• Gyeongsangnam-do

    Bokcheonjeongsa Temple – 복천정사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Temple History It’s not often that you find an abandoned Korean Buddhist temple. When you do, it’s a haunting reminder of the passage of time and that time waits for no one and nothing. In my time in Korea, and during my travels to some five hundred temples, I think I’ve only ever encountered three abandoned Korean Buddhist temples. Bokcheonjeongsa Temple in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do is located high up on Mt. Togoksan (855 m) about two hundred metres below the peak. Bokcheonjeongsa Temple formerly belonged to the Cheontae-jong Order. And the temple appears to have been abandoned some time around 2014, probably with the passing of the head monk at Bokcheonjeongsa…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    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…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    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…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    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…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    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…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    Sinheungsa Temple – 신흥사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Temple History and Myth Sinheungsa Temple in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, which shouldn’t be confused with the more famous temple of the same name in Sokcho, Gangwon-do, means “New Enjoyment Temple” in English. Sinheungsa Temple is located on the foot of Mt. Yeongchuksan (1081 m) on the western side of the mountain. If this mountain sounds familiar, it should, as it houses Tongdosa Temple on the eastern side of Mt. Yeongchuksan. There are some that claim that Sinheungsa Temple was first established in 301 A.D. during the Gaya Confederacy (42-532 A.D.). And while it’s plausible, it’s highly unlikely with the introduction of Buddhism entering into the neighbouring kingdoms of the Baekje Kingdom…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    Hongryongsa Temple – 홍룡사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Temple History Hongryongsa Temple, which means “Rainbow Dragon Temple” in English, is located on Mt. Cheonseongsan (920.1 m) in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The name of the temple comes from the waterfall, Hongryong-pokpo Waterfall, which is at the centre of the temple and stands fourteen metres in height. According to legend, there was a dragon that once lived inside this waterfall. Afterwards, it rode off on a rainbow up into the sky and disappeared. The temple was first built during the reign of King Munmu of Silla (r.661-681 A.D.) by the famed monk Wonhyo-daesa (617-686 A.D.). Wonhyo-daesa first built this temple to teach the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, or “Hwaeom-gyeong – 화엄경” in Korean,…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do

    Tongdosa Temple – 통도사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Temple History Tongdosa Temple, which is located in northern Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, is the largest temple in all of Korea with twenty hermitages spread throughout its vast grounds. Tongdosa Temple means “Passing Through to Enlightenment Temple,” in English. Tongdosa Temple was first founded in 646 A.D. by the famed monk Jajang-yulsa (590-658 A.D.). According to the “Tongdosa-sarigasa-sajeok-yannok,” the temple site was originally a large pond, but it was covered over by landfill so as to allow for Tongdosa Temple to be built. Also, according to the “Tongdosa-yakji,” the name of Mt. Yeongchuksan, which is where Tongdosa Temple is located, the mountain was named after the mountain in India where the Buddha…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do,  Video

    Video: Cheonbulsa Temple – 천불사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Hello Again Everyone!! Cheonbulsa Temple, which is located in eastern Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, means “Heaven Buddha Temple,” in English. The temple was first built in 1974. Cheonbulsa Temple is home to one of the most amazing Gwaneum-jeon’s (The Bodhisattva of Compassion Hall) in all of Korea. As you walk up to the subterranean entrance that leads into the mountainside, you’ll pass by 33 statues of the 33 various incarnations of Gwanseeum-bosal. In addition to this shrine hall, there are numerous other shrine halls to be enjoyed at Cheonbulsa Temple like the Yongwang-dang, the main hall, the Yaksa-jeon, and the Samseong-gak shaman shrine hall. While a bit out of the way, Cheonbulsa…

  • Gyeongsangnam-do,  Video

    Video: Ssangmireuksa Temple – 쌍미륵사 (Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do)

    Hello Again Everyone!! Formerly known as Seongbulsa Temple, Ssangmireuksa Temple, which means “Twin Future Buddha Temple,” in English, underwent a complete make-over in 2018. The once unassuming temple in the beautiful Baenaegol Valley is now boldly painted in gold from entrance to exit and everything in between. First greeted by the life-sized statues of the twelve zodiac generals, there are a handful of shrine halls spread throughout the temple grounds both in obvious and in the not so obvious cracks and crevices of where the temple takes up residence. So follow me as I guide you through this little known temple that sits in the valley next to a meandering…