Haeinsa Temple Where Buddhist Scriptures Are Preserved since 1398
Haeinsa Temple is truly embedded into South Korea history as it lead you to the Tripitaka Koreana which are all the Buddhist Scriptures carved onto 81,258 wooden printing blocks and are preserved here since 1398.
Also known as the Temple of Reflection on a smooth sea is one of the most significant of Buddhist temples and is known as one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea.
Standing for Dharma or the Buddha's teachings, this Temple landmark can be seen on Gaya Mountain in South Gyeongsang Province. This temple serves as a Seon practice center even now.
Initially built in 802 this temple was refurbished in 900s, 1488, 1622 and 1644. South Korea history says that when this temple was gutted in a fire in 1817 various parts of the temple were later reconstructed and discovered again.
According to legendary tales, Suneung and Ljeong are two Korean Monks who healed King Aejang wife of her illness when they returned from China. The King became so happy that he decided to build this Temple and apparently when both these two monks wre patronised by a Queen Dowager, she flushed out money to fund this temple.
The main hall of this Temple in South Korea is Daejeokkwangjeon (Hall of Great Silence and Light). Enlisted into the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995, this temple houses unique artifacts by preserving them with ingenious methods. You will also find wooden carving of a monk, Buddhist paintings, stone pagodas and lanterns here.
The storage halls or the oldest part of the temple are called Janggyeong Panjeon complex and stores the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks. Interestingly enough, the halls were not affected during the Japanese invasion of the Seven-Year War and even the fire of 1818.
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