The Foundation Legend of Mireuksa

There’s a mysterious story behind the birth of Mireuksa.

When you examine the entire Mireuksa site from the pond, you will notice the mountains surrounding the temple. The story begins as the king and queen of Baekje passed below this mountain a long time ago. They were headed to the temple through the mountain.

When the two arrived at the big pond below the mountain, Maitreya, or a Future Buddha, appeared at the pond. Maitreya is the Buddha that people believed back then, and is called Mireuk in Korean.

[King]
What is that? Stop the cart at once.

[Queen]
Your majesty, he’s Maitreya, the savior of mankind.

[King]
This is truly an auspicious place.

[Queen]
I beg you, please build a large temple on this site.

[King]
Of course, I’ll grant your wish.

But I must find a way to fill this pond first…

The king and queen told the story to the monk in the temple. After listening to them, the monk struck down the mountain overnight and filled the pond. Afterwards, the king ordered his people to build a temple here, and named it Mireuksa. Through this temple, he wished Baekje to be Buddha’s nation, the place of Maitreya’s incarnation.


Maitreya Belief

Let’s talk about the Maitreya belief of Buddhism to better understand Mireuksa.

‘Mireuk’ of Mireuksa is the Korean name for Maitreya, the successor of the historic Sakyamuni Buddha. It is believed that he would appear on Earth again, achieve complete enlightenment and give people pure Buddhist teachings. It’s similar to God of Christianity, who came down to the world as a savior.

Based on this belief, Maitreya would deliver important preaching to people three times. People of Baekje wished Maitreya would come down to Mireuksa to deliver the preaching. Such wish led to the temple’s unique construction of the three sections.

People of Baekje prayed here in Mireuksa, and anxiously awaited for Maitreya, their messiah, who would come down to save them.