TEMPLE DAEHEUNGSA (OR DAEDUNSA)

This temple was founded in 488 by the monk Teenager, making it one of the oldest in the country. It has become a large Zen meditation centre (seon) of the Jogye sect. It is said to be one of the few temples in the country that has never been destroyed by the Japanese. However, most of the buildings date from 17th and 19th century reconstructions. On the way there, you can admire a beautiful garden of sari budo, reliquaries containing the remains of famous masters. They are bell-shaped or rather olive-shaped, and old turtles bearing stelae are erected in memory of the saints. One of the Budo saris contains the relics of Seosan (1520-1604), a famous 16th century monk who fought against the Japanese with his troops of soldier-monks.

The main Daeungbojeon hall is located on the other side of the stream, in a courtyard. We pass through a door where the drums and bells of the temple are kept. The hall was rebuilt in 1667. The calligraphy that bears his name was made by the master calligrapher Yi Gwang-sa (1705-77). It contains beautiful smiling wooden Buddhas, beautiful wall paintings, and a finely crafted altar covered with a canopy from which hang strange wooden birds straddling divinities. Outside under the roof, we can see the dragons that extend inside.

Facing the very ugly parking lot that was built to accommodate tourist buses, Cheonbuljeon Hall houses 1,000 Buddhas reminding us that we all have Buddha's nature within us. They date from 1813, the date of the reconstruction of this hall, and they are all made of white jade except for 3 which are made of wood. The hall is surrounded by 10 painted panels representing the allegory of the ox. These paintings symbolize the different stages of the path to enlightenment.

Next to it is Yonghwadang, a two-storey meditation hall with an original architecture. It also dates from 1813; you can't go in. You can see it from Cheonbuljeon or take a look from the outside door. Pyochungsa is a high hall in Seosan and to his followers who followed him in his struggle against the Japanese. It was raised in 1788. A modern museum is under construction to house the temple's treasures, including a bell from Goryeo (1173 or 1233) that was moved from Tapsansa to this temple by the Japanese. Almost opposite starts a path to Duryunsan Mountain, and the Bukmireuk-am hermitage which houses a stone bas-relief of the Buddha as well as a stupa of Silla.