Hanging Painting of Chiljangsa Temple (Five Buddhas)

A gwaebul is a huge Buddhist painting hung in the courtyard before the main hall for worship when a temple holds a great Dharma assembly or ritual. The Chiljangsa gwaebul is 659.5 cm long and 398.3 cm wide, divided by clouds into upper, middle and lower tiers. The upper tier shows the three bodies of the Buddha, with Vairocana at the centre flanked by Rocana and Shakyamuni; the middle tier shows the Buddhas of the three ages — Bhaisajyaguru and Amitabha together with Shakyamuni above; and the lowest tier shows seated Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha, representing the Tusita heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. This three-tier arrangement, the painting's chief feature, leads worshippers to realise the truth through the worlds of the three bodies and the three ages, and shows that through the salvation of Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha they may reach the Tusita heaven. The colouring is mainly green, contrasted with yellow and ochre, which makes it somewhat dark, but the red of the robes gives it a lightness. It was painted in 1628, the sixth year of King Injo, by Beophyeong. Its graceful, refined figures, well-knit composition and fine brushwork represent the best of its time, and it holds an important place in the study of Buddhist painting of the first half of the seventeenth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Anseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

National Treasure · 국보