Budoam Hermitage Stupa

Budoam Hermitage stands beside the path that climbs from Donghwasa Temple to the summit of Palgongsan Mountain, and this stupa (a budo, a monument housing a cremated monk's remains) is set on the mountainside some distance east of the hermitage. A budo symbolises a monk's grave, a place where the bones or sarira (relics) recovered after cremation are enshrined. This relatively small stupa is now in a collapsed state. It originally comprised a three-tiered pedestal, a body stone and a roof stone, each part based on an octagonal plan. The pedestal is carved from a single stone: lotus flowers are carved on its circular top and bottom, while around the octagonal middle section a pillar with gentle entasis (swelling) is carved at each corner. The body stone likewise has eight corners shaped like the shallow entasis pillars seen on the pedestal. The roof stone clearly shows the eight ridge lines of its upper surface, and at the tip of each line a floral carving with a vine pattern projects outward. Octagonal stupas of this kind were in fashion from the Unified Silla period onward, but this particular example appears to have been erected in the Joseon period, after the Imjin War (the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598). Although its finial has been lost and it now lies collapsed, each of its parts otherwise retains its original form well.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dong-gu, Daegu

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료