2024-01-09 15:05:00
Panoramic view of Guinsa Temple in Danyang, the headquarters of the Cheontae Order. Buildings are lined up on both sides of the narrow valley. /Cheontae sect
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As Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee, visited Guinsa Temple in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province on the 9th, this temple is attracting attention. Chairman Han also visited the temple that President Yoon Seok-yeol visited three times from his time as a candidate to October of last year.
Guinsa Temple is the headquarters of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism. It is a temple similar to Jogyesa Temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The reason Chairman Han visited Guinsa Temple on this day was to attend a Buddhist service commemorating the 112th anniversary of the birth of Great Master Sangwolwon-gak (1911-1974), the founder of the Cheontae Order (November 28 in the lunar calendar). At the Buddhist service, Chairman Han gave a congratulatory address and introduced the episode in which Guinsa Temple accepted 1,500 participants who left early to avoid a typhoon during last summer’s jamboree and conducted a program, saying, “The good influence of Cheontae Order and Guinsa Temple has spread widely in our society, creating a warm sense of community.” “I hope it gets stronger,” he said.
Guinsa Temple is famous among Cheontae Buddhism believers and hikers during the fall foliage season, but it is not widely known among the general public. First of all, it is not easy to visit. As you can see just by looking at the map, Guinsa Temple is not a location you can stop by while passing by. It is over 30 minutes away by car from Danyang-eup. It is a place you can visit only if you make up your mind and take the time. Perhaps for this reason, it was not a frequent destination for politicians like Jogyesa Temple or Myeongdong Cathedral. In June 2015, at the 70th anniversary of Gaesan (開山), the then Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung and the New Politics Alliance for Democracy leader Moon Jae-in attended the ceremony, and on December 26, 2016, at the 105th anniversary of the birth of King Sangwol Wongak, former leader Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung attended. Although the mayor of Seongnam attended, it did not receive much media attention. Such stories of former presidents are increasingly appearing in the media under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
President Yoon Seok-yeol is moving following visiting Guinsa Temple in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province and paying his respects to Daejosajeon Shrine on October 19 last year. This was President Yoon’s third visit to Guinsa since his candidacy. /Provided by the President’s Office
First of all, President Yoon himself often visited Guinsa Temple. I visited in October and December 2021 when I was a presidential candidate, and also in October last year. Ahead of Buddha’s Birthday in May 2022, when he was the elected president, his wife, Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, visited on his behalf. I was a little surprised to see Candidate Yoon visit the recruiting office for the second time on December 31st, the last day of 2021. As I said before, visiting Guinsa Temple means giving up at least one or two things in your schedule. Even though it was the birthday anniversary of Sangwol Wongakdaejo, it occurred to Candidate Yoon that the fact that he visited Guinsa Temple once more following two months, and on the last day of the year when he was busy with the presidential race, had some special meaning for Candidate Yoon. It felt like it wasn’t just for ‘catching Buddha’s heart’. As to why President Yoon visited Guinsa Temple several times, we were able to get a hint from the words of Hwang Sang-moo, Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Society, who paid a courtesy visit to Monk Deoksu, head of the Cheontae Order, on December 14 last year. Chief Hwang said at the event, “President Yoon said, ‘I received energy and gained strength from the Danyang recruitment speech last October. “He recommended, ‘You should definitely go to Guinsa Temple,’” he said. On October 19 last year, when President Yoon visited Guinsa, it was right following the Gangseo-gu mayor election in Seoul (October 11). President Yoon seems to have received some encouragement and comfort from the old greeting.
Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Response Committee, attended the 112th anniversary celebration of the birth of Sangwol Wongakdaejo held at Gwangmyeongjeon Hall of Guinsa Temple in Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do on the morning of the 9th. /News 1
If you visit Guinsa Temple, you will feel that it is very different from typical domestic temples. Most temples in Korea are built on embankments along the wide ridges of mountains, and their pavilions are built in terraces. As you pass through various gates such as Iljumun Gate, Cheonwangmun Gate, Bulmun Gate, and Haetalmun Gate, the structure gradually increases as you move towards Daeungjeon.
Compared to regular temples, the level of Guinsa increases ‘rapidly’ rather than ‘little by little’. About 50 tall concrete buildings stand on both sides of a valley so narrow that it makes you wonder, ‘I can’t believe there’s a temple in such a narrow valley.’ At the top, 600 meters above sea level, stands Daejosajeon, a three-story wooden building clad in gilded dancheong. From the entrance to the valley, you go up through several pavilions, and at the end you come across Daejosajeon. If you climb up to the front yard or the mountain behind Daejojeon Temple and look down, the view of the peaks of Sobaeksan Mountain stretching through the narrow valley is spectacular. In terms of Feng Shui, Guinsa Temple is said to be a famous place in the ‘Golden Bird Oran’ shape.
Looking at the history of Guinsa Temple, you can understand why it was located in a narrow valley. Guinsa Temple originated from the practice of Great Master Sangwolwongak building a thatched-roof house on the lotus site of Sobaeksan Mountain in 1945. The Cheontae Order states that Great Master Sangwolwon-gak, from Samcheok, Gangwon-do, returned to Korea in the 1930s following making a pilgrimage to sacred sites in China and Tibet and settled in Sobaeksan Mountain. He achieved enlightenment on December 28, 1951 in the lunar calendar.
Afterwards, a rumor spread that if you pray for three days at Guinsa Temple, your wish will come true. As the number of believers increased and people continued to visit, especially in the Gangwon-do and North Chungcheong regions, buildings continued to be built along the valley, creating the current form of the temple. It is said that when all these buildings are occupied, they can accommodate up to 56,000 people, so you can get an idea of the scale. It is said that 1,000 laypeople (ordinary people) practice during summer and winter retreats.
There are many unique appearances. Guinsa has been laying hot wires under asphalt since early on. Thanks to this, it is located at the foot of Sobaek Mountain, where there is a lot of snow, and although the slope is steep, the road is not frozen, so you can climb it on foot even in winter. Because the valley is narrow, ordinary cars cannot enter, but a free shuttle bus runs from the parking lot to the entrance of Guinsa Temple. There is also a separate postal office.
Starting with Guinsa Temple, the Cheontae Order has grown into an order with 2.5 million believers and 350 temples nationwide, including Gwaneumsa Temple in Seoul and Samgwangsa Temple in Busan. There are regarding 500 monks.
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