Baegyangsa (), also spelled Baekyangsa, is a head temple of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the representative order of traditional Korean Buddhism with roots that date back 1200 years to the Later Silla National Master Do ...

of Korean Buddhism. It is situated in Bukha-myeon,

Jangseong County Jangseong County (''Jangseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Jangseong is in the southern region of the Korean peninsula and Gwangju and Naju is the nearest city from Jangseong. In South Jeolla, it near the northern bor ...

, in

South Jeolla South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korea ...

province,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Built in 632 under the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

kingdom, it lies on the slopes of Baegam-san in

Naejangsan National Park Naejangsan National Park ( ko, 내장산국립공원, 內藏山國立公園) is located in the provinces of Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constit ...

History

Baegyangsa was established by Zen Master Yeohwan in 632 AD. The temple's original name was Baegamsa. In the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...

Dynasty, it was called Jeongtosa. In Korean, Jeongto is the same concept of heaven as in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The name of the temple means "white sheep," and refers to a legend from the Goryeo period in which a white sheep came down from the mountain to listen to a sermon and was sufficiently enlightened that it was able to ascend into Paradise. In the Japanese occupation era the temple was recognized as one of the main temples in the Korean peninsula. It belongs to the Chogye Order at the present time. These days, a large role has been given to Baegyang Temple for educating monks around

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as w ...

province. The temple has recently become well-known as the home of monk and chef Jeong Kwan.

Forests

Large numbers of ''

Torreya nucifera ''Torreya nucifera'' is a slow-growing, coniferous tree native to southern Japan and to South Korea's Jeju Island. It is also called Japanese torreya or Japanese nutmeg-yew. Description It grows to 15–25 m tall with a trunk up to 1.5 m diam ...

'' grow around Baegyang Temple. This area is one of the northernmost areas where ''Torreya nucifera'' can grow in the Korean peninsula.

Tourism

The temple is a notable tourist destination, offering a

Temple Stay Temple Stay is cultural program in several South Korean Buddhist temples. Temple Stay allows participants to experience the life of Buddhist practitioners and learn the various aspects of Korean Buddhist culture and history through stories told by ...

program. The Temple Stay offers a shorter program and an overnight program, in which participants can learn cooking with Jeong Kwan.

Transportation

Baegyangsa is serviced by intercity buses, with several buses per day to the main bus terminals in

Jeongeup Jeongeup (), also known as Jeongeup-si, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city limits include Naejang-san National Park, a popular destination particularly in autumn due to its foliage. Jeongeup is on the Honam Expressway an ...

and Gwangju.

References

External links