| Silsangsa | |
|---|---|
 Silsangsa | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| Sect | Jogye Order |
| Location | |
| Location | Namwon,North Jeolla Province, South Korea |
| Country | South Korea |
  Shown within South Korea | |
| Geographic coordinates | 35°23′N127°39′E / 35.383°N 127.650°E /35.383; 127.650 |
| Official name: Silsangsa Temple, Namwon | |
| Designated | 1984-10-19 |
| Reference no. | 309 |
Silsangsa (Korean: 실상사;Hanja: 實相寺) is a temple of theJogye Order located inNamwon,North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The temple is a branch temple of the Geumsan Temple in Iksan. Although the temple is legally situated in Namwon, it is also quite near the Hamyang county of South Gyeongsang Province. It is exceptional since this temple is in a field, as opposed to most Korean temples, which are located in mountainous areas.
It is said that the temple was constructed in the era ofHeungdeok of Silla by the great monk Hongcheok (Korean: 홍척;Hanja: 洪陟, fl. 830), a student ofZhiyi, after he returned fromTang China. Since the king himself showed deep faith and devoted himself with the Crown Prince in this temple, the place became highly celebrated, eventually becoming the founding location of the Silsang school ofChan Buddhism. Silsangsa is the oldest temple among theNine mountain schools.[1]
The temple faced a period of decline during theJoseon era when the structures were destroyed by fire. From this point on, the temple was shut down, although it was later restored three times during the eras ofSukjong of Joseon,Sunjo of Joseon andGojong of Korea.[2] However, the temple never returned to its previous grand scale.
TheKorean War harmed parts of the temple, as fighting forces often passed through the area, but most of the cultural relics remained intact.
The three-tier stone pagoda in the temple is registered asNational Treasures of South Korea 10. Also designated as treasures are relics from theSilla era.[3] A Buddha statue on site is 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall, the largest stele in theKorean Peninsula. The turtle stele for Monk Jeunggak is also registered.[4]
![Seated iron Buddha[5]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSeated_Iron_Buddha_statue_at_Silsangsa_temple_in_Namwon%2c_Korea.jpg)
