We planned to visit Beomeosa Temple today. We took Line 1 metro from Busan Station all the way to Beomeosa Station (20 stops).
Once we reached Beomeosa Station. we took Exit No.5 and walk between the Exit 5 and 7 along the road for about 5 minutes and we arrived at the Samsin bus stop. From here, we took bus No.90 which brought us to the entrance of Beomeosa Temple.
It was quite a long walk before we could see the first building within the temple compound. However, there were many interesting rocks and structures along the way. Beomeosa Temple is one of the 25 major temples in Korea and has 11 hermitages on the mountain and more than 200 branch temples around the nation.
First we came to Jogyemun Gate (曹溪门), also known as The One Pillar Gate or Mountain Gate, which is the first number of gates built at the entrance to a temple compound. It is renowned as a masterpiece in Korea with its unique style of supporting the roof with four stone pillars. It was called One Pillar Gate because when viewed from the side, it looks as if there is only one pillar holds up the roof.
Nearby there was a tap for visitors to wash their hands and quench their thirst.
Next we arrived at Cheonwangmun Gate (天王门). It is usually the second entryway into the temple compound.
It enshrines the "Guardian Kings" of the four cardinal directions (四大天王) for the purpose of protecting Buddha-dharma.
Taking a few more steps further in the temple brought us to Burimun Gate (不二门), the last entrance gate to the temple. The term non-duality implies the Middle Way that transcends relative dualities: Being and non-being or birth and death are no different from each other.
After going through the 3 entrance gates, we came to Bojeru Pavilion (普济楼) or Universal Salvation Pavillion. It is the largest hall at Beomeosa Temple and most Dharma assemblies and Buddhist rituals are held here.
As there were a lot of steps to climb, Jerlene was lagging behind as she had to be extra careful not to hurt her ankle again.
At higher ground, we had a spectacular view of the mountains surrounding the temple compound.
A stone lantern was built in the yard of the temple to house a lamp. In Buddhism, the lantern symbolizes the light of wisdom that dispels sentient being's ignorance. The stone lantern is estimated to be a work created in the 9th century.
The Daeungjeon Hall (大雄殿) or Great Hero Hall is dedicated to the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. The Daeungjeon Hall at Beomeosa Temple enshrines the Buddhas of Three Periods. Shakyamuni (Present) is flanked by Maitreya (Future) to his left and Dipamkara (Past) to his right, each with an attendant Bodhisattva's statue. It is estimated that the current building was newly built by Venerable Myojeon in 1614.
At this point, we could see Jijangjeon Hall (地藏殿) on a higher ground. This hall is dedicated to Ksitigarbha ("womb of the earth") and the ten judges of the dead. Ksitigarbha was authorized by Shakyamuni Buddha to rescue all sentient beings during the period between the Buddha's nirvana and Maitreya Buddha's coming in the future.
We also came to Gwaneumjeon Hall (观音殿), which is dedicated to Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. It is believed that this Bodhisattva, in a form with many eyes and hands, responds with endless compassion to sentient beings in distress who cry for help by reciting his name with all their might.
At the top of the temple compound, there is a pipe with cool and clean spring water flowing out for visitors to freshen up and quench their thirst.
After taking a short break, we arrived at Palsang, Dokseong and Nahanjeon Halls. This unique style of architecture built by Venerable Hakam in 1906 incorporates three Buddhist shrines. The Palsanjeon Hall (捌相殿) enshrines the "Paintings of the Eight Great Events from Shakyamuni Buddha's Life." Dokseongjeon Hall (独圣殿) enshrines Venerable Naban, a hermit who attained enlightenment on his own. The Nahanjeong Hall (罗汉殿) features Sakyamuni Buddha as the main image with 16 Nahans (Arhat in Sanskrit), or 16 holy disciples, on both sides.
We had covered most of the buildings in Beomeosa Temple by now. So we simply walked around and enjoyed the natural beauty surrounding us.
After we were satisfied admiring the beautiful surrounding, we slowly walked down to the lower ground and came to a Jongru (钟楼). Most large Korean temples have a bell tower to rescue all sentient beings, enshrining four percussion instruments: a Dharma bell for the sentient beings in hells, a Dharma drum for earthbound beings, a wooden dish-shaped gong for waterborne beings, and a cloud-shaped gong for airborne beings.
As we were walking towards a car park, we passed by a 580 years old Ginkgo tree.
We then visited the Beomeosa Museum (圣宝博物馆), which has a 1400 year history and has an exhibition hall of 108 acreage. We had to change our shoes with the sandals provided in order to enter the museum.
As we walked through the car park towards the temple exit, we came across a few nice structure and pagoda.
As we walked down the pathway towards the bus stop, we took a turn to visit the Gregarious Wisteria Habitat. A grove of some 6,500 wisterias grows around Beomeosa Temple. Such a natural habitat is rare in Korea. The Beomeosa Temple valley is most beautiful in May when the wisterias are in full bloom.
This place is like a primeval forest and it is a habitat for about 280 other species of tress and rare plants.
We did not hike too deep into the forest. After 15 minutes of hiking, we returned to the main road and took the bus 90 back to bus stop where we boarded earlier.
There were stalls selling interesting Korean pastries along the road towards the metro station.
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