Two Rock-carved Standing Buddhas in Yongmi-ri, Paju

Two Buddha statues are boldly carved into a huge natural rock face, each topped with a stone hat that gives them a rustic, folk atmosphere. Because the natural rock was used as it was, the body proportions do not match, giving an impression of great, looming size. In this respect they are localised Buddha images in which secular character is more evident than Buddha-nature. The Buddha on the left, wearing a round hat, has a cylindrical neck, and both hands hold a lotus flower in front of the chest. The Buddha on the right, wearing a square hat, differs only in the shape of the hands, which are joined in prayer, the rest of the bodily carving matching the figure on the left. According to local oral tradition, the round-hatted Buddha represents a male figure and the square-hatted Buddha a female figure. King Seonjong of Goryeo had no children, and even after taking Royal Consort Wonsin he still had no prince. Deeply troubled by this, the consort one day had a dream in which two virtuous monks appeared and said, 'We live in a crevice in the rock on the southern foot of Jangjisan Mountain. We are very hungry, so give us something to eat,' and then vanished. Waking from the dream, the consort found it so strange that she reported it to the king, who at once sent someone to Jangjisan Mountain to investigate; the report came back that two large rocks stood side by side at the foot of the mountain. The king immediately had the two monks carved onto these rocks, built a temple and offered prayers there, and that same year a prince, Hansanhu, was born. As Goryeo-period carvings these statues are not of outstanding quality, but given features such as this birth legend, they are highly valued as an important example for studying the localised Buddha-image style of the Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Paju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물