Bongeunsa Temple

A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I went into Seoul to see the Bongeunsa Temple. 

Bongeunsa was built in 794 CE during the reign of King Wonseong. Today, it is the center of Korean Buddhist practice. Monks live and practice here. It is a pretty cool place and I wanted to share it with you guys. 

Be prepared for a lot of pictures. 

{Jinyeo-mun - Gate of Suchness} 

{The celling in the Gate of Suchness} 

{On the celling in the Beopwang-ru - Dharma King Pavilion, there were hundreds of red lanterns hanging. I think our visit was lined up with a certain holiday or celebration because the place was really crowded.} 

{Daewoong-jeon- Main Buddha Hall- This building is the hear of the temple. Daily ceremonial services, practices and prayers take place in this building.}

{The dragons are used in palaces of kings and thus signifies the importance of this hall.} 

{Amitabh Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, and the Medicine Buddha are in the Main Buddha Hall.} 

{Jigang-jeon- Hall of Kshtigarbha - Protector of the dead} 

{Bukgeukbo-jeon- Hall of the Arctic, Hall of the Big Dipper} 

{Mireuk Daebul- Great Statue of Maitreya Buddha- This statue is 23 meters tall -about 75.5 feet} 

{The statue is Maitreya coming down to Earth to save all those who are suffering.} 

{Dharma King Pavilion- This building faces the Main Budda Hall and is used for services, grand Dharma meetings, prayers, and practice. There are 3,300 miniature statues of Gwanseum Bosal - Bodhisattva of Compassion.} 

{Bell Pavilion- In here there are 4 instruments:  a Dharma bell, a Dharma drum, a cloud shaped gong, and a wooden fish. These instruments are struck just before dawn and in the evening. We got to hear the evening drums and it was pretty cool. PS- Can you spy the Monk?} 

{Statue of Gwanseum-bosal} 

Matt and I had a great time exploring this temple. If you are ever in the area- I think you should check it out.

So what do you think?

{All information received from the pamphlet at the temple}