Stupa of Ssanggyesa Temple, Hadong

Ssanggyesa Temple was founded in 723, the twenty-third year of King Seongdeok, by Sambeop, a disciple of Uisang. Before returning from Tang China, Sambeop had a dream in which he was told to bring the relic of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, and enshrine it at a place where flowers bloomed above a snow-covered valley on Samsinsan, the Three Sacred Mountains. After returning home he searched everywhere for such a place, but could not find it until he reached Jirisan Mountain. There a tiger appeared and led the way to the spot where the main hall (geumdang) of present-day Ssanggyesa Temple now stands. Realising that this was the place revealed in his dream, he built a temple called Okcheonsa Temple, which was later renamed Ssanggyesa Temple during the reign of King Jeonggang. It burned down in the Japanese invasion of 1592, and was rebuilt in its present form in 1632, the tenth year of King Injo, by the monk Byeogam. This stupa, standing on the ridge of Pagoda Peak north of Ssanggyesa Temple, is the funerary stupa of State Preceptor Jingam. It is centred on the body stone (tapsin) that houses the sarira relics, with a platform (gidan) as its base below and a finial above. The platform consists of an octagonal middle stone set on a lower stone carved with an inverted lotus pattern, topped in turn by an upper stone carved with an upright lotus pattern, the two arranged symmetrically. A thick supporting stone, carved all over with cloud patterns, is inserted above the platform and catches the eye. The body stone itself is a plain octagon. The roof is broad, its underside fitted with supports resembling rafters. The eaves curve upward at the ends, and delicate flower carvings rise charmingly at each of the eight corners. The finial includes a bogae, a canopy-shaped ornament, above which an oval stone rises on a short pillar. Every part of the stupa is worked in an octagonal form; the proportions between its parts are not entirely well matched, and the carving shows signs of simplification and formalisation. Together with its memorial stele, it is thought to date from the late ninth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hadong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물