by Ilyon
91. Ch'onnyong-sa (Temple of the Heavenly Dragon)
Rising to the south of Namsan (South Mountain) in Kyongju is a sky-kissing peak which the people call Eagle Mountain. To the south of this peak stands a temple which the people call the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon. In the book T'oron-Samhan-chip it is written, “There are three streams of guest water and one stream of backward-flowing water in Kerim; if the sources of these streams cannot suppress natural calamities, the Heavenly Dragon will bring about a catastrophic overturn of the country.” Folk-tales relate that the backward-flowing water, falling in a cataract from a pool above the temple, runs into a stream on the southern outskirts of Madung-o-ch'on, a small village facing south.
Lo P'eng-kuei, a Chinese envoy, once visited this temple and remarked, “Should it be destroyed, the nation will soon fall into ruin.”
Tradition says the donor had two daughters named Ch'on-nyo (Heavenly Maid) and Yong-nyo (Dragon Maid) for whom their parents built this temple and called it Ch'onnyong-sa (Temple of the Heavenly Dragon) to help the people cultivate the Buddhist religion in the midst of the awe-inspiring scenery. At the close of the Silla kingdom the long-neglected temple fell into ruins.
(The restoration of the temple came about in the following manner.) Sung-no the son of Ch'oe Un-song had drunk of the milk of the Goddess of Mercy at Chungsaeng Temple. He was the father of Suk and Suk was the father of Che-an the Prime Minister. By order of the King Che-an restored the temple to its former glory, with a ten-thousand-day monastery of Sakyamuni in its precincts, and deposited a copy of his will there. After his death he became a guardian deity of the temple and worked many wonders.
The Will
I, Ch'oe Che-an, His Majesty's Prime Minister and President of the Privy Council, the donor of this temple, hereby make known my will.
Seeing the prolonged dilapidation of Ch'onnyong-sa on Eagle Mountain at Kyongju, I, Che-an, a disciple of the holy Buddha, wishing for the long life of the King and the everlasting prosperity of the nation, have erected a Golden Hall in the temple with a stone image and several plaster statues of Buddha enshrined therein, and a ten-thousand-day monastery of Sakyamuni established within its precincts in addition to the living quarters of the monks.
Since the rehabilitation of the temple is for the welfare of the nation, it is proper for the government to appoint an abbot to preside over the rites and to manage the affairs of the temple. However, the monks are likely to be concerned over whether the right sort of person will be chosen. I have observed the practices of other temple such as Chijang-sa in Kongsan with its donated farm of 200 kyol, Toson-sa on Pisul-san with its donated farm of twenty kyol, and Samyonsan-sa in Sogyong with its donated farm of twenty kyol, and seen that the products of these farms are sufficient to support the temples. I took note of the fact that these temples make it a permanent rule to choose as abbots only prelates who keep Buddha's commandments and who possess outstanding administrative ability, whether they hold official positions or not, to comply with the wishes of the Holy Order.
I, Che-an, a disciple of the Buddha, being pleased with this custom, do hereby establish as a standard rule for our Ch'onnyong-sa that its abbot be chosen from among priests possessing both virtue and accomplishments, worthy of being pillars of the state. For this purpose, I leave this document with the chief official of the temple. The assembly of the monks are hereby notified of a certificate deposited with the local government indicating that such is my will.
(The will ends here and Ilyon comments: The will is dated in June of the ninth year of Chung-hsi, and is countersigned by the competent authorities. Chung-hsi was the reign title of Hsing-tsung of the Khitan and the date corresponds to the seventh year of King Chongjong of Koryo (1040, actually the sixth year of Chongjong.)
92. The Palace of Amitabha at Mujang Temple
To the north of Amgok-ch'on, about twenty li northeast of Kyong-ju, there is a temple called Mujang-sa, It was built by Tae Agan Hyo-yang (posthumously entitled Myongdok-Taewang, the father of King Wonsong, 785-798) and dedicated to P'ajinch'an, his uncle. It stands between soaring clouds and great trees on a tall cliff overlooking a valley that stretches away to the horizon, so that it is an ideal place for a solitary monk to pursue the way of Buddha.
Above the temple there was once a palace of Amitabha which was connected with a sad event. When King Sosong died (800) his Queen Kyehwa grieved exceedingly, weeping over the body of her royal husband until blood flowed from her swollen eyes and beating her rosy breast with her white hands. And indeed the days of their love had been all too brief, for the King had hardly ascended the throne when he was struck down.
Reflecting on the bright virtues of her husband, the Queen thought of a way in which her prayers for the repose of his soul might be perpetuated. She had heard that Amitabha, the Buddha of the West, would clasp to himself the soul of anyone who prayed to him from a sincere heart. Drying her tears, she donated six of her royal gowns and treasures from the privy purse for the carving of an image of Amitabha and of several statues of the lesser divinities associated with him, to be enshrined in a palace. She summoned the most skilful sculptors in the land to do this work.
(The cult of the Bodhisattva Amitabha was an extremely popular one ,for obvious reasons. It was said that anyone who called upon his name with sincerity was sure to be received into the “Western Paradise” at death, and thus would escape being reborn into the world or condemned to one of the numerous Buddhist hells.)
At the aforementioned Mujang temple there lived an old monk. Some time before these events he had had a dream in which he saw a living Buddha sitting on a hill to the southeast of the temple's stone pagoda and delivering a sermon to a multitude which was gathered in the west. The monk therefore believed that this would be an auspicious; place for the habitation of a Buddha, but kept the idea to himself until the construction of the Amitabha palace was planned.
(The monk evidently pointed out the place of his dream and suggested that the palace be built there.) Seeing the tall, rugged cliff and the mountain streams roaring down the ravines, the carpenters and sculptors complained that it would be very difficult even to carry their building materials to the site. But the monks persisted, telling them that this was the ideal place. And when they investigated further, and dug behind some of the rocks, there indeed was a large piece of level ground, and there they built the palace of Amitabha. All the people who came to visit it admired its holy site.
The palace of Amitabha stood for many hundred years, a flower of Buddhist art, but at last it crumbled to the ground, although the temple survived. According to folk tales, T'aejong (King Muryol), after the unification of the three kingdoms under his single rule, stored his weapons and helmets in the valley beneath the cliff, and so the people called the temple Mujang-sa, which means Helmet Temple.
(The ruins of this temple are still to be seen in Amgok-ni, Naetong-myon, Wolsong county. It is a bit difficult to interpret the word “palace” in this section. Obviously, however, it is not to be taken literally but means a religious building of some sort.)
93. The Buddha Relics (Sari) in the Stone Pagoda at Paegom Temple
On the twenty-ninth of October in the third year of Hou Tsin Kai-yun, in the year of the horse (946) this inscription was placed on the Imdo Taegam milestone on the border of Kangju (now Chinju); “Paegom Temple of the Son (Zen) sect was situated in Ch'op'al-hyon (now Ch'ogye), and Kanyu, its chief monk, was 39 years old, but the history of this temple is unknown.”
According to an antique biography, during the days of old Silla this temple was built over the ruins of the Office of Northern Houses. (That is, the local government office for the northern quarter of Kyong-ju. The city was renowned for its palatial mansions, of which there are said to have been thirty-five, which were known as the Golden Houses.) After a time it was closed, and remained so for many years.
(The temple must have been reopened, but the text gives no date.) In the year of the tiger (1026) Yangpu, a monk
from Samok-kok, became abbot of this temple and remained in the post until his death in the year of the ox (1037). In the year of the cock (1045) Kung-yang, a monk from Huiyang (now Mungyong) stayed at the temple for ten years, returning to Huiyang in the year of the goat (1055). In the same year Sint'ak, a monk from Paegam-sa in Namwon, became abbot.
In November of the first year of Hsien-weng (1065) Surip the new abbot (better known under his posthumous name Tugomijong-Taesa) proclaimed permanent regulations for the temple in ten articles. These included the building of a five-storey pagoda with forty-two sari enshrined therein; the offering of sacrifices to Buddha and to the holy monks Om Hun and Paek Hun (who became the guardian deities of the temple) and to another holy monk, Kunak, the expenses of these sacrifices to be defrayed from the private purse of a financial guild; and the grinding of rice (for the sacrifices) in a wooden bowl with a miniature pestle before the image of Bhechadjagura (the Buddha of healing) in the Golden Hall early each month.
Tradition says that Om Hun and Paek Hun donated their dwellings to this temple, whence the name Paegom-sa, and that the two monks were honored as its guardian deities.
94. Youngch'u-sa (Temple of the Holy Eagle)
According to an old record at Youngch'u-sa, in the second year of Ying-shun of T'ang Kao-tsung (683; Samguk Sagi says the first year, but this is a mistake) when King Sinmun was on the throne, Ch'ung-won-kong the Prime Minister went to bathe in the hot springs at Chang-san-kuk (Tongnae, near Pusan; there are indeed hot springs there). While he was resting at Tongji-ya near Kuljong post-station (near Changgi) on his way back to Kyongju, he saw a fowler launch his falcon after a pheasant. The startled pheasant flew over Kumak (Golden Mountain) and was lost to view.
Seized with curiosity, the Prime Minister followed as the fowler went along a winding mountain path ringing his bell and chasing his falcon. At length they reached a well to the north of the Kuljong-hyon local government office. Here they found the falcon perched in a tree above the well and the pheasant fluttering in the bloodstained water, covering two little ones with its wings. The falcon looked down with pitying eyes and would not swoop upon the bird to kill it.
Ch'ungwon-kong's heart was also moved with pity at this sight. He told the story of the falcon and the pheasant to a fortune-teller and asked for his advice. The latter replied the place must be an auspicious site for a temple. When Ch'ungwon-kong returned to Kyongju he reported his experience to the King and suggested that the Kuljong-hyon office be removed to another place to make way for a temple by the well. The King gladly approved this plan, and when the temple was built it was named Yongch'u-sa (the Temple of the Holy Eagle), substituting an eagle for the falcon.
95. Yudok-sa (the Temple of Virtue)
Ch'oe Yu-dok the Tae-tae-kakkan (highest official rank) of Silla, contributed his private residence to the building of a temple, which was given his name, Yudok (man of virtue). Long afterward his descendant Ch'oe 6n-wi, a meritorious vassal of Samhan, enshrined a portrait of his ancestor the founder in this temple and erected a stone monument to his memory in its precincts.
96. The Stone Pagoda at Munsu Temple on Mt. Odae
The stone pagoda which stands on the grounds of Munsu Temple was probably built by the people of Silla. Even though it is simple, without elaborate workmanship, this monument has worked indescribable wonders. Among others I heard the following story from some old people.
“Long, long ago, a man from Yon'gok-hyon (Kangnung) fitted out a boat with fishing tackle and put out to sea to fish. But a pagoda followed his boat, and its shadow so startled the fish that they scattered and fled in all directions and he was unable to catch a single one. Transported with rage, he chased the shadow until he found the real pagoda on land. He took his heavy ax and struck it repeatedly and then sailed home empty-handed, leaving scars on the corners of the pagoda.”
As I gazed upon this pagoda with awe and admiration, my attention was drawn to the fact that it stood on the eastern side of the courtyard and not in the center (as is usual). As I pondered this, I noticed a panel with the following inscription:
“Ch'ohyon, a lonely monk who lived at this temple in celibacy, wished that good luck might come to him, He therefore moved the pagoda from the east side of the courtyard to the center, and waited for twenty years, but the pagoda worked no wonders. One day an astrologer visited the temple looking for a fortunate site. He breathed a deep sigh and said, 'The center of the courtyard is not the proper place for a pagoda. Why don't you move it to the east?' The monks, astonished at his wisdom, moved the pagoda back to its original position in the east, where it now stands.”
Though not a lover of wonders, as a son of Buddha I could not remain silent when I saw the majestic spirit of Buddha in the shadow of the pagoda to bestow merciful benefits on ten thousand living creatures so effectively, hence the above note.
Written in October of the first year of Cheng-p'eng in the year of Pyong-ja (1156) by White Cloud.
(This section, as indicated above, was added by one of Ilyon's disciples. In giving the date, he refers to the ruler of the semi-barbarian Kin or Chin state. The proper title of this reign era is Cheng-lung, but White Cloud wrote Cheng-p'eng because the character “Lung” (Pronounced “nyung” in Korean) was the personal name of Wang Nyung, the father of Wang Kon the Koryo founder, and thus taboo.)
Footnotes to Book Three
Compiled in 1215 with the authorization of King Kojong
Mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, one of the most ancient Japanese chronicles as King Ahwa, perhaps due to a clerical slip or a misreading.
There are records of a Liang monarch sending gifts of Buddhist scriptures and incense to a Silla King but it cannot have been Nulji, who-lived before the Liang state was founded.
This is an allusion to an ancient Chinese belief that the Yellow River, notorious for its muddiness, turned clear to presage the coming of a sage-king.
Chinese names Kai-tzu-t'sui and Hung Yen, legendary heroes. The first fed his starving king with his own flesh, while the second committed suicide after reporting in due form to all that was left of his dead lord, a liver.
This is a mistake, for Ungch'on at this time was in Paekje territory.
This is both a symbol of the heavenly vehicles of ancient kings and of Buddhism. The “wheel of the law” is one of the commonest symbols in Buddhist iconography from the earliest times.
“Tsita” in Sanskrit. This is the fourth of the “Six Heavens of Desire” in Mahayana Buddhism. It is ruled by Maitreya.
The Koryo government designated the capitals of the ancient kingdoms by their directions from Kaesong, the Koryo capital. Kyongju is meant here.
Kasop was the last of the seven Buddhas who preceded Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, in Mahayana doctrine.
“Agana” in Sanskrit. It contains the sayings of Sakyamuni.
The present world, as distinct from the two other major realms.
This is a reference to the Emperor Asoka, who ruled over the Maurya Empire in India from 269 to 236 B. C. He was converted to Buddhism and became one of its most enthusiastic supporters and propagators. Obviously his reputation had become somewhat inflated by the time it reached Korea.
Jawhu Dripa, one of the four geographical divisions of India, also used as a name for India as a whole.
A sermon preached by Sakyamuni immediately before his death.
The traditional dates for Buddha's life are 563-483 B. C, which would put Asoka two centuries later rather than one.
The Buddha of Wisdom, who traditionally sits to Sakyamuni's left.
This is not a place at all, but a reading of “Kashatreya,” the second, warrior caste in India, to which Sakyamuni's family belonged. The implication is that the Queen was an incarnation of Sakyamuni.
This was a Buddhist rite customary in China.
A reference to the “third eye” often seen on the foreheads of Buddha images. Here it is thought of as a white hair growing between Buddha's eyebrows. It is one of the dist
inguishing features of a Buddha and symbolizes his enlightenment.
An Indian divinity described as “ruler of the thirty-three heavens.”
Sanskrit name Samantabhadra, described in scripture as working together with Munsu to aid Sakyamuni in the work of salvation.
The reference is to the abode of Vairocana, the Buddha of Illumination.
The Three Treasures are the Buddha, Buddhist teaching and the order of monks. The Five Prohibitions are against killing, stealing, sexual indulgence, taking the name of Buddha in vain and drinking alcoholic beverages.
This happens to be the number of arrangements of the eight trigrams, composed of broken and unbroken lines, described in the Confucian I-Ching (Classic of Changes, a book of divination and prophecy). Four of them can be seen on the Korean national flag. (T'aeguk and P'alkwae).
Actually the name of Sakyamuni in one of his previous lives.
BOOK FOUR
V. Anecdotes of Renowned Monks
91. Wonkwang, Who Studied in the West
In the thirteenth volume of the T'ang Biographies of the High Monks we find the following information. The family name of Wonkwang (Round Light, i.e. Buddha's Halo), the monk of Huanglung Temple in Silla (Hwangnyong-sa) was Pak, and his home was in Chin-han, one of the three Han nations—Pyonhan, Chinhan and Mahan. (These are very ancient designations for certain parts of southern Korea.) His family had lived in Haedong (East of the Sea, i.e. Korea) for many generations, and he inherited the noble and magnanimous traditions of his ancestors. From his youth he loved to read history and biographies of monks, and soon began to write such compositions himself, and his literary fame quickly spread all over Hankuo (Hankuk, Korea). But though he had established a reputation for erudition and strong memory in Silla, he felt the need to obtain wider knowledge by studying in the Middle Kingdom (China). For this purpose he set sail for Chinling (Nanking) at the age of twenty-five.