| Bulguksa
Temple (6th-9th centuries AD)
other
sites in Gyeongju |
Gyeongju, Korea |
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Never intended as a major temple, Bulguksa has become famous as one of the few surviving examples of Silla architecture. According to legend it was founded in 535 as Hwaeombeomnyusa temple. King Pob-hung built it for his queen, who prayed here for the welfare of the kingdom. Although most of Bulguksa is a reconstruction, the foundation stones and the pagodas are original.
According to the 'Samguk Yusa' (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) the original Bulguksa was designed by the legendary architect Kim Daeseong, who overcame extreme poverty and ugliness to become a great believer in Buddhism. Dubbed "Big Wall" because of his flat forehead, the young Kim took refuge in Buddhism and earned enough merit to be reincarnated as the King's Prime Minister, Kim Munryang.
Kim Daeseong's life is shrouded in supernatural legend. At birth he was found clutching a seal inscribed with the characters 'Kim Daeseong', his name in his past life. Like his predecessor, the young Kim grew up faithful to Buddhism and as Prime Minister gave it official support. He personally designed Bulguksa as a memorial to his parents.
In its time Bulguksa was dwarfed by major temples such as Hwangnyongsa, Bunhwangsa, and other important temples on the Korean peninsula. Bulguksa's smaller size did not detract from its artistry, which remained on par with the great Silla temples. In all likelihood the temple was probably not dedicated to Kim Daeseong's parents. The temple's name literally translates as "Buddha land temple" and a number of Silla kings styled themselves as rulers of a Buddha land.
The temple was sacked in the 1592 Hideyoshi Toyotomi invasions and all of the wooden buildings burned to the ground. It was partially reconstructed during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) but was fully restored during the later years of president Park Chung-hee's regime (1961-1979).
The Entry Buildings
An old path up the hillside leads the visitor to a broad stairway (image 5) known as the Sokgyemun--the traditional entrance to the grounds. The first stairway is thirty-three steps high and ends at Jahamun (Mauve Mist Gate). The lower portion is called Cheongungyo (Blue Cloud Bridge) and the upper is Baegungyo (White Cloud Bridge). An interesting detail is the continuous slab of granite dividing each stairway in half. Both stairways have been reconstructed with the original stones.
Another stone staircase leads to Anyangmun (Pure Land Gate) pavilion. The lower portion of that staircase is called the Yeonhwagyo (Lotus Flower Bridge) and the upper portion is Chilbogyo (Seven Treasure Bridge).
Apart from the staircases, the main facade is a continuous wall of granite nearly one-hundred meters long, topped with four pavilions and connecting corridors.
The Beomyeongnu (Pavilion of Mount Meru) pavilion sits between the Jahamun and Anyangmun entry pavilions. It serves as a Bell pavilion and contains a large drum set on the back of a turtle. When standing beneath the retaining wall it is an impressive display--like a leaping tiger--splendidly balanced with a complicated set of dougong (roof brackets).
Beomyeongnu connects to the Anyangmun and Jahamun pavilions with a walkway called the Haengnang, which is open to the central courtyard but walled on the outside to prevent visitors from falling off the retaining wall.
The Dabotap (Many Treasure Pagoda) and Seokgatap (Sakyamuni Pagoda)
Designed by the master craftsman Asadal, the complexity of the Dabotap is balanced by the simplicity of the Seokgatap. They are often described as architectural manifestations of the Buddha's simultaneous contemplation and detachment from the world.
Asadal himself is a legendary figure, with many mysteries surrounding his origin. His ethnicity is not well known, with some believing he came from Baekje or even Tang China. Regardless, his dedication to the pagoda project absorbed him so completely that he neglected his wife, whose fate is told in a sad legend:
When Asadal was called away to work on Bulguksa he left his young, beautiful wife home in Baekje. The project was so complex that it took him a long time to complete Dabotap, the first pagoda. He and his exhausted stonemasons began Seokgatap behind schedule. While working, he was suddenly seized by a vision of his young wife standing beside a shallow pond, gazing forlornly at Bulguksa in hope of his return.
Unknown to Asadal, the vision was true. His faithful wife Asanyeo had made the arduous journey from home and was waiting for him at the gates of Bulguksa. In that era Buddhist temples were off-limits to women, so the gatekeeper refused her entry. Asanyeo begged and was so persuasive that the gatekeeper told her that, perhaps, she could see her husband, but only from afar. He told her that if she went to a place called Shadow Pond a few kilometers away, she could see the reflection in the water of her husband at work on Dabotap.
The gatekeeper's suggestion was better than nothing, so she made the journey. 
When
she got to the pond there was indeed a reflection of the Dabotap visible
in the shimmering water. Unfortunately, there was no sign of her
husband and no one visible in the temple. Unbeknownst to both the gate-keeper
and Asanyeo, Asadal had just finished the Dabotap and was now at work
on the Seokgatap. Thinking her husband had left forever, Asanyeo flung
herself in the pond and cried "Asadal!" one last time.
At the instant of her cry Asadal was seized with a vision of his wife flinging herself into the water, and ran to the pond to find her. But when he got there, there was nothing but the still water. Grief stricken, he languished for weeks at the edge of the pond while his masons completed the Seokgatap. One day, he thought he saw his wife running through the trees at the lakeside. Desperate for hope, he ran and searched but discovered nothing except a strange rock that resembled a person. As he watched, the rock seemed to change into the rough form of the merciful Buddha. Here Asadal remained and chiseled the rock into a memorial to the spirit of his wife. Later a temple was built to enshrine the image.
The truth of the story is not known, but the rock carved by Asadal can still be seen near the pond. Even today, villagers call Dabotap the "shadow pagoda" and Seokgatap the "no-shadow" pagoda in memory of Asadal's loss.
Architecture of Dabotap and Seokgatap
Seokgatap is a native Korean pagoda with clean proportions and minimal detailing. It is similar in style to most pagodas in the Gyeongju area, though superior in craftsmanship. Intact after thirteen centuries, it stands twenty-seven feet high, ringed by eight stones shaped like lotus flowers, perhaps symbolizing the eight lotus flowers that fell from heaven as prophesied in the Lotus Sutra.
During the reconstruction work some items were discovered within, including a sutra, a sari box, silver sutra plates, and the oldest wooden printing blocks in the world, a copy of the Dharani sutra printed after 704 AD.
Dabotap
is a far more complex design, a unique creation, dedicated to the Many Treasures
Buddha mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. In this chapter, a funeral tower
emerges out of the ground as the historical Buddha gives a sermon. Greatly
astonished, the onlookers inquire as to the meaning of the funerary tower.
The Buddha says that many eons ago another Buddha named Many Treasures prophesied
that wherever the Lotus Sutra should be preached, a funerary tower would emerge
as witness to the Law.
The complexity of the pagoda is representative of the complexity of the universe. The open-air chamber within the pagoda probably once contained an image of the Buddha (in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha sits inside the tower next to Many Treasures Buddha). The intricately carved stones in the thirty-four foot structure are all held together without mortar. Some are carved like stalks of bamboo, a motif also used by Korean craftsmen at Japan's Horyuji temple in Nara.
A likeness of the pagoda appears on Korea's 10-won coins (above)
Daeungjeon Hall
Daeungjeon hall houses an image of the Sakyamuni Buddha. Alongside him are his attendants, secretaries, and disciples. The Hall measures 53 by 47 feet.
Museoljeon Hall (not accessible to the public)
The largest of Bulguksa's buildings, Museoljeon (Hall of No Expounding) is 112 feet long and served as a meditation hall. A record from King Mun-mu's time says that this hall had thirty-two rooms. If so, this pinpoints the exact site of the temple that predated Bulguksa. The Haengnang corridors, recently reconstructed, terminate at this building.
Bibliography:
Images copyright 1998-2002 Abe Ahn and Tim Ciccone
Adams, Edward B. Korea's Gyeongju: Cultural Spirit of Silla in
Korea
Seoul International Tourist Publishing Company. Seoul. 1983
Watson, Burton. The Lotus Sutra
Columbia University Press: New York, 1993