| Sang-Muju-am Small & Remote but Legendary Hermitage on Jiri's NE Slope and Dosol-am, also above Yeongwon-sa Two of South Korea's Eight Highest Temples in the Upper-North (Samjeong-bong) Sector of Jiri-san |
Dosol-am is one of Korea's remotest and least-visited Hermitages, only accessible via a rocky 1-hour un-signed
trail from the tiny road leading up to Yeongwon-sa from the Macheon-dong Valley. It is perched at 1160m altitude
near the southeastern ridgeline of Jiri-san's Samjeong-bong. It has only a simple Buddha-shrine, and no San-shin
icon or altar at all, very rare for a mountain-temple like this. This is one of the few such places that I've been to
wear the resident monks were not friendly to me -- they did not speak to me or respond to my investigations, just
seemed to ignore me hoping that I would quickly leave (which I did). I suppose that whoever lives way up here is
dedicated to being a hermit, and was possibly undertaking a discipline of silence, towards deeper meditation.
trail from the tiny road leading up to Yeongwon-sa from the Macheon-dong Valley. It is perched at 1160m altitude
near the southeastern ridgeline of Jiri-san's Samjeong-bong. It has only a simple Buddha-shrine, and no San-shin
icon or altar at all, very rare for a mountain-temple like this. This is one of the few such places that I've been to
wear the resident monks were not friendly to me -- they did not speak to me or respond to my investigations, just
seemed to ignore me hoping that I would quickly leave (which I did). I suppose that whoever lives way up here is
dedicated to being a hermit, and was possibly undertaking a discipline of silence, towards deeper meditation.
NEXT PAGE: Baemsa-gol Scenic Valley & Samdo-bong
in Jiri-san's Inner-Northwest Sector
Jiri-san Intro/Index Page
San-shin Site Contents
in Jiri-san's Inner-Northwest Sector
Jiri-san Intro/Index Page
San-shin Site Contents
eastern Jiri-san) San-shin painting of Jiri-san
Samjeong-bong Sang-Muju-am (1200m) 's
Sanshin-gak She holds nothing in her hands,
although the two male dongja behind her carry
symbolic fruit and a large white-crane-feather
fan. The background-mountains are unusually
vertical, like the Karst topography of southern China.
Samjeong-bong Sang-Muju-am (1200m) 's
Sanshin-gak She holds nothing in her hands,
although the two male dongja behind her carry
symbolic fruit and a large white-crane-feather
fan. The background-mountains are unusually
vertical, like the Karst topography of southern China.
The spectacular scenery near Sang-Muju-am, which is perched at 1200m altitude near the summit of Jiri-san's
northern spur Samjeong-bong. This exceedingly remote hermitage must be hike up to on a steep trail; it's one
of the few left in South Korea that has no road leading to it. It is famous for having been founded by Jinul Bojo-
guksa (the Founder-Patriarch of Korean Buddhism's Jogye Order, which remains overwhelmingly dominant) in the late
1100s, and for being the site of his third and final enlightenment experience, which he attained while he studied
the Records of Chinese Zen Master Dahui and meditated on them in this splendid place with fellow highly commit-
ted monks for three years. It is said that the original name he gave it was Sang-Munsu-am [Upper Manjusri
(Bodhisattva of Wisdom] Hermitage, Munsu being common as temple & mountain name in Korea (esp. here at
Jiri-san; see here & here), but the pronunciation of the central characters gradually became the alternate "mu-ju".
northern spur Samjeong-bong. This exceedingly remote hermitage must be hike up to on a steep trail; it's one
of the few left in South Korea that has no road leading to it. It is famous for having been founded by Jinul Bojo-
guksa (the Founder-Patriarch of Korean Buddhism's Jogye Order, which remains overwhelmingly dominant) in the late
1100s, and for being the site of his third and final enlightenment experience, which he attained while he studied
the Records of Chinese Zen Master Dahui and meditated on them in this splendid place with fellow highly commit-
ted monks for three years. It is said that the original name he gave it was Sang-Munsu-am [Upper Manjusri
(Bodhisattva of Wisdom] Hermitage, Munsu being common as temple & mountain name in Korea (esp. here at
Jiri-san; see here & here), but the pronunciation of the central characters gradually became the alternate "mu-ju".
Above: a boulder-niche Sanshin-worshipping site just below this
hermitage. Right: sharing the Sanshin-gak with the above
San-shin painting is this rather unique painting of Munsu-bosal
[Manjusri the Bodhisattva of Wisdom] styled as a Heavenly King-Spirit
in the deep mountains -- two donga-girls offer Daoist-symbolic fruits,
and there's a small matching statue of him in front -- this is quite
different from how Munsu is commonly depicted in Northeast Asia.
hermitage. Right: sharing the Sanshin-gak with the above
San-shin painting is this rather unique painting of Munsu-bosal
[Manjusri the Bodhisattva of Wisdom] styled as a Heavenly King-Spirit
in the deep mountains -- two donga-girls offer Daoist-symbolic fruits,
and there's a small matching statue of him in front -- this is quite
different from how Munsu is commonly depicted in Northeast Asia.
