Korea Tour : Epitome of Silla’s Divine Buddhist Art

Bulguksa Temple: Architectural Realization of the Buddha Land

 

While Seokguram’s sculptural works expressed the unfathomable meaning in the Buddha’s awakening, Bulguksa temple aimed to create an architectural realization of the Buddha’s teachings in the present world. The construction of the temple also began in 751, half way up the west side of Mt. Toham in accordance with the wishes of Kim Dae-seong, and was completed in 774. The grotto shrine was to honor Kim’s parents in his previous life, and the temple was for his parents in the present life.

An imposing complex of wooden shrines and stone pagodas built upon decorative stone terraces, Bulguksa expressed the wish of the Silla people that their kingdom would become the blissful land of the Buddha. Hence it was named the “Temple of Buddha Land.”

 

The cloistered sanctuary is divided into three main courtyards, each containing a worship hall: the Hall of the Great Hero, or Daeungjeon, dedicated to the Historic Buddha; the Hall of Vairocana, or Birojeon, dedicated to the Buddha of Great Illumination; and the Paradise Hall, or Geungnakjeon, dedicated to Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise. These three areas stand for the Impure Land of Sakyamuni Buddha, the Lotus Land of Vairocana, and the Pure Land Paradise of Amitabha, respectively.

 

The elevated sanctuary stands on a series of beautiful stone terraces stretching 100 meters across the front facade. The terraces are built with carefully dressed granite slabs and natural stones of various sizes, achieving a pleasant harmony of rhythmic compositions. Along with the temple’s two famous pagodas, the Sakyamuni Pagoda (Seokgatap) and the Pagoda of Many Treasures (Dabotap), the terraces and stairs attest to the prominent skills of Silla masons, who adroitly handled solid granite.

 

The temple compounds on the terraces symbolize the world of Buddhas, while the ground down below symbolizes the world of humans. Stone stairways, named “bridges,” on two levels connect the two worlds. One set of stairways has the Bridge of the Blue Cloud (Cheongungyo) and the Bridge of the White Cloud (Baegungyo). The other has the Bridge of Lotus Flowers (Yeonhwagyo) and the Bridge of Seven Treasures (Chilbogyo). Beneath the staircases today are traces of a stone bed, all that remains of a lotus pond that drew its contents from the water flowing down from Mt. Toham.

 

All of the temple’s original wooden structures, comprising some 2,000 kan, or bays, were burnt down during the Japanese Invasions of 1592-1598. Only stone objects, including the terraces, stairs, pagodas and lanterns, and gilt-bronze Buddha images, survived the disaster. The temple was only partially reconstructed after the war and never regained its old splendor. Thanks to the extensive excavation and rehabilitation undertaken from 1969 to 1973, the temple achieved its present state, which still falls far short of its original scale. Various halls and cloisters were rebuilt at this time. They include the Hall of No Discourse (Museoljeon), the Hall of Vairocana (Birojeon) and the Hall of Avalokitesvara (Gwaneumjeon).

 

The main courtyard has the nation’s most famed pair of pagodas - the Pagoda of Many Treasures (Dabotap) and the Sakyamuni Pagoda (Seokgatap), standing 10.34 meters and 10.63 meters high, respectively, in front of the main worship hall. Most temples built during the Unified Silla period (676-935) have two stone pagodas with identical shapes rising side by side before the main hall. Whoever designed Bulguksa attempted a radical experiment by erecting two pagodas in dramatically different shapes, one next to the other and it was a resounding success.

 

The Sakyamuni Pagoda is noted for its princely dignity and simplicity, while the Pagoda of Many Treasures is unmatched for its ornate decorative style. The former is a prototype of Korean stone pagodas, a handsome three-story structure erected on a two-tiered foundation, while the latter resembles an elaborate wooden pavilion lavishly adorned with sculpted ornaments. Their arrangement was inspired by the legend that when Sakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra on the Vulture Peak, the pagoda of Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of Myriad Jewels, emerged from the ground to praise his sermon. Thus the pagodas’ original names are the “Pagoda of Permanent Sermon by Sakyamuni Buddha” (Seokga yeorae sangju seolbeop tap), and the “Pagoda of Permanent Witness by the Buddha of Myriad Jewels” (Dabo yeorae sangju jeungmyeong tap).

 

Various precious treasures were found inside the Sakyamuni Pagoda during repair work in 1966. They included a paper scroll of the Pure Light Dharani Sutra, presumably printed in the eighth century. The scroll, 6.7 meters wide and 6.2 centimeters long, is the world’s oldest material printed by woodblock.

 

The arts reflect the times. A century after the Silla achieved the unification of Three Kingdoms through long military conflicts, Silla was enjoying its golden age in the mid-eighth century. The cultural flowering of Silla culminated in its two brilliant achievements - Seokguram and Bulguksa, which stand out as ingenious works of Buddhist art and architecture with few peers in all of Asia.