First published: 16/05/17.

Clyde 2.5

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries (Inscribed)

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries by Clyde

I visited this WHS in April 2017. I visited the Seonamsa Mountain Temple which is located in the Joyesan Provincial Park a few kilometres away from Suncheon.

This mountain temple has undergone several restorations from 1597 through to 1823 but is overall in quite a good state. It has a number of peculiar features such as a lavatory cottage a spiritual pond with an artificial island and a bridge with several Korean script inscriptions and a dragonhead carved in the middle (photo).

It is also possible to do a temple stay here and I'd recommend it even though I didn't stay myself. When I visited, the monks were practicing their drum and cymbal skills on a blackboard with wooden spoons and an empty gas cylinder! The sounds they created in the middle of the national park though were exactly similar to normal drums and cymbals!

The highlight of my visit were the lovely paintings or palsangdo enshrined in the Seonamsa Palsangjeon in which the entire life of Sakyamuni from former life to Nirvana is described in 8 scenes. The temple houses 24 of the most important national and state cultural properties and the Seonamsa Museum displays over 200 cultural properties.

Just before the temple entrance there's a lovely tea house with a very peaceful setting (just before the red wooden 'totems').

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment