Ssanggyesa Temple

SOUTH KOREA, South Gyeongsang, Hadong

Ssanggyesa means Twin Streams Temple. It is located on the southern part of Jirisan (Unusual Knowledge Mountain). The temple is so named because there are streams flowing along both sides of the temple. This temple and Hwaeomsa Temple are the most famous on Jirisan. It was founded in 723 by Sambeop, a disciple of Master Uisang, and was originally named Okcheonsa, meaning Jade Spring Temple. In 840 during the Silla dynasty, National Master Jingam renamed it Ssanggyesa. The temple was destroyed during the Japanese invasions (1592–1598) but was rebuilt in the 17th century.
The temple, with the Great Hero Hall as its center, consists of the One Pillar Gate, Diamond Gate, Heavenly King Gate, Arhat Hall, Hall of Eight Pictures, Hall of Eight Notes, Judgment Hall, bell tower stupas, and stone lanterns.
The Great Hero Hall has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. In front of the hall there is the stele for the stupa of Seon Master Jingam. The inscription on the stele was created by Cui Zhiyuan, an eminent scholar of the Silla dynasty. The stele was listed as National Treasure No. 47 in 1962. To the east of the Great Hero Hall there is a huge stone statue of the Buddha.
The Hall of Eight Pictures has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. On the back wall there is a mural depicting the Assembly on Vulture Peak, which was painted in 1687 during the Joseon dynasty, and listed as Treasure No. 925 in 1987. The hall houses paintings of the Eight Great Events from the Life of the Buddha dated to the Joseon dynasty and listed as Treasure No. 1365 in 2003.
The Hall of Eight Notes is dedicated to the study and performance of Korean Buddhist devotional chanting. It is said that Master Jingam combined Chinese Buddhist music with traditional Korean musical characteristics, creating the Korean Buddhist devotional chanting used today.