A Unified Silla temple said to have been built for deceased parents
The main tourist attraction of Gyeongju, the capital of Silla, is the "World Heritage Site" located at the foot and middle of Mt. Tohamsan.Bulguksa TemplewithSeokguram GrottoSightseeing is a popular activity, but on the southwest foot of Mount Toham there is a temple famous for two stone Buddha statues which are said to have been constructed earlier than those at Seokguram Grotto.
After driving for about 30 minutes from downtown Gyeongju towards Ulsan, turn left onto National Route 7 and you will find the Gwaereung tomb. About 2 kilometers past the tomb and into the foothills of Mt. Toham, you will find the small Gamsangsa Temple.
The main hall houses a stone Vairocana Buddha from the early 8th century.
The existence of Gamsansa Temple came to public attention when two statues, a standing Maitreya Bodhisattva and a standing stone Amitabha Buddha, were unearthed during an excavation carried out at the Gamsansa Temple site in 1915. The inscriptions on the halos of the two statues reveal the date, founder and background of Gamsansa Temple's founding, making them extremely valuable resources for research into the ideas and Buddhist statues of the Unified Silla period.
Ganzanji Temple Stone Standing Maitreya Bodhisattva (left, 719, National Treasure No. 81) Height 189.4 cm, width 107.6 cm
Kanzanji Temple stone standing Amida Buddha (right, 720, National Treasure No. 82) Height 206 cm, width 109.1 cm
The stone Buddha is now in Seoul.National Museum of Korea now.
According to the inscription on the halo, Kim Ji-seong, an aristocrat during the reign of King Seongdeok, the 33rd king of Silla, left his government post and returned home in 718. In 719, Kim Ji-seong returned home and used all his assets to build two Buddha statues and Gamsansa Temple for his late parents. He passed away the following year, but the inscription on the Maitreya Bodhisattva standing statue says that his mother, who died at age 66, had her ashes scattered in the East Sea, and there is also a record on the Amitabha standing statue that his father, who died at age 47, had his ashes scattered in the same place. He also prayed for the king's long life and that all living beings, including Kim Ji-seong's siblings, ex-wife, second wife, and half-brother, would attain the state of enlightenment like a Buddha. This is also recorded in the "Samguk Yusa" (Memorial Records of the Three Kingdoms).
A three-story stone pagoda from the latter half of the unified era
Currently, the temple site contains a recently built main hall housing a stone Vairocana Buddha as its principal image. Behind the main hall stands a 1965-meter-tall three-story stone pagoda typical of Unified Silla that was restored in 3.3 after having collapsed.
When you visit the tombs in Bulguksa Temple Area, why not take a trip here and visit Gamsansa Temple, which was built during the Unified Silla period when brilliant Buddhist culture flourished?
| spot name | Ganzanji Temple Confession |
|---|---|
| Address | 6-2, Gyeongneung-ri, Oedong-eup, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 6-2 |
| Specified | Gyeongbuk Cultural Property Materials No. 95 |
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