Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 5 (Part 1) – Morning visit to Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju

7 May 2012

The best time to visit the Bulguksa Temple is in the early morning and that was what we did on our last day in Gyeongju. We took bus #10 from Hyundai Hotel in the Bomun Resort area and alighted near the temple. There was little signage showing the way to the temple from the bus stop. Buddhist temple were mostly located on high ground, so we walked in the general direction that led us uphill. Soon enough, we came to a path, flanked by cherry trees, leading to the temple.

Upon entry, we were greeted by two pairs of fierce looking giant figures on both sides of the entrance gate. The Chinese characters translate into  “ Heavenly King Gate”.

Fierce looking figures guarding both sides of the entrance.

Figure holding a dragon on right hand and the dragon’s pearl on the left.

We then walked along a footpath leading to the main temple site. The path was well-lined with tall trees with red and green leaves. We crossed over stone bridges laid over ponds and came to the main site. At this time of the morning, the temple was not crowded and the whole place was quite serene and nice.

Overview of the Bulguksa Temple site from brochure.

Cheongungyo - 18 step lower staircase with dividing line in the middle. The upper staircase is called the Baegungyo.  (Number 1 in map above).

Peaceful and serene in the morning – best time to visit the Bulguksa. Center pavilion is called the Beomyoungru (number 9 in map above).

Archway beneath the Cheongungyo.

Beomyoungru (number 9 in map above).

Walking around we saw some columns and a stone tub with carved patterns on the outside and lotus flowers in the inside. History of the stone tub is unknown.

One must admire the beautiful and colourful traditional Korean wooden roof architecture.

Colourfully painted and detailed Lotus.

We passed through a red wooden door and came into the main courtyard. 

Red wooden door and hallway, with the dragon-carp wooden drum at the back.

Door knocker

On the left, there was a Wooden dragon-cum-carp drum. In Chinese mythology, there is myth of a carp transforming into a dragon by crossing the dragon’s gate. This is a cultural symbol for courage, perseverance, and accomplishment.

Wooden dragon-cum-carp drum.

 Wooden drum on a turtle’s back.

The main courtyard featured the two famous white granite pagodas in Bulguksa. They were the Seokgatap Pagoda and Dabotap Pagoda.

Three Storied Stone Pagoda of Bulguksa - Seokgatap Pagoda.

Dabotap Pagoda – featured in the back of the 10 Won coin.

Dae-ung-jon (Great Enlightenment Hall) - interesting roof shape of the traditional Korean buildings.

Sakyamuni Buddha in the Dae-ung-jon (Great Enlightenment Hall).

We took the opportunity to pay respect to the Buddha and made a small donation to the temple.

Behind the Great Enlightenment Hall, we found another hall with an interesting name. It is called the Mu-Seol-jeon or  “No-Word Hall” after translating the Chinese text into English. A sign said “the Moo-sol-jon is a hall for lecturing.

It is called the “Moo-sol” (no-word/non-lecturing) hall because it is impossible to express and reach the essence of the Buddha’s teachings or the depth of Truth though the means of language.”

Mu-Seol-jeon or “No-Word Hall (number 4 in map).

No-word Hall or Museoljeon.

We then went up a steep flight of steps to the Gwaneumjeon.

Up to stairs to the Gwaneumjeon.

Gwaneumjeon – seems to be the highest point within Bulgaksa

Birojeon – number 6 in above map.

Near the Birojeon, we saw the Sarira Pagoda, stone stacks and even a cute little squirrel.

Sarira Pagoda of Bulguksa that looked like a stone lantern. It has intricate carvings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sitting on lotus.  The cap is hexagonal (what’s left of it). The pedestal is an octagonal lotus motif.

Stacked stones along a temple wall behind the Birojeon.

Painted “Door Gods” – making sure what is beyond the doors are off limits

On the way out of the temple, we saw this beautiful combination of green and red leaves in the trees above. Nice Old versus New combination.  A perfect end to our visit.