By Choe Chong-dae
Although I am not Buddhist, my enthusiastic interest in Korean Buddhist heritage has led me to explore many ancient temples, hermitages, and all things about Korean Buddhist art and culture. My family is from Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient Silla Kingdom, and I am fortunate that my father, Choe Nam-ju, was a pioneer of Korean archaeology.
Among the many renowned Buddhist sites in the Gyeongju region, I am impressed by the lesser known Geumgok Temple that is nestled at the foot of Mt. Samgisan on the outskirts of Gyeongju. The great Master Wongwang (542-640 A.D.) studied and taught Buddhist principles there. The temple grounds enshrine the funerary relics or cremains (sari) of Master Wongwang in a stupa (or "tap" in Korean).
The stone stupa of the venerated teacher was first recognized by my archaeologist father at Geumgok Temple in 1970. What remained of the monument at that time was the pedestal base stone and the third story roof stone. Everything else was missing. The reliquary was reconstructed in 1997. Unlike other more famous cultural remains, Geumgok Temple is in a remote area outside the city of Gyeongju. It is out of the way. We can only reach it by driving a narrow, mountainous road.
?
Each side of the pedestal stone is sculptured in deep relief, with Buddha images inside a niche on each side. The hands of each Buddha display a different mudra or symbolic gesture. For instance, the Buddha on the east depicts a sitting Medicine Buddha holding a bowl of healing elixir on his lap with his left hand, and his right hand held up to form of a circle with finger and thumb. A similar, square, four-sided Buddha sculpture is found at other Silla-period hermitages such as Chilbul-am and Gulbul-am in Gyeongju.
Buddhist culture thrived during the Silla Kingdom (6th- 8th century, A.D.). Many eminent Korean monks and scholars ventured to China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties to pursue advanced studies. Most of them returned home and firmly established Buddhism on the peninsula. Master Wongwang is considered one of the greatest teachers among them.
Venerable Wongwang was the first monk of the Silla Kingdom who traveled to Chang-an, China to study Buddhism in great width and depth.
Returning to Korea in 600 after studying major Buddhist commentaries for more than a decade, Wongwang served as teacher of Silla's royal court and founded Geumgok Temple on Mt. Samgisan, Angang Township, outside the city of Gyeongju.
Teaching Buddha's wisdom to common people in a popular way, Venerable Wongwang played a significant role in spreading the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism in Korea.
He is especially well-known for devising an ethical code of lay precepts called the "Five Secular Injunctions" ("Sesok ogye" in Korean):
1. Serve your lord with loyalty
2. Honor and serve your parents (filial piety)
3. Treat your friends with faithfulness (trust)
4. Never retreat in battle
5. Do not kill wantonly
This code was followed by the Silla Kingdom's militant, elite, male youth, known as the hwarang "flower youth." This movement developed as a type of "Silla knighthood," an educated, warrior corps devoted to martial arts, mental acuity and artistic expression as well as spiritual teachings based on a spirit of patriotism.
One ancient Silla monument called the "Stone Tablet with Inscription of Oath, in the Year of Imsin" was erected to observe the principle of loyalty. It invokes one of the five secular injunctions adhered to by the hwarang.
Master Wongwang's universal teachings offer a guiding ethos, a roadmap for young Korean students who require moral direction. If it were not my father's efforts to trace the reliquary stupa of Master Wongwang, the historic imprint of this brilliant, pioneering Korean monk would have remained unknown.
Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co. and director of the Korean-Swedish Association.
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Among the many renowned Buddhist sites in the Gyeongju region, I am impressed by the lesser known Geumgok Temple that is nestled at the foot of Mt. Samgisan on the outskirts of Gyeongju. The great Master Wongwang (542-640 A.D.) studied and taught Buddhist principles there. The temple grounds enshrine the funerary relics or cremains (sari) of Master Wongwang in a stupa (or "tap" in Korean).
The stone stupa of the venerated teacher was first recognized by my archaeologist father at Geumgok Temple in 1970. What remained of the monument at that time was the pedestal base stone and the third story roof stone. Everything else was missing. The reliquary was reconstructed in 1997. Unlike other more famous cultural remains, Geumgok Temple is in a remote area outside the city of Gyeongju. It is out of the way. We can only reach it by driving a narrow, mountainous road.
?
Each side of the pedestal stone is sculptured in deep relief, with Buddha images inside a niche on each side. The hands of each Buddha display a different mudra or symbolic gesture. For instance, the Buddha on the east depicts a sitting Medicine Buddha holding a bowl of healing elixir on his lap with his left hand, and his right hand held up to form of a circle with finger and thumb. A similar, square, four-sided Buddha sculpture is found at other Silla-period hermitages such as Chilbul-am and Gulbul-am in Gyeongju.
Buddhist culture thrived during the Silla Kingdom (6th- 8th century, A.D.). Many eminent Korean monks and scholars ventured to China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties to pursue advanced studies. Most of them returned home and firmly established Buddhism on the peninsula. Master Wongwang is considered one of the greatest teachers among them.
Venerable Wongwang was the first monk of the Silla Kingdom who traveled to Chang-an, China to study Buddhism in great width and depth.
Returning to Korea in 600 after studying major Buddhist commentaries for more than a decade, Wongwang served as teacher of Silla's royal court and founded Geumgok Temple on Mt. Samgisan, Angang Township, outside the city of Gyeongju.
Teaching Buddha's wisdom to common people in a popular way, Venerable Wongwang played a significant role in spreading the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism in Korea.
He is especially well-known for devising an ethical code of lay precepts called the "Five Secular Injunctions" ("Sesok ogye" in Korean):
1. Serve your lord with loyalty
2. Honor and serve your parents (filial piety)
3. Treat your friends with faithfulness (trust)
4. Never retreat in battle
5. Do not kill wantonly
This code was followed by the Silla Kingdom's militant, elite, male youth, known as the hwarang "flower youth." This movement developed as a type of "Silla knighthood," an educated, warrior corps devoted to martial arts, mental acuity and artistic expression as well as spiritual teachings based on a spirit of patriotism.
One ancient Silla monument called the "Stone Tablet with Inscription of Oath, in the Year of Imsin" was erected to observe the principle of loyalty. It invokes one of the five secular injunctions adhered to by the hwarang.
Master Wongwang's universal teachings offer a guiding ethos, a roadmap for young Korean students who require moral direction. If it were not my father's efforts to trace the reliquary stupa of Master Wongwang, the historic imprint of this brilliant, pioneering Korean monk would have remained unknown.
Choe Chong-dae (choecd@naver.com) is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co. and director of the Korean-Swedish Association.
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