Woljeongsa

Infobox Korean name
hangul=월정사
hanja=月精寺
rr=Woljeongsa
mr=Wŏljŏngsa

Woljeongsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It is located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon (South Korea), South Korea. It was founded in 643 by the Silla monk Jajang.

Burned down and rebuilt a number of times, the last disaster was during the Korean War (1950-1953), when about ten buildings were burnt down by the Korean Army because it had become a refuge for the rebel forces.

Temple layout

In the Main Hall there is a statue of Sakyamuni, but the more important statue is of an unusual Bodhisattva, 1.8 meters high, probably Medicine Buddha. Said to have been found in the Diamond Pond to the south of the temple, the statue is offering to an unknown figure. The statue is wearing a crown, the face is long, and the ears are slightly hidden by the long hair. Around the neck there are three lines which are carved to look like necklaces. The elbow is resting on the head of a young boy. Because of its unusual style, the statue is thought to have been carved in the 11th century by craftsmen belonging to a special sect.

Next to the Bodhisattva is an octagonal nine-story pagoda which stands 15.2 meters high and is representative of the many-angled, many-storied stupas of the Koryo Period.

Founding legend

It is said that, on this mountain, Master Jajang chanted before a stone statue of aBodhisattva beside a pond, hoping to fulfill his wish to see Manjusri Bodhisattva. On the seventh night of his religious practice he had a dream in which the Buddha gave him a poem of four lines in Sanskrit. Next day, a monk came and remarked that the master looked pale and troubled. Master Jajang explained that he had received a poem he could not understand. The mysterious monk explained the verses then told Jajang to go to Odaesan in Shilla where he would find 10,000 Manjusris. After seven more days of chanting, a dragon appeared who told him that the old monk had been Manjusri and that now he must go and build a temple to the Bodhisattva.

In 643 CE, Chajang reached Odaesan, but the mountain was so veiled in fog that he couldn't see anything. During the three days that he waited he built a thatched hut which eventually became the Woljeongsa temple.

ee also

*Jajang
*Korean Buddhism
*Korean architecture
*Korean Buddhist temples
*List of Korea-related topics

External links

* [http://www.woljeongsa.org/ Official site]
* [http://eng.koreatemple.net/travel/view_temple.asp?temple_id=4&code=A009004 KoreaTemple profile]
* [http://www.buddhapia.com/buddhapi/eng/temple/korexp/html/bu10.html Buddhapia profile]