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You will reach Hanteejae about
3km away from the downtown of
Andong, taking the fifth local
road in the direction of Youngju.
Going 2km more to the north, passing
by Hanteejae, will take you to
Mahae Buddhist Statue standing
high by the roadside.
This statue of Buddha is 'Andong
Eecheondong Sukbulsang' designated
as the 115th National Treasure.
Behind the statue,
whose popular name is 'Jebeewon
Mireukbul', is a small temple
named 'Yeonmisa'.
The temple is said to have been
founded by Myoungduk in 634 AD
(the third year of Sunduk Queen
in the Shila Dynasty).
Myoungduk was one of Boduk's pupils,
who was also a Buddhist priest
from Goguryeo Kingdom, and carved
the Buddha image
in the rock and founded the temple.
Afterwards, since the roof above
the statue looked like a swallow,
it was named Yeonjaroo,
the residing place for monks,
Yosahche, was located at the tail
of the swallow-looking building,
so it was named Yeonmisa. |
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Besides, as the Buddhist sanctum was
believed to correspond to the beak of
a swallow, it was called Yeongoosa.
In the Goryeo
Dynasty, when the head of the statue
was felled and destroyed by a disaster
and restored, Jeongak Joongsoo and three-story
stone pagoda were constructed. Since
then, the mountain has been well-known
as Mt. Ohdo.
Unfortunately, due to the pro-Confucianism
and con-Buddhism policy in the middle
of the Joseon Dynasty, Yeongoosa became
a ruined temple, only the statue remaining.
Even the real name of the temple was
lost documentarily only to leave the
name,
'Yeonbiwon-bulsa', handed down orally.
During the Japanese occupation, 'Geosarim',
one of Deungchokgye that was the followers'
gathering of Bongjeongsa, proposed
the reconstruction of the temple, and
in 1934, a new temple building was constructed
on the original remaining site of Yeonmisa,
which was named Yeonmisa handed down
orally. The Buddhist sanctum, Daewoonjeon,
was extended in 1978, converting the
existing 3kans in the front and 1kan
in the side into 4kans and 2kans respectively.
Since 1986 when the painting was completed,
the temple has been preserved as it
is now. |
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