Bulguksa

Bulguksa is a Buddhist temple in the North Gyeongsang province in South Korea.

The temple was originally built in 528 but later abandoned. It was rebuilt in 751 under Kim Deo-song in order to pacify the spirits of his parents. The rebuilding was only completed in 774 when the temple received its current name Bulguksa. The temple was renovated during the Goryeo Dynasty and the early Joseon Dynasty. During the Japanese invasions between 1592 and 1598 the wooden buildings were burned to the ground. After 1604 reconstruction of Bulguksa started, followed by about 40 renovations until 1805. Between 1969 and 1973 Bulguksa was restored to its current form.

The temple is considered as a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in the Silla kingdom. Bulguksa is sometimes referred to as the Temple of the Buddha Land. It is home to many national treasures.

There are two pagodas on the temple site, which is unusual. The terrestrial and the two celestial abodes are manifested in Bulguksa: the terrestrial with a Shakyamuni Buddha Lotus Sutra, the celestial with Amitabha Buddha Avatamska Sutra.

The large temple site is centred around two courts. One of the courts is centred on Daeungjeon, the hall which houses the Shakyaminu Buddha. The other is centred on Geungnakjeon, the hall of paradise where the Seven Treasure Bridge Chilbogyo is housed.

In 1995 Bulguksa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the Seokguram Grotto. The Seokguram grotto is a hermitage of the Bulguksa temple and lies east of the temple on Mt. Tohamsan. It is a granite sanctuary with a Buddha statue seated in the main chamber. The grotto was seriously damaged when the Japanese colonizers attempted to remove the Buddha statue around 1900. Before this, the grotto was naturally kept dry and cool.

The main hall of Seokguram houses a Bojon statue Bodhi sattva and his disciples. The grotto was built around these statues in order to protect them from weathering. The ceiling of the Seokguram grotto is decorated with half moons, the top is decorated with a lotus flower. Many people come to or near Sekguram to enjoy the sunrise, which is considered particularly attractive.

Because of the numerous renovations and the fact that the temple was abandoned for a long time, many details are disputed amongst scholars, such as the exact layout of the original grotto, the buildings in Bulguksa or the shape of the watercourse, which no longer exists, in front of the temple.