Daeheungsa Temple, Haenam

Daeheungsa Temple was built before the Goryeo period. After the Imjin War, the robe and bowl of Master Seosan, symbols of the transmission of the Dharma, were passed down here, and in the 17th and 18th centuries the temple served as the head temple of the Seosan order and as a great centre of practice for both the Seon and Gyo schools of Buddhism. Within its grounds is the National Treasure rock-carved seated Buddha at Bungmireugam Hermitage, Daeheungsa Temple, Haenam, along with twelve state-designated and nine provincial-designated items of cultural heritage, and the stupas and steles of thirteen Grand Masters (daejongsa) and thirteen Grand Lecturers (daegangsa), making it a historically and academically important site. The temple also shows how Korea's diverse Buddhist beliefs were absorbed within the grounds of a mountain monastery, a fact well preserved in its historic structures, halls, relics and documents. The intangible and historical aspects of Korean Buddhism can be traced in its continuing traditions, including the temple's self-sufficient management, the education of monks, and the coexistence of spiritual practice and doctrinal study that characterises Korean Seon Buddhism. Despite the damage caused by suppression and warfare during the Joseon period, the temple has been recognised as a sacred place that remains to this day a living centre of faith and everyday religious practice, and in 2018 it was inscribed on the World Heritage list together with Tongdosa Temple, Buseoksa Temple, Bongjeongsa Temple, Beopjusa Temple, Magoksa Temple and Seonamsa Temple, under the title 'Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea.'

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Haenam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Historic Site · 사적