Tongdosa

Tongdosa (Salvation of the world through mastery of truth) Le Bas, Tom :"South Korea" pg 244, Insight Guides, 8th edition 2007 is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosanhttp://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264216 near Yangsan City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
Tongdosa is one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea and represents the Buddha; (Haeinsa, also located in Gyeongsangnam-do, represents the dharma or Buddhist teachings; and Songgwangsa in Jeollanam-do represents the sangha or Buddhist community.)
Tongdosa is famous because there are no statues outsidehttp://www.orientalarchitecture.com/koreasouth/busan/tongdosa.php of the main (Sakyamuni) Buddha at the temple because the "real shrines of the Sakyamuni Buddha" (relics) are preserved at Tongdosa. Courtyards at the temple are arrayed around several stupas (pagodas) that house the Buddha's relics.
==Origins==
Tongdosa was established by the monk Jajang after returning from China in 646 CE, during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla. It thrived throughout the Unified Silla and Goryeo periods, when Buddhism was the state religion, and remained strong even in the Joseon Dynasty. 
Tongdosa is reputeded to house several relics of the Sakyamuni Buddha himself, including a robe, a begging bowl, and a bone from his skull, all relics that Jajang brought back from the travels to China he undertook in 636 to study with ten other monks there.
Only one building, the Daeungjeon (main Dharma worship hall), survived the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century; the other buildings were rebuilt later that period. In the mid 15th century at the height of its prosperity, Tongdosa is said to have been comprised of hundreds of buildings and thousands of monks. For over 1,300 years Tongdosa's Beopdeung (temple candle) has never gone out.
===Legend===
Legend has it the at the time of Tongdosa's founding there were nine evil dragons living in a big pond at the temple site. To free the people from further peril, Jajang enjoined the evil dragons to leave the pond by reciting a magic Buddhist scripture. The evil dragons refused to leave so Jajang inscribed the Chinese character for fire on a sheet of paper and tossed it skyward while using his long stick to splash the water in the pond.
The water began to boil. The evil dragons could not endure the boiling heat in the pond so three tried to escape the boiling water and flew off, became disoriented, and died by colliding into a cliff that still shows staining from their blood. That cliff is now called Yonghyeolam ("dragon blood rock"). Five of the evil dragons flew off southwest into a valley beyond the temple, which is now called Oryonggok ("five dragon valley").
The last evil dragon, now blinded by the heat, made a vow to Jajang that if he spared his life and allowed him to stay in the pond forever, the blind dragon would always guard the temple. Jajang granted the dragon's request and the dragon was allowed to stay as protector of the temple.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/Temples/252http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=610424 Nine Dragons Pond, now called Guryongji, still stands beside the main temple hall.http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/09/144_24225.html
==Temple today==
Tongdosa is often called "The temple without a Buddha" because it contains no outdoor statues of the Buddha, rather it is arranged around several stupas which contain Jajang's relics of the historical Buddha.
Tongdosa is Korea's largest temple. The road that meanders up to the temple wanders through a forest called "Pine trees dancing in the wind". A total of 65 buildings separately house a shrine for virtually every major Buddhist deity. The temple does not seem especially large because many of the buildings are dispersed throughout the surrounding mountainside. 13 hermitages can be found on the temple complex grounds.http://www.buddhist-tourism.com/countries/korea/temples/tongdosa-temple.html The buildings are varied in architectural style with many left unpainted or faded. One of the buildings contains a fine mural depicting a boat escorting the deceased into paradise.
A museum on the temple grounds displays an excellent collection of artwork. Today at this temple there can be found 19 local treasures and 794 local cultural properties.
Approaching the entrance the first bridge one sees is Samseongbanwol - Three Arch Bridge - meaning three stars and a half moon, sometimes also called the One Mind Bridge. The configuration of the Chinese letter is composed of four strokes, when applying the strokes to the name of the bridge, the long stroke stands for a half moon and the other strokes, three stars.http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=45,6394,0,0,1,0
The first gate to the temple, Iljumun, is called the One Pillar Gate because when viewed from the side the gate appears to be supported by a single pillar, symbolizes the one true path of enlightenment, supporting the world. Iljumun is the boundary between the spiritual world and the secular world.http://www.buddhism.org/board/read.cgi?board=glossary&y_number=21&nnew=1
The following gate is the Gate of the Guardians of the Four Directions or Four Heavenly Kings, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world. They are the protectors of the world and fighters of evil, each able to command a legion of supernatural creatures to protect the Dharma (Buddhist teachings). 
Next comes the third gate of the temple, Purimun, known as the Gate of Non-Duality. The world across this gate is one of non-duality, where there is no distinction between the Buddha and human beings, being and non-being, good and evil, and fullness and emptiness. During Purimun's long history the gate has been rebuilt many times.
The present Gate of Non-Duality was constructed in the late Joseon Dynasty and was built to line up straight with the One Pillar Gate, Guardian Gate, and Daeungjeon (main Dharma hall). The gate of Non-Duality is the left most structure in the first picture at the top of the page.
Purimun, the Gate of Non-Duality, is designated South Gyeongsang Provincial Tangible Cultural Property #252.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel/skyongsang/Tongdosa1.htm
Tongdosa is one of five temples in Korea, known as Jeokmyeolbogung, which enshrine the relics of the Buddha that Jajang returned from China. Tongdosa is the ‘Buddha Jewel Temple’ because it enshrines Sari Jinsin (the Buddha's relics) in the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter), a platform for the ceremony prevailing Buddhist precepts, behind Daeungjeon (main Dharma Hall).
There is no image of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas, as is typically found in a worship hall, in Tongdosa's . Instead a Buddhist altar that spans east to west inside along the front with a window, in the place a Buddha image, looks out on the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Alter).
Tongdosa's Daeungjeon is National Treasure #144.
==Gallery==
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-04.jpg|Single Arch Bridge
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-08.jpg|First or One Pillar Gate at the entrance to Tongdosa
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-09.jpg|Daeungjeon, the Main Worship Hall - National Treasure #144
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-10.jpg|One of the Halls having little or no paint
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-05.jpg|Tongdosa Steles and Stupas
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-12.jpg|Stone Lantern and Gate
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-13.jpg|Museum Pieces
Image:Korea-Tongdosa-11.jpg|Stone Lattern
==References==
==See also==
* Korean Buddhism
* Korean Buddhist temples
* List of Korea-related topics
==External links==
*Official site, in English
*Tongdosa Museum site
*Asian Historical Architecture: Tongdosa Temple
*Buddhist Art Painting by Tongdosa Bulhwaban
Category:646 establishments
Category:Buddhist temples of the Jogye Order
Category:Religious organizations established in the 7th century
Category:Buddhism in Korea
Category:Korean culture
Category:Busan
Category:Buddhist temples in South Korea
ko:통도사
ja:通度寺
pl:T'ongdo sa