Gounsa 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 stands in
Danchon-myeon,
Uiseong County
Uiseong County (''Uiseong-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. Located near the center of the province, it is bounded by Andong on the north, Cheongsong on the east, Gunwi County o ...
, in the province of
Gyeongsangbuk-do
North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...
,
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 ...
. The temple was built in 681 C.E. by
Uisang
Uisang (625–702) was one of the most eminent early Silla Korean scholar-monks, a close friend of Wonhyo (元曉).
He traveled to China, studying at Mount Zhongnan as a student of the influential Huayan master Zhiyan (智儼) and as a seni ...
, a leading Buddhist monk of
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...
. The name means "lonely cloud"; these characters were chosen after the temple was visited by scholar
Choe Chi-won. The temple had previously been known by the same name, but with the meaning of "high cloud."
Gounsa served as a center of
uibyeong resistance in the
Seven Year War, when it was one of few temples to escape being burned by the Japanese forces. The temple did burn in a catastrophic fire in 1835; thus, all current buildings date from the 19th or 20th century.
See also
*
Korean Buddhist temples
Buddhist temples are an important part of the Korean landscape. This article gives a brief overview of Korean Buddhism, then describes some of the more important temples in Korea. Most Korean temples have names ending in ''-sa'' (사, 寺), which ...
*
Religion in South Korea
External links
{{Commonscat
Official site, in KoreanAsian Historical Architecture: Gounsa Temple
681 establishments
Religious organizations established in the 7th century
Buddhist temples in South Korea
Buildings and structures in North Gyeongsang Province
Uiseong County
Tourist attractions in North Gyeongsang Province