Rock-carved Seated Buddha at Dongburam Hermitage Site of Seonunsa Temple, Gochang

This is a seated Buddha image carved in relief on a cliff beside the path leading up to Dosoram Hermitage of Seonunsa Temple. The area around the head is deeply hollowed out, and the relief grows gradually thicker as it descends from the head downward. The flat, squarish face is somewhat stiff, but the narrow eyes with upturned corners, the prominent nose, and the straight, raised lips give the whole face an unconventional smile. Although there are three faint creases at the neck, the upper body and the head are almost joined together, so that the head appears simply to have been set on top of the torso. The upper body is rectangular, with a broad, flat chest that gives the figure a form lacking in volume. The robe covers both shoulders, its folds rendered formally with lines, and beneath the flat chest a sash knot of the skirt is clearly carved running across. The two hands, placed side by side on the knees, are unusually large and coarse for the size of the body, giving a somewhat unrealistic effect; this is a style characteristic of Goryeo rock-carved Buddhas, similar to the seated rock-carved Buddha of Wolchulsan Mountain. The pedestal, formed in tiers and comparatively tall, has drapery folds hanging down over its upper tier, while its lower tier bears a downward-facing lotus design. This Buddha image receives considerable attention as one of the great rock-carved Buddhas of the early Goryeo period, and it has attracted still greater attention owing to the discovery, in a cavity in its chest, of secret records from the time of the Donghak Peasant Revolution.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gochang, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물