Hanging Painting of Janggoksa Temple (Maitreya Buddha)

A gwaebul of Maitreya holding a branch of the dragon-flower tree. 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. This one at Janggoksa is 897.6 by 585.7 cm overall, the painted area 805.5 by 556 cm, with Maitreya at the centre and the picture filled with six great Buddhas, six great bodhisattvas and many other figures. Maitreya, the Buddha who will come down to the human world to save beings, has a square face and wears a lavish crown with four small Buddhas; plump and full-bodied, he has unusually long arms and a large upper body. Vairocana and Rocana on either side have round halos, one with hands clasped together and the other with both hands raised to the shoulders in preaching. The other Buddhas and bodhisattvas hold their emblems, and the ten disciples stand with palms joined, varied in direction and expression. At the bottom are the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the Buddha and their retinues. The colouring is mainly red, with mid-tones of green, light green and orange giving a bright picture. It was painted in 1673, the fourteenth year of King Hyeonjong, by five monk painters led by Cheolhak, to pray for the long life of the king, queen and crown prince. Though Maitreya, the future Buddha, is the principal figure, the content resembles the Vulture Peak Assembly with Shakyamuni, the present Buddha, preaching; its figures and composition are distinctive and differ in places from the scriptures, so it has much to reward further study.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongyang, Chungnam

Designation

National Treasure · 국보