| Haeinsa
Temple (1488 AD onward)
other
sites in Gyeongsangdo |
Gyeongsang-do, Korea |
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Haeinsa is west of Daegu city at the edge of Gyeongsang province. It holds a complete copy of the Tripitaka Koreana, the collected writings of Mahayana Buddhism, making it one of the most important Korean temples. Though most Buddhist countries in East Asia possess a copy of the Tripitaka, the Korean edition at Haeinsa is considered the best. Carved in the 13th century, the Tripitaka consists of 52,382,960 characters carved on 81,258 double-sided woodblocks in 6,802 volumes. It was commissioned by the government-in-exile on Ganghwa island, who undertook the carving in the midst of war with the Mongols as an act of faith intended to arouse the intervention of Buddha to Korea's cause. Traditionally the woodblocks are said to have been made with white birch first soaked and then boiled in sea water for three years, then dried for three years in the shade. Though some books claim the carving is the work of one man, that is clearly impossible.
Haeinsa's history is far older than the woodblocks. Haein means "reflection on a smooth sea," and is thought to have been founded in 802 upon the return of monks Suneung and Ijeong from China. Traditionally, the temple came about as an act of gratitude by King Aejang, who brought his sick queen to the monks, ill with a tumor. The monks tied a piece of string to the queen's tumor, and the other end to a tree. They chanted special verses. Miraculously, the tumor vanished as the tree withered and died. The grateful king founded Haeinsa in awe of the Buddha's mercy.
The main worship hall was rebuilt in 1818 during the late Joseon (Chosôn) dynasty, on the foundations of the one built a thousand years earlier by the two monks. The Vairocana Buddha statue inside was carved in 1769. Behind the statue are somewhat unusual paintings of the Buddha's life.
Though most of the buildings are reconstruction after the great fire of 1817, the Tripitaka repository in the rear escaped the flames and is an original, built in 1488.
Bibliography:
All images copyright 1998-2000
Abe Ahn and Tim Ciccone
The Korean Chogye Buddhist
Order Korean Buddhism
Korean
Buddhist Chogye Order. Seoul, Korea. 1996