Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju
About Bulguksa
Bulguksa ‘is ‘the’ Buddhist temple to add to your itinerary when you are in Gyeongju. The temple is considered the crowning glory of fine Buddhist art in the Unified Silla period. It is also the head temple of the Jogye order of Korean Buddhism. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, it is classified as the ‘historic and scenic site #1 by the South Korean government.
Do you need any more reasons to visit it? 🙂
How to reach Bulguksa temple?
Bulguksa is situated on the slopes of Mount Tohaksan in Jinhyeon-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province of South Korea.
- Address: 385 Bulguk-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do
- Website: www.bulguksa.or.kr
- Entrance fee: Free
- Operating hours: 09:00-19:00 (visitors must exit the complex by 19:00)
- Holiday: N/A (Open all year round)
- Inquiries: +82-54-746-9913
- Parking: Available and is free
- Time taken to see the temple: About 2 hours
Reaching Bulguksa temple:
From Seoul
Time taken: Under 3 hours
Bulguksa is around 350 kms from Seoul. KTX train will take you to Gyeongju in just 2 hours.
From Gyeongju, add another 30 minutes by bus to the temple. However, I would recommend that you spend a night in Gyeongju or Daegu to optimize your trip here. There are so many other Unesco World heritage historic sites to add to your itinerary that you your weekend will be gone in a jiffy 🙂
From Daegu
Time taken: Around 1 hour
- The temple is just around 75 kms from Daegu and it takes around 1 hour 20 minutes by car to reach Bulguksa.
- We rented a car for the weekend from Lotte Rent-A-Car @Daegu (from just outside the KTX train station) and drove to the temple with our luggage in the trunk. It was definitely convenient! We checked into our Air BnB later in the evening after we were done with our sightseeing for the day.
Our Understanding of Korean Buddhism
I and my husband enjoy visiting Buddhist temples here in South Korea. However, we were all lost when we first visited the very first Buddhist temple in Seoul. We were utterly clueless as to the culture, architecture and iconography of these temples. The significance of the pagodas, stupas, the different Buddhas, the different animals, and many more things depicted in these temples, were lost on us.
Being newbies to Buddhist temples, we needed some handholding. In Bulguksa temple, we were pleasantly surprised to get a volunteer from the information counter near the entrance who patiently helped us understand a great deal about the temple and without charging us anything for her time. Thanks to her, we understood many a things and truly enjoyed our trip to Bulguksa temple.
So the next time you go to the temple, please call ahead before visiting and try to get a volunteer/guide to help you tour the temple. It definitely adds to the experience.
History of Bulguksa temple
Bulguksa temple was built in the 8th century by the Prime Minister, Kim Dae-seong, of the Late Silla Kingdom (57 BC to 935 CE) , who built the temple to honour the memory of his parents in his current birth. The Seokgram grotto was built at the same time too to honour the memory of his parents in his previous birth. We gave the Seokgram grotto a miss, as we were running short on time.
If you are interested in reading more about the temple’s legend in detail, then click here to read more 🙂
The Land of Buddha Temple
The Bulguksa temple is designed to denote the abode of the earthly Sakyamuni Buddha , and two celestial abodes of Amitabha Buddha and Vairocana Buddha. The entire temple signifies the land of the Buddha and its concept of Pure Land. An idealistic world situated on the other shores of this world, which can be reached by crossing the mythological Sanzu River .
The Bulguksa temple complex comprises of numerous wooden buildings built on raised stone terraces. It is demarcated in 4 main areas:
- Birojeon (the Vairocana Buddha Hall, which houses the gilt-bronze seated Vairocana Buddha),
- Daeungjeon (the Hall of Great Enlightenment, which houses Sakyamuni Buddha) and
- Geungnakjeon (the Hall of Supreme Bliss, which houses Amitabha Buddha).
- Gwaneumjeon (The Hall of Avalokiteshwara Bodhisattva)
These four halls are demarcated by corridors or walls to symbolize the separate worlds of these Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Let’s try to understand them!
- Vairocana Buddha is the cosmic Buddha, whose body represents the entire universe. He presides over the other Bodhisattvas and is the central figure emanating from the Sun.
- Sakyamuni is Gautam Buddha, the enlightened being (the prince who attained Nirvana) who founded the religion, and is portrayed in the human form.
- Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha who resides in his heavenly realm called as Western Paradise or the Pure Land. The Buddha who promises reincarnation to his devotees in his Pure Land.
- Avalokiteshwara is the Buddha of Compassion who grants mercy to his devotees.
The Heritage Treasures of Bulguksa Temple:
Bulguksa temple is unique in the sense that it houses more National Treasures (#7) than Korean Treasures (#6) as compared to any other temple in the country.
Take at look at these pictures:
We enter the temple from the main gate to reach a yeonji (pond)
The Bridges of Bulguksa Temple
Further ahead, we reach the most popular spot of the temple- The two sets of stairways leading to the temple, and also the most iconic and most photographed national treasures of the Bulguksa temple.
These stairways lead to the Anyagnmum gate and Jahamun gate. The 33 steps leading to the Jahamun Gate signify the 33 levels of enlightenment necessary for ordinary humans to achieve nirvana. There are 18 steps leading to Anyangmun gate and is meant for those Bodhisattvas who achieved nirvana and are on the path to the Western Paradise. Together these gates lend a beautiful facade and meaning to the temple.
The stairways are closed to public now and one can enter the temple from the right side of these stairs to enter the Daeungjeon hall.
The Pagodas
The Daeungjeon hall is the main hall of the temple which houses the Sakyamuni Buddha. The hall has two pagodas in the same compound next to each other. The Dabotap pagoda, or the Pagoda of many Treasures or Jewels and the Seokgotap pagoda or the Sakyamuni Buddha pagoda. These two yin-yang pagodas are considered as the epitome of Silla architecture and are associated with deep philosophical attributes.
This is a novelty of Bulguksa temple and has many explanations to it. One such explanation is that the Dabotap pagoda refers to the Sakyamuni who is teaching the Lotus Sutra and the Seokgotap pagoda refers to his disciples who are listening to his teachings standing next to him. His sermons enlighten the disciples to shine like precious jewels; hence the name.
Other Important Highlights of Bulguksa Temple:
The Gwaneumjeon where Avalokiteshwara’s shrine is located, is at the highest point of the temple complex. Below this, sits the Birojeon which houses the Vairocana Buddha. The Museoljoen is the Hall of No Words
The Geungnakjeon, the Hall of Supreme Bliss, houses the gilt-bronze Amitabha Statue in seated position. It is the same hall where the seven-treasure bridge, Chilbogyo bridge, is housed. The Golden Pig sculpture is also placed in the Geungnakjeon hall. It is said that those who touch/rub the Golden pig will be blessed with good fortune and prosperity!
The hanging fish symbol in the Daeungjeon hall, represents dedication to achieve enlightenment and is considered a sacred symbol in Korean Buddhism
