Inwangsa (Seoul)

About this place

Since the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty record that King Taejo met the monk Josaeng at Inwangsa, it can be seen that the temple was founded, under Taejo's patronage, by 1397 at the latest. Its founders were the great monk Muhak and the Seon master Josaeng; it is said that Dharma assemblies were held in the Naewondang on the first and fifteenth of every month, and the lectures expounded the Hoguk Inwang Geumgang Banya Baramil Sutra (Sutra of the Benevolent King Who Protects the Nation). In the reign of Sejong, with the intent of guarding the Joseon dynasty, the mountain was named Inwangsan and the temple came to be called Inwangsa; but in the reign of Yeonsangun, on the grounds that it was visible from the palace, Inwangsa, together with Bokseam and Geumganggul, was abolished. It was later restored and maintained for a considerable time, but it burned down during the Imjin War, leaving only the temple's ruined site. Thereafter, around 1910, the lay practitioner Bak Seon-mul built Seonamjeongsa centered on Seonbawi (Zen Rock), and monks such as Seoong, Tanong, Jain, and Daewon carried on after him, building Daewonam, Bogwangjeon, Gwaneumjeon, and Geungnakjeon and devoting themselves to spiritual practice. In 1942, it was incorporated as a branch temple of Bongeunsa of the Jogye Order, and in 1977 five halls within Inwangsa and their land were donated to Inwangsa, so that in 1988 it was designated and registered as the traditional temple Inwangsa.