Our tour around Bulguksa Temple continues...
Dabotap, a stone pagoda, which is also known as pagoda of many treasures, which is supposed to have been built in 751. The pagoda is currently depicted on the obverse of the 10 won coin. The three-level pagoda is 10.4 metres tall and was built in an ornate style not seen in other Buddhist countries. The pagoda was dismantled by the Japanese in the 1920s but was restored later...
Of the four stone lions guarding the top of the staircases only one remains. A second one is located at the British Museum in London, which is absolutely preposterous - how did it get there? Was it looted? No one has been able to figure out where the other two have gone...
Unfortunately, during our visit the Seokgatap (or the Sakyamuni Pagoda) is a stone pagoda was under restoration. The Seokgatap is also referred to as the Shadowless Pagoda or the Bulguksa Samcheung Seoktap...
A monk meditating...
The famous seated gilt-bronze 1.77 metre tall Buddha of Enlightenment statue from the 9th century. The head of the Buddha has an usnisa, a symbol of supreme wisdom...
What makes the statue unique is that the head of the Buddha was made by fusing two shells to each other and the face is elongated and soft. The robes of the Buddha are extremely detailed and the simulation of folded cloth rippling down from the shoulder to the lap is done with high skill. The hands of the Buddha are in a position, the right index finger covered by the left hand...
A standing Buddha in one of the shrines...
An ornately designed roof that is so characteristic of medieval Korean architecture...
The lovely woods behind the temple complex...
As we complete our visit to the Bulguksa, the veil of mist has lifted completely...
Indeed, an idyllic place...
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