Seated Valley Cathedral Dongni Stone Buddha

This image had stood in the field beside Mr Yi Hui-geuk's house, in Area Ga of the Dangdong-ri temple site, and together with the seated stone Buddha of Area Na it was enshrined inside a small roofed shelter (usan-gak) built at the entrance to the village; after being stolen several times, it was moved in March 1986 to its present location, on the hillside to the right of the village. This stone Buddha has images carved on both shoulders and on the back, which appear to form what is called a four-sided buddha. A groove is cut into the back of the shoulder area, apparently where a separately made halo would once have been fitted. The face, hands and pedestal are considerably damaged. All of the buddha images are shown seated, and only the one on the rear face has a carved halo. Three distinct folds of the neck (samdo) are visible. The robe bares the right shoulder in the pyeondan-ugyeon style; both hands are damaged and in poor condition, but they appear to form the earth-touching gesture (hangma-chokjiin, the gesture calling the earth to witness the Buddha's enlightenment). The image measures 200 cm in height. The square pedestal now lacks its middle stone tier, though a photograph taken when Jeong Yeong-ho surveyed the site in 1966 shows the middle stone still in place.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gokseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산