Standing Mungyeong Bongjeong-ri Bhaisajyaguru Buddha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

This is a Buddha image standing together with a three-storey stone pagoda at the site of Bongseosa Temple in Sanyang-myeon, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The two images are located halfway up the mountain: the seated Bhaisajyaguru (the Medicine Buddha) is carved on one face of a large rock, while the standing Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is carved on a small rock about 10m below to the south-east. The standing Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva originally stood close beside the seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha as its attendant bodhisattva, but it is said to have come to be located in its present position after two attempted thefts failed. The seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha sits on a lotus-patterned pedestal, holding a medicine jar in its left hand, and wears robes covering both shoulders. The standing Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva wears an ornate crown on its head, with the left hand raised to the chest and the right hand lowered. It is carved larger than the principal image, the seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, and there are bullet marks on the upper left part of its halo. It is presumed that another attendant bodhisattva once stood to the right of the seated Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, but its whereabouts are unknown. Believed to have been made during the Unified Silla period, these images retain their original form well and are notable works in terms of shape, pattern and other aspects.

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Where it is

Region

Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산