Haeinsa, one of Korea's sambo-sachal (temples of the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) represents the Dharma. I blogged about Tongdosa, a temple that represents Buddha, earlier. The Chinese characters for Haeinsa, 海印寺 , means Ocean Seal Temple. As I understand, the temple takes its name from "Haein Samadhi", a Buddhist Hwaom (Avatamsaka or Flower Garland Sutra - one of the most influential sutras of Mahayana Buddhism) philosophical notion - A reflection on a calm sea after struggling against wind and waves enables everything to be conscious of its true nature. The temple is located in Hapcheon within Gayasan National Park. Mount Gaya is the spiritual place that witnessed the development of Korean Buddhist tradition. Gaya, the name of the mountain, originated from Bodh Gaya, an Indian village, where Sakyamuni Buddha attained his enlightenment. Founded in 802 A.D. during the unified Silla period, Heinsa is the oldest comprehensive practice monastery officialized by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.
The temple is most famous for housing the Goryeo Palmandaejanggyeong (Goryeo Dynasty Tripitaka Koreana). The Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures, and the Sanskrit word for "three baskets", Three baskets of Vinaya, Sutra, Abhidharma) Koreana is the world's most comprehensive and oldest version of Buddhist canon in Chinese script, with no known errors. It is carved on to 81,350 wooden printing blocks, with 52,389,400 characters which are organized in 1,514 titles and 6,791 volumes! The wooden blocks are housed in four buildings collectively called Janggyeong Panjeon that are laid out in a rectangular arrangement. The northern hall - Beopbojeon (Hall of Dharma Treasure), and the southern hall -Sudarajang (Hall of Sutras) are the two main halls for the depository of the woodblocks. The smaller east and west halls house wooden printing blocks of the later edition of Buddhist scriptures. Although the Janggyeong Panjeon look like ordinary plain style structures, the complex was built to specifications to preserve the woodblocks by very sophisticated means. The layout and the structure of the buildings and windows maintain optimum ventilation, temperature, humidity, and light intensity! Salt and charcoal were buried in large quantities under these buildings to moderate humidity. This incredible design has preserved the woodblocks all these years from pests and extreme weather conditions. Since the 18th century, during the late Joseon Dynasty, seven serious fires broke out at Haeinsa, but the flames never reached the Janggyeong Panjeon.
Each block of the Tripitaka Koreana is composed of a board on which characters are carved and two wooden end pieces designated as the handle attached on both ends. Each block measures 70 cm long, 24 cm wide, and 2.8 cm thick, and weighs about 3.25 kg. Twenty three lines of text with 14 characters per line are carved in relief onto each block on both sides. It is a valuable collection of heritage in the history of spiritual culture. Recognizing its importance, Janggyeong Panjeon was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 1995.
During the tragic Korean War, communist guerrillas wanted to use the temple as a base, but the abbot, Master Hyodang, was able to persuade them to withdraw. The South Korean army ordered to bomb the location to destroy the rebels without knowing that the rebels were not successful in occupying the temple. Fortunately, the pilot refused to bomb and was disciplined for disobeying the orders at that time. Later he was regarded as a hero for preserving this site. Thank God that the destruction of this treasure was avoided in near miraculous ways.
The original Tripitaka was completed in 1087 taking more than 70 years, but was destroyed in 1232 during a Mongol invasion. King Gojong ordered to remake the collection in the hope that Buddha would help to drive out the invaders. From 1236 t0 1251, the woodblocks were carved on Ganghwa island, about 30 miles west of Seoul. These wooden blocks were originally housed in Seonwonsa Temple on Ganghwa island, but were subsequently transferred to Haeinsa Temple. This project had the effect of uniting the people and promoting patriotism.
I visited the temple in the autumn, on 21 October 2017, and could witness the magnificent autumn foliage in Gayasan National Park. It took about two and a half hours of driving from my home in Geoje island. I checked into a hotel accommodation and decide to visit the temple in the evening. It was really crowded when I reached the temple premises. After passing through three gates (Iljumum, Bonghwangmun, Haetalmun) I reached the two-story pavilion Gugwangnu. Going up the stairs after passing Gugwangnu leads to a wide courtyard. From here the stairs lead to the main hall. The main hall, Daejeokgwangjeon (Hall of Great Peace and Light) enshrines Vairocana Buddha: the cosmic Buddha of Great Illumination, central figure of the Avatamsaka Sutra. The location is ideal with all the architectural elements well-ordered. The arrangement of buildings is well balanced. The woodblock depositories, Janggyeong Panjeon, stand behind the main hall at a height. There are of course several auxiliary buildings, including pavilions and dormitories within this large complex. The mountain path that leads into the temple complex forms a central axis. This temple is indeed the best representative model of Korean mountain temples.
The autumn foliage was amazing. After a long day I was tired and reluctantly went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. The next day I wanted to hike the twin peaks Sangwangbong (1430 m) and Chulbulbong (1433 m) within the Gayasan National Park.
I woke up early and reached the trail head that begins near the temple. I started hiking, thoroughly enjoying the color change and listening to nature's music. Gayasan is one of the most beautiful areas of Korea; I am wrong, I found the entire Korean Peninsula so beautiful and shall not compare the different places I have visited. After a couple of hours of hiking, I reached the first peak Sangwangbong. The second peak was in close proximity, a less than 20 minutes hike. After spending some time at the mountain top, I started my journey back as I had to reach back my home in Geoje before it was too late.
Heinsa remains as my favorite temple in Korea because of its dramatic location, history, and the presence of Tripitaka Koreana. I have placed this jewel in my heart and still visit the temple in my thoughts.
Thanks Bindhu chechi
Colourful and beautiful photographs! Good read !