Stupa of Master Doui at Jinjeonsa Temple Site, Yangyang

Standing on a small hill within the site of Jinjeonsa Temple, with a distant view of the East Sea (Donghae), this stupa is presumed to be the memorial stupa of Master Doui, who founded Jinjeonsa Temple. Doui studied in Tang China from 784, the fifth year of King Seondeok, and returned to Korea in 821, the 13th year of King Heondeok, hoping to spread Seon (meditative) Buddhism. However, since only doctrinal Buddhism was valued at the time, he was unable to gain recognition, and instead entered this temple, where he practised until his death. Unlike ordinary stupas, this one has an octagonal body while its lower section has a two-tiered square platform of the kind normally seen in stone pagodas, which arouses the curiosity of viewers. The two-tiered platform has pillar shapes carved at the corners and centre of each face, and above it lies an octagonal stone to support the body, its sides carved with a surrounding lotus design. The body, shaped like an octagonal tiled-roof house, has a door-panel carving on only one face of the body stone and no other decoration. The underside of the roof stone is almost horizontal, and the rain-drip surface slopes gently down before curving softly upward at the end. The structure of the platform, which looks as if one were looking at a stone pagoda, is not found anywhere else. As the memorial stupa of Master Doui, it is regarded as the starting point of Korean stone stupas, and it is thought to have been erected around the middle of the 9th century. Overall, one senses a neatness arising from the solid and meticulous stone-dressing, and the carvings, restrained in decoration and simply rendered, are clear and unaffected.

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Where it is

Region

Yangyang, Gangwon

Designation

Treasure · 보물