Founding of Bulguksa

Overview

Bulguksa is a temple from the Unified Silla period located on the western slope of Mount Toham in Jinhyeon-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The "Daesung hyoi sebumo" entry of the Samguk yusa records that in 751 (the 10th year of King Gyeongdeok), Kim Taesong (700–774) began building this temple for his parents in his present life. The same record states that Kim Taesong also built Seokbulsa (Seokguram) for his parents of a previous life. In 1995, Bulguksa was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with Seokguram.

Founding Date

Record in the Samguk yusa

According to the Samguk yusa, Kim Taesong began construction work on Bulguksa in 751 but died in 774 without seeing it completed, after which the state finished the work.

Document Discovered in Seokgatap

During the dismantling and repair of Seokgatap (Three-Story Stone Pagoda of Bulguksa, Gyeongju) in 1966, a brush-written scroll was found in the reliquary of the second-story body stone, together with the Mugujeonggwang Daeda-ranigyeong (Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light). This document, which had long remained unread, was made public about 40 years later after restoration and conservation treatment. It consisted of records of later repairs to stone pagodas from the early Goryeo period, including the "Bulguksa Mugujeonggwang Tapjung-sugi" (1024, 15th year of King Hyeonjong) and the "Bulguksa Seoseoktap Jungsu Hyeongjigi" (1038, 4th year of King Jeongjong). The document states that in 742, the year King Gyeongdeok ascended the throne, construction of the eastern and western pagodas began before Kim Taesong became jungsi (chief minister), and that they were completed during the reign of King Hyegong. Because this record predates the Samguk yusa by about 250 years, the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture judges that construction of Bulguksa began in 742.

Other Traditions

The Bulguksa Gogeum Changgi (compiled in 1740, 16th year of King Yeongjo) records that the mother of King Beopheung first founded the temple in 528, and that the mother of King Jinheung rebuilt it in 574. However, apart from this book, no records or relics supporting this account have been confirmed.

Founders and Character

There are records that the state completed a project that had been started by an individual, and some scholars, based on the enormous scale of the construction, consider Bulguksa to be a temple of the Silla royal family rather than a personal wonchal (memorial temple) of Kim Taesong. In the writings of Gyunyeo of the early Goryeo period, there is a statement that Kim Taesong learned Hwaeom from Pyohun, a disciple of Uisang. A late ninth-century text by Choe Chi-won calls the temple "Hwaeom-jong Bulguksa" (Bulguksa of the Hwaeom School). From this, Bulguksa is understood to have been built with the intention of realizing on earth the Buddha-land (Buddhakṣetra) depicted in the Hwaeom scriptures. However, the 1024 restoration record contains the expression "Yuga-eop Bulguksa" (Bulguksa of Yogācāra practice), which shows that during the early Goryeo period the temple had shifted to the Beopsang school lineage.