Yeoju Silleuksa Temple Octagonal Wondanghyeong Stone Stupa

Yeoju Silleuksa Temple is a temple on the banks of the Namhangang River that was extensively rebuilt after the death of the monk Naong in the late Goryeo period. In the early Joseon period it was designated as the wonchal, a temple built to pray for the repose of a royal tomb, of King Sejong's Yeongneung Royal Tomb, and repairs and new construction were carried out; further renovations continued afterwards, and the temple has kept its Buddhist teaching alive down to the present. The Octagonal Wondanghyeong (round-hall-shaped) Stone Stupa stands beneath a low ridge to the west of Silleuksa Temple. It is said to have originally stood beyond the hill north of Josadang Shrine, and was moved to its present location in November 1966; at the time of the move, sarira reliquaries were discovered and recovered from the upper surface of the upper base stone and the lower surface of the body stone. The stupa has a square base stone carved with a lotus design, on which a low middle stone is placed. The upper base stone is decorated with thick, large lotus petals, and a separate octagonal groove was cut into its upper surface so that the body stone placed on top would be firmly fixed. The octagonal body stone bears a padlock motif on two faces, and on four faces are carved Sanskrit letters symbolising the Four Heavenly Kings, a feature rarely seen on stupas. The roof stone (a stone laid like a roof over a pagoda or stone lantern) has a gently sloping drip surface, and antefix-like corner ornaments project prominently from the ends of the thick roof ridges. The finial is simply composed of a round inverted-bowl stone and a jewel-shaped finial stone. Judging from its overall form and style and from the reliquary recovered from it, the stupa is presumed to belong to a monk who resided at, and passed away at, Silleuksa Temple in the early Joseon period.

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Where it is

Region

Yeoju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산