Stupa of Buddhist Monk Jingong and Stone Casket from Heungbeopsa Temple Site, Wonju

This is a stupa enshrining the sarira, or relics, of the Buddhist monk Jingong, together with a stone casket placed beside it. It originally stood at the site of Heungbeopsa Temple in Wonju, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, but was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1931 and is now within the grounds of the National Museum of Korea. Jingong was a monk active at the end of Unified Silla and the beginning of Goryeo. He studied in Tang China and, on his return, became the teacher of King Sindeok of Silla, and he was held in especially high regard by King Taejo of Goryeo. The stupa has a basic octagonal form throughout, with lotus flowers carved on the lower and upper stones of the platform. On the surface of the drum-shaped middle stone of the platform, the body of a dragon entwined with grand clouds is carved with great vitality. The body stone of the pagoda is uniquely decorated with flower patterns at each of its eight corners, and door-shaped carvings fitted with locks are engraved on both the front and back faces. The roof stone resting above it shows three tiers of supports and doubled rafters on its underside. The gently sloping roof surface has thick lines carved along the eight corner ridges, each ending in a tall, raised flower ornament. In particular, the roof surface realistically renders tile-covered ridges, and even the flat and round eave-end tiles are carved in detail at the eaves, which together with the rafters beneath give a good sense of contemporary wooden architecture. At the top is a small, octagonal roof-shaped finial called a bogae. The stone casket, placed separately to the left of the stupa, held Buddhist scriptures and related relics, and is valuable for having survived complete, even its lid intact. Made up of a lid stone that appears cut horizontally across the top and a long, box-shaped body, the casket is almost entirely intact and displays a warm dignity. The date of production of the two objects is not known for certain, but based on records preserved in the Goryeosa, they are presumed to date to 940, the 23rd year of King Taejo of Goryeo.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물