pungsu-jiri. After watching a blue crane fly from the banks of the Nam River and land on the present temple location of Cheonggoksa Temple, Doseon-guksa knew that the location had divine energy because of the topography’s numerous auspicious signs. So Doseon-guksa decided to build a temple on the location where the blue crane had…
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Ssangmireuksa Temple – 쌍미륵사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Ssangmireuksa Temple is located at the base of Mt. Hyangrosan (726.7 m) in the very scenic Baenaegol Valley in northern Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. A beautiful flowing stream from Lake Miryang passes by the front of the temple. Ssangmireuksa Temple means “Twin Future Buddhas Temple” in English. Originally, the temple was known as Seongbulsa Temple. In 2019, the temple changed its name to Ssangmireuksa Temple. The probable reason for the name change is that the head monk at the temple probably changed, as well. The current head monk at Ssangmireuksa Temple was looking for the twin Mireuk-bul (Future Buddha) for thirty-seven years. He finally found the twin image of Mireuk…
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Cheontaesa Temple – 천태사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Temple History Cheontaesa Temple is located in western Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The name of the temple comes from the name of the mountain where the temple is located, which is Mt. Cheontaesan (630.9 m). More generally, both the temple and the mountain are named after the Cheontae-jong Order, which is based upon the Tiantai school of Buddhism. This school of Buddhism is also called “The Lotus School” for its focus on the Lotus Sutra teachings. Tiantai is the name taken from Tiantai Mountain, the mountain where Zhiyi (538-597 A.D.) the fourth patriarch lived. Unlike other earlier schools of Buddhism which had been transplanted forms of Indian Buddhism, Tiantai was entirely Chinese…
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Mitaam Hermitage – 미타암 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)
Hermitage History and Myths Mitaam Hermitage is located on the eastern slopes of Mt. Cheonseongsan (922 m) in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The hermitage is named after Amita-bul (The Buddha of the Western Paradise). Mitaam Hermitage was first established by the famed monk Wonhyo-daesa (617-686 A.D.). In addition to Mitaam Hermitage, Wonhyo-daesa built eighty-nine other temples and hermitages on Mt. Cheonseongsan (One Thousand Saints Mountain) which includes Hongryongsa Temple. The hermitage was later expanded in 921 A.D. by the monk Jijong. It was expanded again in 1238 A.D. by the monk Jungjin. Mitaam Hermitage, and more specifically, the 8th century stone standing statue of Amita-bul (The Buddha of the Western Paradise) and…