Guardian Deities Painting of Daewonsa Temple, Sancheong

This is a guardian deities painting (sinjungdo) kept at Daewonsa Temple, a Buddhist painting depicting deities rooted in India's indigenous folk beliefs. Sinjung are benevolent deities who protect the Buddhist Dharma, adopted into Buddhism during its process of indigenisation in Korea, and for this reason they were also painted separately as objects of worship. Sinjungdo paintings are usually hung to the left of the altar enshrining the main Buddha in a hall. Daewonsa Temple is said to have been founded in 548, the ninth year of King Jinheung of Silla, by the monk Yeongi, who named it Pyeongwonsa. It was later repaired on several occasions and renamed Daewonsa. It suffered fire damage during the Korean War and the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, and was rebuilt to its present form. Measuring 124 cm wide and 145 cm high, the painting depicts a host of deities including the vajra guardian deities who protect the true Dharma of the Buddha. It was painted in 1794, the eighteenth year of King Jeongjo of Joseon, and the facial expressions of the bodhisattvas and guardian deities well illustrate the characteristics of eighteenth-century Buddhist painting.

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Where it is

Region

Sancheong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산