Buddhist monastery architecture
Korea’s Three Kingdoms—Koguryo ̆ (37 B.C.E.–668
C.E.), Paekche (18 B.C.E.–660 C.E.), and Silla (57 B.C.E.–
935 C.E.)—built great monasteries in their capitals or
nearby, judging by the historical records and the ar-
chitectural remnants. The latter include Ku ̆mgangsa
near P’yo ̆ngyang (probably from the early sixth cen-
tury); Hwangnyongsa (founded in 553) with its leg-
endary nine-story wooden pagoda (destroyed in 1234
by the Mongols, except for the foundation stones, now
visible after excavation) and Punhwangsa (built in 634,
only three stories survive of the original nine-story
pagoda built of brick imitating stone), both in the Silla
capital of Kyo ̆ngju; and Miru ̆ksa (built by King Mu of
Paekche in the early seventh century) in Iksan.
Korean Buddhist monasteries feature architectural
elements similar or identical to those of secular build-
ings introduced from China. In general, there is little
difference in architectural style between sacred and
secular buildings in East Asia. The monasteries of the
Three Kingdoms consisted of a lecture hall, a main hall
with Buddhist images (also known as ku ̆mdang,or
Golden Hall, the focus of worship), a pagoda, and a
temple gate arranged along a north-south axis. Later,
many more image halls (po ̆ptang) were added to the
complex according to the scale of the monastery. These
ceremonial halls are dedicated to a specific buddha or
bodhisattva and other Buddhist deities—thus Piro
cho ̆n for Vairocana; Taeung cho ̆n (Hall of the Great
Hero) and Yo ̆ngsan cho ̆n (Hall of Vulture Peak), both
for S ́akyamuni Buddha; Muryangsu cho ̆n (Hall of In-
finite Life) and Ku ̆ngnak cho ̆n (Hall of Utmost Bliss),
both for AMITABHABuddha; Yaksa cho ̆n for the Med-
icine Buddha, Bhaisajyaguru (Yaksa Yo ̆rae); Miru ̆k
cho ̆n for MAITREYA; Kwanu ̆m cho ̆n for Avalokites ́vara;
Chijang cho ̆n for Ksitigarbha; Sipwang cho ̆n for the
Ten Kings; Nahan cho ̆n for ARHATS; and Chosa dang
for a monastery’s founding teachers. Sometimes three
buddhas, who embody past, present, and future, are
enshrined in one hall. Besides the bell and drum pavil-
ions, there were additional buildings for the storage of
Buddhist scriptures, lecture and meditation halls,
monks’ living quarters, and kitchens.
Pagodas and reliquaries
Multistoried pagodas (t’ap), built in the center of the
monastery’s courtyard for daily circumambulation,
were originally reliquaries of the historical Buddha
S ́akyamuni, but increasingly came to serve as com-
memorative monuments. Simple, monumental gran-
ite stone pagodas were built with minimal adornment.
The finial was designed in the form of an ancient In-
dian stupa. The relic chamber in wooden pagodas was
located in the foundations beneath the central pole,
while in stone pagodas it was located above ground just
below the central mast. From the late seventh century
“twin pagodas,” a Chinese innovation introduced for
the sake of symmetry, began to appear. King Sinmun
built Kamu ̆nsa (twin pagodas) in 682 in memory of
his father King Munmu, who unified the Three King-
doms under the rule of Silla. STUPAS(pudo), mostly
octagonal single-story stone monuments, served to en-
shrine the relics of eminent monks.
RELIQUARYcontainers were exquisitely crafted in ce-
ramic, gilt bronze, silver, gold, and glass. The outer
container is usually a square or rectangular box. The
innermost reliquary, which contains the relic of the
true body of the Buddha (the remains after cremation),
is a tiny crystal or glass bottle with an exquisite gold
or openwork stopper. Gilt-bronze images and written
Buddhist sutras, both representing the dharma body,
were also deposited in reliquaries. In the five-story
granite stone pagoda in Iksan Wanggung-ni was found
a copy of the DIAMONDSUTRA in seventeen gold
sheets, on which is embossed the entire text in ma-
jestic regular script style, the only known example in
East Asia. Reliquaries from the unified Silla period
(668–935) were often in the shape of a miniature
pagoda or palanquin with a bejeweled canopy and
musicians or guardian kings at the corners. Stupas of
eminent monks from the Choso ̆n period (fourteenth
to seventeenth centuries) yielded white ceramic and
brass reliquaries in the form of simple covered bowls.Buddhist paraphernalia
Bronze bells, censers, incense boxes, kundika (water
bottles), and flower vases can all be categorized as Bud-
dhist RITUAL OBJECTSand ceremonial paraphernalia;
such objects were executed with considerable crafts-
manship since the Three Kingdom period. A Paekche
gilt-bronze censer from the late sixth century, exca-
vated in Nu ̆ngsan-ri site in Puyo ̆, shows a superb com-
bination of traditional ideas in its dragon support and
its lotus bowl and cover in the shape of the legendary
Penglai paradise mountain surmounted by a phoenix.
During the Unified Silla period, magnificent bells were
cast in bronze as seen in the huge Pongdo ̆ksa bell. The
refinement of design with floral bands and elegant airy
apsaraskneeling on clouds, as well as the profound
sound and superb casting technique, is unmatched in
East Asia. In the Koryo ̆period (918–1392) incense con-
tainers and bottles for private use and for altars wereKOREA, BUDDHISTART IN