Korean Buddhism: History—Condition—ArtStarr, Frederick
Religion
Korean Buddhism: History—Condition—Art
Starr, Frederick
Art -- Korea; Buddhism -- Korea; Buddhist art
In a former lecture we referred to the cave chapel of Sukkul-am. It is
full of beauty. Excavated in the slope near a great ridge summit, it
looks out upon the Eastern Sea. In the old days it was approached by a
fine flight of steps. From its summit a passageway led to the
subterranean chamber. It was bordered on both sides by slabs carved with
figures in high relief. Here are the two guardian demons, the four kings
of the cardinal points, the six generals. Passing between them we reach
the little circular chapel, about thirty feet across, subterraneously
situated in the hillside. Its low, vaulted roof is an ingenious and
wonderful construction. The surrounding walls are filled with slabs
bearing fine carvings. Here are three splendid figures of Bodhisattvas,
with boat-shaped haloes, three other figures of Bodhisattvas with round
haloes, and distributed between them the ten first disciples of the
Great Teacher. These ten figures present marvellous detail of feature;
not only personal differences, but race differences are sharply brought
out; more than that the figures were originally colored, and no doubt,
different races are indicated by the different tints. There is no
question that individuals of different races were among the first
disciples of the Buddha. And in the center of all this beauty, this
flowering of ancient art, sits the stone Buddha, on his lotus pedestal.
It is a monolith, cut from a block of stone about eleven feet in height.
It is beautiful in pose, in feature, and in expression. For almost
fifteen hundred years it has sat there calmly looking out upon the
Eastern Sea. Every morning it is greeted by the rising sun.
Besides figures cut in high relief, the old artists made full sculptures
in the round. Such, of course, was the Buddha figure, just described.
Such are the great miriok, sculptured from natural rock pinnacles, like
the one at Eunjin. You may remember the picture of a giant lotus
pedestal, lying in the courtyard of Kumsan-sa (Plates V, VI), which we
showed you in the first lecture; it is at least a thousand years of age.
In the same courtyard, you remember that we saw a little tower or pagoda
of stone, thirteen stories high, but in reality no taller than a man. At
Pawpchu-sa there is that splendid bowl of stone, more than twelve
hundred years of age, which in its time, no doubt, was filled with pure
water for the cleansing of the hands and mouth of worshippers. Sometimes
we find stone lanterns and occasionally these are supported by animal
figures in caryatid forms. Then there are the _sari_ stones and altars
and turtle-borne monuments.
[Illustration: PLATE XXV
Great figures of Buddhist Trinity, standing: Kumsan-sa. Amida, Kwannon,
Daiseishi
(Thirty feet or so in height)
[Page 89]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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