Beopjusa

Infobox Korean name

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hangul=법주사
hanja=法住寺
rr=Beopjusa
mr=Pŏpchusa

Beopjusa (법주사, Beopju temple) is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It is situated on the slopes of Songnisan in Naesongni-myeon, Boeun County, in the province of Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. It was initially constructed in 653 by the Silla monk Uisin. It has been historically associated with Beopsang thought and the worship of the Maitreya Buddha.

In the Goryeo dynasty, this temple is said to have been home to as many as 3,000 monks. A few facilities from this period still remain on the temple grounds, including a cistern and iron pot for serving food and water to thousands of monks. It continued to play an important role in subsequent centuries, but shrank as the state's support for Buddhism disappeared under the Joseon Dynasty.

The temple is particularly known for Palsangjeon, a wooden pagoda. Like most of the other buildings, this burned to the ground in the Imjin Invasion. The pagoda was reconstructed in 1624.

Joseon Dynasty founder Taejo is said to have retired to a spot near Beopjusa after tiring of his sons' fighting.

Beopjusa was chosen by Bruce Lee as the original setting for the movie Game of Death, with the five floors of Palsangjeon pagoda representing five different martial arts. Since Bruce Lee died before the movie was completed, the screenplay was changed, and Beopjusa was edited out. [See the films Game of Death and Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey]

Gallery

ee also

*List of Korea-related topics
*Korean Buddhist temples
*Korean Buddhism
*Religion in South Korea
*Korean architecture
*Palsangjeon

External links

* [http://www.beopjusa.or.kr/ Official site, in Korean]
* [http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/chungbuk/beopjusaindex.htm Oriental Architecture profile]
* [http://eng.koreatemple.net/travel/view_temple.asp?temple_id=5&code=A010005 KoreaTemple profile]
* [http://english.tour2korea.com/03Sightseeing/DestinationsByRegions/Depth04.asp?sight=Sightseeing&sightseeing_id=238&ADDRESS_1=40084&ADDRESS_2=39843&konum=1&kosm=m3_1 Tour2Korea profile]

References