Doseonsa Temple (Seoul)

About this place

About 1 km up the valley heading west from Ui-dong toward Baegundae, the highest peak of Bukhansan, one passes through a mountain gate inscribed with the phrase 'Three days of cultivating the mind is a treasure worth a thousand years.' According to temple records, Doseonsa was founded in 862 (the 2nd year of King Gyeongmun) by the National Monk Doseon. The monk foresaw that this site, with its powerful mountain feng shui, would be the place to revive Buddhism in an age of decline a thousand years hence. He founded the temple and, it is said, split a great rock with his staff to carve a rock-relief Avalokitesvara. Records of later rebuilding up to the late Joseon period are not extant, but it is recorded that monks from this temple served sentry duty during the construction of the Bukhansan fortress walls. In 1863, Kim Jwa-geun funded a major restoration and a new Chilseong-gak hall was built; in 1887, Im Jun erected a five-storied pagoda enshrining relics of Shakyamuni. Extant buildings include the Daewungjeon main hall, Hoguk Chamhoe-won, Myeongbu-jeon, Samseong-gak, Jeongmuk-dang, Cheonwang-mun, Beomjeong-gak, and monks' quarters. Inside the Daewungjeon are enshrined the Three Amitabha Buddhas, and on the interior walls are portraits of Bodhidharma, Huineng, and the late monk Cheongdam, along with a rear hanging painting, eight-phase paintings, and a nine-grade Sukhavati painting. The temple houses numerous Seoul-designated tangible cultural heritage items including a standing rock-relief Buddha (No. 34), a wooden Amitabha Buddha and Mahasthamaprapta (No. 191), a stone statue of an independent saint (No. 192), and a bronze bell ensemble (No. 259), as well as many sacred artifacts.