Stone Seated Amitabha Buddha in Jingwan-dong

This is a seated stone statue of Amitabha Buddha from the late Silla–early Goryeo transition period, set on a stone member in front of the standing stone bodhisattva of Jingwan-dong. The statue forms the Amitabha mudra, a hand gesture that only Amitabha Buddha can make, which identifies it as an image of Amitabha. The Amitabha mudra is an esoteric Buddhist iconographic form found in the ritual manuals of the Vajrasekhara Sutra tradition; it was introduced in the late Silla period, appeared briefly during the transition from Silla to Goryeo, and reappeared in the late Goryeo period. Only a very small number of surviving examples are known, such as the stone seated Amitabha Buddha of Birosa Temple in Punggi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and the stone seated Amitabha Buddha of Bunhwangsa Temple in Gyeongju. The legs are in the full lotus position, and the robe covering them is carved with evenly spaced, diagonally slanting folds. Although the overall condition of the Stone Seated Amitabha Buddha in Jingwan-dong is poor, with the upper body damaged, it holds great art-historical and conservation value: statues forming the Amitabha mudra are extremely rare in Korea, and this is the only such statue found to date in the Seoul–Gyeonggi region, as well as being the northernmost of all known Amitabha-mudra statues.

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Where it is

Region

Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료