9. Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple

[Guide]
"Tongdosa Temple is divided into Sangrojeon, Jungrojeon, and Harojeon. Daeungjeon Hall is a major building located in Sangrojeon. As Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple is a flat building that combines two buildings, its pillars are arranged in a different manner from that of other buildings. It's unique to the Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple."

[Tourist]
"Excuse me. What is Daeungjeon Hall for?"

[Guide]
"Daeungjeon Hall is a building that usually houses Sakyamuni Buddha. Normally it also enshrines the Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra on the left and right of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

[Tourist]
"But sir. There's no Buddha statue here.”

[Guide]
"Tongdosa Daeungjeon Hall has no Buddha statue. This is the unique characteristic of the Daeungjeon Hall Tongdosa Temple. Daeungjeon Hall only serves to function as a place for paying respects."

[Tourist]
"Why is that?"

[Guide]
"Why? Because Tongdosa Temple holds the genuine sarisa of Buddha.

[Tourist]
"Genuine sarira?’

[Guide]
"Genuine sarira is a sarira from the Buddha's body. So that's why it's such a valuable treasure."

[Tourist]
"Do you mean the sarisa of the Sakyamuni Buddha is here? Where is it?"

[Guide]
"It is enshrined in the Ordination Platform behind Daeungjeon Hall. It is clearly visible from the Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple That's why there is no statue of Buddha in the Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple. It has the genuine sarira, which is more evident that the Buddha statue.

[Tourist]
"Genuine sarira... ah! That’s why this is a special Daeungjeon Hall!”

[Woman]
The current building of Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple was destroyed during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1644, the 22nd year of King Injo. The foundation stone was placed and the corner pillars and the supporting pillars were erected, and a facade stone carved with a lotus was placed between them. This is a post-and-lintel stylobate finished with an upper platform stone on its top, which indicate that Daeungjeon Hall was built during the Silla Dynasty.

[Man]
The Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple, which only functions as a place for paying respects, has a long Buddhist altar in the east-west direction, and there is a teaching podium in the center used to preach.

[Woman]
Daeungjeon Hall of Tongdosa Temple has a signboard hanging on its four sides which reads "Daeungjeon" on the east side, while the signboard hanging on the west side reads "Daebanggwangjeon", "Geumganggyedan" on the south side, and "Jeokmyeolbogung" on the north side. There are different Juryeon, or writings, hanging there. Juryeon is a writing on a pillar or a wall that is used as an ornament. The sentences of the Juryeon of Tongdosa Temple are composed of five verses, and the first four verses are in the form of heptasyllabic quatrain used in Chinese poems, while the last, the fifth verse, is known to have been used to match the number of pillars regardless of the previous content. Among them, the Juryeon of Daeungjeon reads as follows.


[Man]
A beautiful moon, has it been rounded revolving the Milky Way?
The still light from a white face lights up the whole world.
Monkeys face the moon and try to fish out the moon from the pond.
The high moon has never fallen from the blue sky.
It matches the Buddhist mind of enlightenment in silence.