Guinsa
Encyclopedia
Guinsa, in the Yeonhwa area of the Sobaek Mountains
Sobaek Mountains
The Sobaek Mountains are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwestern limit at Jirisan, which is also the highest peak...

 located near Danyang
Danyang
Danyang is a county-level city administered by Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province. It is famous for its spectacles industry and it has the Spectscles City.-Economy:...

 in Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do is a province in the centre of South Korea. It was formed in 1896 from the northeastern half of the former Chungcheong province...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, is the headquarters of the Cheontae
Cheontae
Cheontae is the Korean descendant of the Chinese Buddhist school Tiantai. Tiantai was introduced to Korea a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the time of Uicheon who established Cheontae in Goryeo as an independent school.Due to Uicheon's influence, it...

 school of Korean Buddhism. Guinsa is the administrative center of over 140 sub-temples and hermitages of the Cheontae sect.

Although the architecture of Guinsa follows that of many other Buddhist temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, it is also markedly different in that the structures are several stories tall, instead of the typical one or two stories that structures in many other Korean temples have. This may be due to the restraints of the valley in which it is located and to modern construction techniques, but it creates a visual experience that is both beautiful and unique from what one sees at other temples.

Up to 10,000 monks can live here at any one point while the kitchen can serve food for twice that number when needed. The ubiquitous black slate roof tiles found commonly on Korean temples is occasionally replaced by orange glazed tiles reminding one of those seen on the roofs of Beijing's Forbidden City. Some buildings resemble the Potala Palace
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara...

 in Lhasa with their use of height and vertical lines.

The temple maintains and operates a large farm system covering over 60,000 pyeong
Pyeong
A pyeong is a unit of measurement in Korea equal to square metres . The similar unit of measurement in Japan is the tsubo...

/198 km2/0.689295 sq MI and provides much of the food prepared and consumed at the temple. Guinsa operates Geumgang University
Geumgang University
Geumgang University is a South Korean Buddhist university located in the countryside, under the shadow of Gyeryong Mountain, between Nonsan and Daejeon, Republic of Korea. The campus is within the administrative boundaries of Nonsan's Sangwol-myeon district. The university is operated by the...

 between Nonsan
Nonsan
Nonsan is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . Nonsan is also called Nolmoi, meaning dusk or yellow mountain ; "Nonsan" means rice paddies + mountain.-History:...

 and Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...

.

History

Unlike many of Korea's temples, Guinsa is fairly new, dating only back to 1945. The temple is strikingly located, squeezed into a narrow valley surrounded on all sides by mountains, and its location was decreed by head monk Sangwol Wongak's (上月圓覺) interpretation of the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

.
The original temple was burned down during the Korean War, but the reconstruction of the first building was completed in 1966 and the complex, which now incorporates over 50 buildings, is still expanding.

In 1967 the Cheontae school is reestablished at Guinsa and registered with the Korean government as the Cheontae Order. Master Sangwol assumes his position position as the First Patriarch of the Order.

The 5-Story Dharma Law Hall (5층대법당 Ocheung Daebeoptang) is completed and becomes the largest building of its kind on Korea.

1982 brings the establishment Geumgang Buddhist College at the Geumgang Institute.

Early History

Early history leading to the establishment of Guinsa:
  • 594 AD - The Chinese Sui Dynasty
    Sui Dynasty
    The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

     Master Zhiyi
    Zhiyi
    Zhiyi is traditionally listed as the fourth patriarch, but is generally considered the founder of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi , linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism...

     completes the Three-part Lotus Sutra
    Lotus Sutra
    The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

     and establishes the Cheontae school.

  • 581~597 AD - Master Yeongwang of the Silla
    Silla
    Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

     Dynasty studies the "Sublime Contemplation of the Lotus" under Master Zhiyi in China later returning to Silla to teach the Cheontae Doctrine.

  • 730 AD - Silla monks Peopyung, Ieung and Sunyeong study the Cheontae teaching under Grand Master Chwagye Hyeonrang and return to Korea to transmit the Cheontae doctrine.

  • 1097 AD - The Cheontae school of Korea is founded by National Master Daegak Guksa
    Daegak Guksa
    Daegak Guksa was a Korean Buddhist monk who founded the Cheontae school of Buddhism. Son of Emperor Munjong of Goryeo...

     at Gukcheonsa (temple).

  • 1424 AD - The Cheontae school is consolidated into the Zen (Seon) school as part of the Yi Dynasty's anti- Buddhist policy. This resulted in the Cheontae teachings being merged with folk Buddhism.

  • 1855 AD - Layman Weolchang Kim Taehyeon writes "Seonhak Lumun (Gateway to Zen), an exposition of Cheontae meditation practices, to help preserve the Cheontae traditions.

Structures

Notable structures include:
  • The Great Teacher Hall (대조사전 Daejosajeon), a shrine erected in the memory of Sangwol Wongak, a large statue of whom can be found inside.

  • The Four Heavenly Kings Gate (사천왕문 Sacheonwangmun) is a two story stone structure, containing statues of the Four Heavenly Kings
    Four Heavenly Kings
    In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...

    , marking the start of the temple complex.

  • The 5-Story Dharma Law Hall (5층대법당 Ocheung Daebeoptang), also referred to as the 5-story Grand Dharma
    Dharma
    Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

      Hall, completed in 1980 is reputedly one of the largest temple buildings in Korea, and like so many of the other buildings on the temple complex, is elaborate in both terms of painting and structural design. The first and second floors contain meditation halls for the monks. The third and forth floors have shrine rooms for devotees wishing to offer prayer. The fifth floor contains the huge Dharma Hall housing a large gilded altar of the main Buddha Shakyamuni, Supreme Budda of the present, flanked by his attendants. On the left sits Avalokitesvara
    Avalokitesvara
    Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....

    , Bodhisattva of Compassion, and on the right sits Mahasthamaprapta, Bodhisattva of wisdom. A unique Thangka
    Thangka
    A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...

     behind the Buddhas is a painted raised wood carving.

  • The Cafeteria Hall (향적당 Hyangjeokdang) contains the huge kitchen and large temple cafetria.

  • The Three Story Stone Pagoda (Samcheung Seoktap), located in front of the main sanctuary is a reliquary housing the sarira
    Sarira
    Śarīra are generic terms for "Buddhist relics", although in common usage these terms usually refer to a kind of pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters...

     of the Buddha brought back from the monastery of the Jetavana
    Jetavana
    Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India. It was the second monastery donated to Gautama Buddha, after the Veluvana in Rajagaha. Jetavana is located just outside the old city of Savatthi...

    in India. Three elephants support the base of the pagoda and these strong, intelligent animals symbolize the Buddha's Dharma.

External links

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