Daeungbojeon Hall Seated Wooden Buddhas of the Three Ages of Yongjusa Temple, Hwaseong

Samsebul, the Buddhas of the Three Ages, refers to the Buddhas of the past, present and future, and can also stand for the present world together with the eastern and western worlds. In Joseon-period temples the usual arrangement placed Sakyamuni Buddha at the centre, with the Medicine Buddha to his left and Amitabha Buddha to his right. The wooden Buddhas of the Three Ages in the Daeungbojeon Hall of Yongjusa Temple follow this arrangement. According to records they were made and enshrined over a month and a half in 1790. The central Sakyamuni Buddha lowers his right hand below his crossed knee in the earth-touching gesture, symbolising the subjugation of demons; to his right, Amitabha Buddha joins thumb and middle finger in the Amitabha mudra; and to Sakyamuni's left, the Medicine Buddha reverses the gesture and holds a medicine jar in his right hand. The three statues were not made by a single sculptor but produced jointly by three monk-sculptors invited from Jeolla-do and Gangwon-do. Although they differ slightly in detail, overall they look almost identical, as though one figure had simply been repeated. The slightly forward-leaning, stooped posture, the impersonal, solemn expression, the square face and body shape, and the simplified, excessively thick and broad folds of the robes are all features commonly found in late-Joseon Buddhist sculpture. The indistinct outline of the ushnisha - the raised knot on the crown of the head, derived from the way ancient Indians bound up their hair, symbolising the Buddha's great and lofty wisdom - together with the clearly defined cylindrical and half-moon-shaped topknot jewel at the crown and centre of the forehead, are likewise typical of late-Joseon Buddhist statues.

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Where it is

Region

Hwaseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산