Jeseok Temple帝釋寺

Jeoksa Temple is a temple built at the birthplace of Great Master Wonhyo (617-688). Great Master Wonhyo was a high monk of Silla who advocated for Tongbulgyo (Unified Buddhism - Wonhyo-jong, Bunham-jong, Haedong-jong), popularized Buddhism among the common people, and is revered as an indispensable figure in Korea's ancient history, philosophy, and intellectual thought. The status and value of his unique system of knowledge are consistently being re-evaluated not only in Asia but across the world. When Mrs. Jo, Wonhyo's mother, had a dream of a meteor embracing her and conceived Wonhyo, she was heavily pregnant. She was passing under a chestnut tree in Yulgok to the north, which had been burned down, when she suddenly felt labor pains. She hung her husband's clothes on the chestnut tree to create a birthing chamber and gave birth. It is said that at this time, five-colored clouds descended from the sky and covered the ground. Therefore, that chestnut tree came to be called 'Sarasu', and it is said that its chestnuts, being unusual in size and thickness, were called 'Saraul'. Later, Wonhyo built a temple next to the chestnut tree where he was born and named it 'Sarasa'. There is a legend that Jeoksa Temple is a reconstruction of Sarasa, which was built next to Great Master Wonhyo's birthplace after he entered monkhood during the Silla Dynasty. Sarasa was abandoned, and then about 400 years ago, a farmer plowing a field discovered a Buddhist statue and a stupa body, leading to the temple's restoration. The stone seated Buddha, broken stupa body, and lotus pedestal of a stone lantern remaining at Jeoksa Temple appear to be from the late Silla period, suggesting that Jeoksa Temple is the successor to Sarasa. Furthermore, Jeoksa Temple annually holds a tea ceremony on the 4th day of the 5th lunar month, Great Master Wonhyo's birthday, and the Samseonghyeon Cultural Festival, which illuminates the lives and thoughts of the Three Sages (Samseonghyeon) - Wonhyo, Seolchong, and Ilyeon. On Dano Day, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, the temple participates in the Gyeongsan Jain Danoje Festival hosted by Gyeongsan City.