Beopheungsa Temple, Yeongwol, South Korea

Beopheungsa Temple, Yeongwol, South Korea

1352, Mureungbeopheung-ro, Mureungdowon-myeon, Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea

Administratively, Beopheungsa Temple belongs to Beopheung-ri, Suju-myeon, Yeongwol County, but in practical terms it is considerably closer to Wonju. On a map the distance looks manageable enough, yet by public transportation it is a journey of genuine remoteness — a place that truly requires crossing mountains and fording rivers to reach. Beopheungsa is perhaps best known as one of the five Jeongmyeolbogung sanctuaries, where sacred relics of the historical Buddha are said to be enshrined. In 634, the great Silla monk Jajang returned from the Tang Dynasty bearing relics and bone fragments of the Buddha, which he distributed among five sites: Beopheungsa on Sajasan Mountain, Jeongamsa on Taebaeksan Mountain, Bongjeongam Hermitage on Seoraksan Mountain, Sangwonsa Temple on Odaesan Mountain, and Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan. These are the five great Jeongmyeolbogung of Korea.

Beopheungsa is situated on the southern face of Sajasan Mountain. The temple buildings are arranged on rising ground above a large parking area capable of accommodating several full-sized tour buses at once, and the view that opens up before the visitor is strikingly expansive — almost difficult to believe one is in Gangwon Province. The layout of the temple complex bears a resemblance to that of Yeongoksa Temple on Jirisan Mountain close enough to cause momentary confusion. Within the precinct, several newly constructed halls have gone up and construction work was still ongoing during my visit, leaving little of the atmosphere of age one might hope to find. The crowning jewel of Beopheungsa — its Jeongmyeolbogung hall — can only be reached by crossing the full length of the precinct and climbing a steep mountain slope for some distance. The view from the forecourt of the Jeongmyeolbogung brings to mind the scene one encounters at Sangwonsa on Odaesan.

Distant peaks spread out like a folding screen along the horizon, and far below, the eaves of Beopheungsa's main halls are just barely visible — or seem almost to be. It is a setting that could not be more fitting for the enshrinement of the Buddha's sacred relics; one would be hard pressed to find a more auspicious site. Having visited most of Korea's Jeongmyeolbogung sanctuaries, I can say that this one ranks among the finest. The essence of a temple, as I have come to believe, lies nine-tenths in its site and the arrangement of its buildings — and this place does not deviate by even a fraction from that principle. It strikes one as entirely worthy of holding so mysterious and sacred a Buddhist relic. It is easy to picture the many faithful who have made the arduous climb to this forecourt and stood before the hall — its roofline seeming almost to graze the sky — and offered up their prayers and deepest wishes.

Like so many temples, Beopheungsa endured repeated disasters over the centuries and underwent numerous cycles of repair and reconstruction; the halls standing today date largely from the 1930s. The Jeongmyeolbogung itself was rebuilt during that same period. To the rear left of the sanctuary, there remains a small earthen cave said to be the place where Jajang meditated after enshrining the relics, and a stone chest survives as well — the vessel, according to tradition, in which Jajang carried the sacred relics on the back of a lion. Beyond these, Beopheungsa holds several other items of cultural significance, including the stele of the monk Jinghyo of Heungnyeongsa Temple, designated Treasure No. 612. Of particular note are the palm-leaf scriptures kept at the temple — texts recorded in Sanskrit on the leaves of the talipot palm in an era before paper, originally preserved at Mahayeon Hermitage on Geumgangsan Mountain. According to tradition, a monk brought them south to escape the Communist occupation, and they have been kept at Beopheungsa ever since.

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