Standing Mungyeong Avalokitesvara Ri Stone Buddha

This is a massive stone statue of the Medicine Buddha, 3.33 metres tall, standing at a site traditionally said to have been the former location of Gwaneumsa Temple, in Mungyeong-eup, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. According to legend, a man surnamed Park once lived in Mireung-ri, Sangmo-myeon, Jungwon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, together with his wife, son and daughter. When Park fell seriously ill, his son went to Mungyeong-eup to buy medicine but did not come home even after a long wait. His wife went out to meet him but likewise failed to return, and then his daughter went out to meet her mother and also did not come back. After his wife, son and daughter had all died, the Buddha, taking pity on Park, appeared to him in a dream and cured his illness. Afterwards, Park erected a statue of Maitreya at Munmak, where his wife had died, and prayed for the rest of his life for the repose of his dead wife and children. During the Goryeo period, the statue's head became separated from its body because of an invasion by the Mongols, and it is said that villagers rejoined them. Parts of the statue retain a vigorous, imposing quality, but the stone has worn away considerably and the figure is badly damaged, so that its form is no longer entirely clear.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료