Ordination Platform of Yongyeonsa Temple, Dalseong

A gyedan (ordination platform) is a ceremonial site where the precepts monks must observe are conferred; various rites, including monks' ordination ceremonies, are held there. Set in a quiet spot within Yongyeonsa Temple, this platform enshrines a sari (relic) of Sakyamuni Buddha. During the Japanese invasion of 1592, the Buddha's sari kept at Tongdosa Temple was moved to Myohyangsan Mountain to escape the fighting; when Cheongjin, a disciple of Master Samyeong, later carried it back to Tongdosa, the monks of Yongyeonsa are said to have obtained a portion of it and enshrined it here. Set within an area enclosed by stone balustrades, the platform consists of a bell-shaped stupa body raised on a broad two-tiered stone base. On each corner of the lower tier stand carved images of the Four Heavenly Kings, one to a side, while the upper tier bears relief carvings of the Eight Legions (guardian deities of Buddhist belief) on all four faces; though not executed with exceptional skill, the carving is delicate and well balanced, adding beauty to an otherwise plain structure. The stupa body, in a style popular during the Joseon period, is left largely unadorned except for a large boju (a finial shaped like a lotus bud) carved at its top. A stele to Sakyamuni Buddha erected within the temple records that the Buddha's sari was enshrined and this platform built; from this record it is known that the platform was completed in 1613, the fifth year of King Gwanghaegun. Overall the structure is delicate and the carving technique sharp, and as a work of the early seventeenth century in particular, it provides valuable material for the study of the stone architecture and sculpture of that period.

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Where it is

Region

Dalseong, Daegu

Designation

Treasure · 보물