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Location248, Gaeam-ro Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
- Korean청림리 석불좌상
- Chinese靑林里石佛坐像
- Nickname청림사지 석조지장보살좌상
- FieldReligion / Buddhism
- Contents TypeArtifact / Buddhist Statue
- Current Location248, Gaeam-ro Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Original LocationNamseondong-gil Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- A seated stone statue of Ksitigarbha (Bodhisattva of Suffering) dating back to the early Joseon Period in Gaeamsa Temple, Gamgyori, Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- This Seated Stone Buddha in Cheongnim-ri wears a bandana and holds a magic bead in his hand. It was originally found on the site of a temple in Seoun Village, Cheongrim-ri, Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun. There are two sites of temples in Cheongrim-ri, i.e. the sites of Old Cheongrimsa Temple (in Seoun Village) and New Cheongrimsa Temple (in Cheongrim Village). The Seated Stone Buddha Statue in Cheongrim-ri, was relocated from the site of Old Cheongrimsa Temple to Gaeamsa Temple in 1996. The site of New Cheongrimsa Temple is the place where the bronze bell of Goryeo currently at Naesosa Temple used to be. It was designated as Jeollabuk-do Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 123 in September 8, 1986.
- Forms
- The statue has a total height of 158 cm including the platform on which it stands (70㎝). It wears a bandana, but does not show the headband for the bandana. As for the overall shape of the head, it looks rectangular perhaps due to the banana, but the face itself is round, and the cheeks look slightly puffy. The eyes, the nose, and the mouth are rather small; looking at it, one feels that they are concentrated on the center of the face. Compared to the size of the face, the shoulders are narrow, and the upper body looks rather small. The lower body looks broad compared to the upper body, making lookers feel a sense of stability. The thick robe is hung on both shoulders with the chest and the abdomen exposed in part. Portrayed within the robe are underclothes traversing the chest horizontally and sash knot tied after being twisted several times. It displays the auspicious pose with the right foot on the left foot.
The back of its left hand is placed on the palm of the right hand with the thumbs in touch with each other. A magic bead is placed on the palm. Its hands are in the gesture of dhyana mudra, whereas the statues of Ksitigarbha (Bodhisattva of Suffering) made between the late Goryeo Period and the early Joseon Period showing the right hand palm raised facing upward with the thumb touching the middle finger and the left hand facing downward with the thumb touching the middle finger. The damaged part between the neck and the chest was repaired with cement. A trace left on a spot below the neck enables guessing that a necklace was engraved originally. The pedestal is a three-tiered one.
- Characteristics
- The rectangular face, stable-looking lower body, short upper body, inner clothes portrayed in straight lines, robe sash knot, etc. correspond to the features of Buddha statues made before three-quarters of the 15th Century. Features of this statue are also found in the Gilt-bronze Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Treasure No. 280) kept at Dosoram Hermitage of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang. However, it is thought that the stone Buddha statue at Cheongrim-ri was made in the early 15th Century, i.e., a little earlier than the Gilt-bronze Seated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva kept at Dosoram Hermitage of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang, judging from the fact that this one follows the way of portraying the robe worn by Buddha statues made in the Goryeo Period and it shows a baby face with the cheeks depicted as slightly puffy.
- Historical Significance
- The stone statue found in Cheongrim-ri is a rare stone statue of Ksitigarbha dating back to the early Joseon Period, the likes of which are difficult to find. It displays the characteristics of local Buddhism in the Byeonsan Peninsula deeply associated with Monk Jinpyo’s religious philosophy. Unlike the Dharma character school of Buddhism of Silla based on Maitreya/Amitabha belief, Jinpyo established a belief system of Dharma character school of Buddhism based on Maitreya/Ksitigarbha belief. This stone statue found in Cheongrim-ri, along with the statues of Ksitigarbha wearing a bandana found in or near Seounsa Temple, tells us that Jinpyo had strong influence on Buan and Gochang between the late Goryeo Period and the early Joseon Period.
- See Also