|
| |
 Haeinsa, the Temple of a Vast Sea of Meditation, is nestled part-way up Mt.
Gayasan, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. It was built by Suneung and
Ijeong in the 3rd year of King Aejang of the Silla Kingdom (802). The Goryeo
Dynasty's founder, King Taejo, designated it as a state temple. Today it has 75
subordinate temples and 14 hermitages scattered nearby.
When the nation
was imperiled by the Mongolian invasion at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, King
Gojong, who had taken refuge on Ganghwa Island in 1230, initiated the laborious
carving of the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks, hoping to repel the barbarians with
the help of the divine providence of Buddha. The project took 16 years, from
1236 to 1251. The Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks are testimony to the pious
devotion of both king and people. They were first housed in Seonwonsa Temple on
Ganghwa Island, moved to Jicheonsa Temple in the 7th year (1398) of King Taejo
of the Joseon Dynasty, and the next year moved again to Haeinsa Temple, making
it a religious cradle for national peace and prosperity from that time on.
In the temple compound are two main depositories and two small
depositories. Of the two main depositories, the one on the south is Sudarajang,
the Hall of Sutras, and the one on the north Beopbojeon, the Hall of Dharma.
Each measures 15 kan (1 kan is about 6 feet) across the front and 2 kan on the
side. They were designed to optimize the preservation of woodblocks with the
proper ventilation, temperature, and humidity by taking the best advantage of
natural conditions and scientific architecture. Thus the woodblocks have been
kept in impeccable condition, which enabled the depositories to win registration
on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in December of 1995.
Tripitaka is a Sanskrit
word made up of tri, "Three " and pitaka, referring to the gyeong, yul, and non,
which respectively are discourses with the Buddha, the Buddhist laws of ascetic
life, and commentaries on the sutras by eminent monks and scholars. Known in
Korean as Palman Daejanggyeong (Great Collection of Buddhist Scriptures in
Eighty Thousand Woodblocks), the Tripitaka Koreana consists of 81,258
woodblocks. Amazingly, there is no trace of errors or omissions on any
woodblock. To guard against insects, decay, frame distortion, cracks, and
humidity, the material of the woodblocks was treated for years by a special
process. In terms of accuracy, beauty of font style, carving skill, and volume,
the Tripitaka Koreana is recognized as the most valuable existing Buddhist canon
carved in Chinese characters. It has been a jewel for the Japanese, who modeled
their Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo after the Korean edition. The Chinese also
imported copies of the Korean edition..
 Back to List |
