Golgulsa

 buddhist temple  Add category

Golgulsa (literally "Stone Buddha Temple"). Golgulsa’s main attractions are the sculpture of the Maya Tathagata Buddha and the Gwaneum Cave. The seated carved Maya Tathagata Buddha (Treasure No. 581), the main Buddha of Golgulsa, faces the underwater tomb of King Munmu, and around the Buddha are many grotto Dharma halls, such as Avalokitesvara Grotto, Ksitigarbha Grotto, Medicine Buddha Grotto, Arhat Grotto and Guardian Deities Hall. There are also relics of traditional folk religions such as rocks carved into phalluses and vaginas.

The Buddha sculpture displays the characteristics of the Silla Era Buddha, and is 4 meters high. The Buddha has his hair in a topknot, has a calm smile, narrow eyes, small lips, and a long narrow nose. To protect the sculpture from damage, a glass cover has been installed over Gwaneum Cave, which is the largest sanctuary of the seven still existing caves.

The main Buddha of Gwaneum Cave is the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, and the cave walls are dedicated to the 108 meditations of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. The Gwaneum Cave has a wall with tiles in front of it, which makes it look like an ordinary sanctuary. But once inside, the entire interior from ceiling to walls is carved all from stone.

Golgulsa, Pronounced “Gol-gul-sa”, was established on Mount Hamwolsan in the 6th century, along with Girimsa, by Master Gwangyu and his retinue, who came to Korea from India about 1,500 years ago. Golgulsa is the oldest grotto temple in Korea, emulating those in India.

According to a painting of Jeong Seon (pen name; Gyeomjae) during the mid-Joseon era, Golgulsa was established by the construction of a wooden antechapel (The outer part of the west end of a chapel) covered with tiles in front of several stone grottoes. The temple was left in ruins after it burned down in the mid to late Joseon era. About 70 years ago, the Bak clan of Gyeongju moved there and began reconstruction. The temple was sold to an individual in 1989, but Ven. Seol Jeogun, then head of Girimsa, eventually purchased it. Currently Golgulsa is registered as a branch temple of Bulguksa, the head temple of the 11th district, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.

The seated rock-carved Buddha of Golgulsa Temple, the main Buddha of the temple, was carved into the limestone cliff in the 9th century during the United Silla Dynasty. The statue gazes toward the East Sea with a gentle smile and beautiful nimbus in which luxurious lotuses and flames are carved.

In recent years Golgulsa has established the Seonmudo Practice Center to teach this traditional Buddhist martial art, Sunmudo. Not only Koreans, but also many foreigners flock to the temple to learn it.

The formal name of Sunmudo is Bulgyo Geumgang Yeong Gwon. This method taught at Golgulsa is intended to extinguish worldly pains and attain enlightenment. The goal of this training is harmonization of mind and body united with breathing. Golgulsa has run Sunmudo training programs since 1992.