Jogyesa Temple

SOUTH KOREA, Seoul

Jogye refers to Caoxi Mountain, on which Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Chinese Chan school, resided. Located in the center of Seoul, it is the head temple for the 1st district of the Jogye order of Korean Seon Buddhism. The temple was established in 1395 during the early Joseon dynasty and was rebuilt and renamed Hwanggaksa (Temple of the Enlightened Emperor) in 1910. It was renamed Taegosa during the period of Japanese rule (1910–1945) and was given its current name in 1954.
The temple occupies 1.5 ha and consists of structures including the One Pillar Gate, Great Hero Hall, Ultimate Bliss Hall, bell tower, and seven-tier stone pagoda. The seven-by-four bay Great Hero Hall, built in 1935, is a wooden building with a hip-and-gable roof. It has exquisitely carved doors and windows. The hall contains statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, the Medicine Buddha, and Amitabha Buddha, flanked on either side by paintings of Bodhisattvas and Arhats. In front of the Great Hero Hall there stands the seven-tier stone pagoda, underneath which a silver box containing a Buddha relic was found during the reconstruction of the temple in 2002.