Seated Simgwangsa Temple Wooden Shakyamuni Buddha

This is a wooden seated statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, enshrined as the main object of worship at Simgwangsa Temple. At about 120 cm in seated height, it is quite large for a seated statue. The figure sits with its back straight, head tilted slightly forward and gaze lowered, as if looking down, and its square yet rounded face bears a smile. The head has dense snail-shell curls with a large, round ushnisha (cranial protuberance), decorated with a semicircular mid-topknot jewel and a topmost topknot jewel. The ears are of moderate size with thick lobes, and the neck clearly shows three folds. With a stable posture and well-proportioned body, the robe is worn in the ugyeonpyeondan style, baring the right shoulder, with a fold of the outer robe draped over that shoulder; the hem of the outer robe falling below the right arm forms a soft U-shaped curve near the abdomen. Beneath the outer robe an inner robe (gunui) is worn, its upper edge shaped like a lotus flower. As for the hand gestures, the right hand rests on the knee in the full lotus position, forming the bhumisparsha mudra (the "earth-touching gesture" symbolising the subjugation of Mara), while the left hand rests on the left knee with the thumb and middle finger joined. Among the sacred objects found inside the statue was said to be a record of its making dated 1637, but this no longer survives, and only a woodblock-printed dharani text has been found. The style of the statue and the paper of the woodblock-printed dharani both show characteristics of the early 17th century.

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Where it is

Region

Dong-gu, Daejeon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산