Stupa of State Preceptor Bogak at Cheongnyongsa Temple Site, Chungju

A stupa at Cheongnyongsa, halfway up Cheonggyesan, holding the relics of the State Preceptor Bogak. Bogak (1320–1392), a monk of late Goryeo, became a monk at twelve at his mother's urging and won great renown for his wide study of the scriptures. He kept the precepts strictly and guarded the Way with care, and was skilled in prose and calligraphy. When he died in 1392, the first year of King Taejo of Joseon, at the age of seventy-three, the king gave him the posthumous title Bogak, named the stupa Jeonghye Wollyung, and had it raised. The whole stupa is octagonal: lower, middle and upper support stones on a ground stone form the base, and a body stone and roof stone above complete the body. The base is octagonal with rounded corners; the lower stone is carved with inverted lotus and the upper with upturned lotus. The middle stone alternates lions and dragons wreathed in cloud. Each face of the body stone is finely carved with a guardian deity holding a weapon, and the pillars between are carved dynamically with serpent-dragons rising upward. The roof stone lifts high at its eight corners, as though the beautiful roof curve of a timber building had come to life. Completed in 1394, the third year of King Taejo, it is one of the few stupas built on an octagonal plan at a time when the bell shape predominated, and a precious example of early Joseon sculpture. The carving that fills it and its swelling outline together make it rich. The pillars of the body, the curve of the roof and the dragon heads at the roof corners reflect timber architecture and invite comparison with the buildings of the day.

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Where it is

Region

Chungju, Chungbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보