Gyedan of Baengnyeonsa Temple

This is an ordination platform (gyedan), where Buddhist precept ceremonies are held, set behind Baengnyeonsa Temple on Deogyusan Mountain. Built of the granite commonly found on this mountain, the platform was made by levelling and paving a broad area of ground on the ridge behind the temple, laying natural stones over it, and erecting a bell-shaped pagoda at its centre. Set on a low base stone, the pagoda has at its top a thick capstone carved with a beaded pattern, above which sits a finial in the shape of a flower bud. To the west of the pagoda are triangular grooves that appear to mark the four cardinal directions, and within them is set a base carved with a circular pattern. The date of construction is not certain, but it is presumed to have been made during the Unified Silla period, when the temple was at the height of its prosperity. In particular, it is said that anyone who circles the platform seven times or more while chanting 'Gwanseeum Bosal', the name of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, will have their wish granted, and for this reason a steady stream of visitors continues to come.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Muju, Jeonbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물