Wooden Seated Sakyamuni Buddha Triad and Excavated Relics of Sudeoksa Temple, Yesan

These are the wooden triad of seated Buddhas enshrined in the Daeungjeon Hall of Sudeoksa Temple, a national treasure, together with relics found inside the statues, lotus-shaped pedestals, and a Sumidan altar representing Mount Sumeru. The triad is said to have been brought by Seon Master Mangong, who revived Sudeoksa Temple, from Gwijeongsa Temple on Mt. Manhaeng in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Sakyamuni Buddha sits at the centre, with the Medicine Buddha to the right and Amitabha Buddha to the left. As the principal image, Sakyamuni appears to look slightly downward, with broad shoulders and wide knees that give it a stable, dignified presence. The usnisa on the head is not clearly delineated, but finials are shown at its centre and crown, and the square, angular face carries a smile that is at once solemn and gentle. The ears are long, reaching down to the shoulders, and the slender neck clearly shows the three folds known as samdo. The robe is worn in the tongyeon style, covering both shoulders while leaving the right arm exposed, a stylistic feature typical of seventeenth-century Buddhist statues. The hands form the bhumisparsa mudra, with the left hand resting on the knee and the right hand lowered below it. The Medicine Buddha and Amitabha likewise share the same stylistic features as the principal image in the shape of the head, the form of the face and the rendering of the ears, eyes, mouth and nose, and in the realistic depiction of the hands and drapery folds. The only differences are that the Medicine Buddha holds its left hand up and its right hand down, touching thumb to middle finger, with a medicine bowl resting in its right palm, while Amitabha has the position of the hands reversed and shows no medicine bowl. A record of production found inside the statues shows that they were made in 1639, the seventeenth year of King Injo of Joseon, with the participation of seven artisans including the monk Suyeon. The pedestal-form Sumidan altar on which Sakyamuni sits shares the same decorative technique as the Buddhist altar table of the Daeungjeon Hall of Simwonsa Temple from the Goryeo period; the carved arch-shaped panels depicting vajras, flower vases, peonies and cloud waves show characteristic features of Goryeo-period altar tables. Unlike an ordinary flanking table, the base of this altar corresponds to the original floor level about 30 cm below the surface of the Daeungjeon Hall floor, and hexagonal base stones support the table from that level upward; this suggests that it dates from the same time as the construction of the Daeungjeon Hall, in 1308. The altar is also unique in combining hexagonal and rectangular forms within a single pedestal-type Sumidan, making it a valuable resource for the history of craftsmanship. The relics found inside the statues include printed texts, a huryeongtong (a ritual container of consecrated items), five-coloured threads, and garments. The printed texts consist mainly of woodblock editions printed in the early seventeenth century, including a votive text, sutras such as the Lotus Sutra, the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and the Avalokitesvara Sutra, together with mantras and dharani. Inside the huryeongtong were square pieces of cloth in five colours symbolising the five directions, each containing fabric shapes representing a circle, a vajra, and banners with three and six points. The five-coloured threads — blue, white, red, purple and yellow — symbolise east, west, south, north and the centre. The garments follow the form of the po, an outer robe that developed into the durumagi overcoat in the mid-Joseon period, and since the colours of all the fabrics are perfectly preserved, they are regarded as valuable material for research into mid-Joseon textile history and dyeing techniques.

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Where it is

Region

Yesan, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물