History

Seokguram Grotto is tucked away near the summit of Mt. Tohamsan on its secluded eastern slope. This man-made grotto was assembled from hundreds of white granite pieces of diverse sizes and shapes. It consists of a rectangular antechamber symbolizing the earth, a corridor acting as a conduit between earth and heaven, and a main rotunda with a domed ceiling representing heaven. Including the seated main Buddha, the grotto enshrines some 39 divinities. It is designed as if to lead all living things on earth to the realm of nirvana.

The antechamber of the Seokguram Grotto holds bas-relief images of eight guardian deities and two Vajrapanis. The short corridor is guarded by four fearsome heavenly kings, two on each wall. The rotunda centers on the seated main Buddha, the Sakyamuni Tathagata or Incarnation of Truth. The antechamber, which stands for earth, is a perfect golden rectangle. Eight masculine deities guard the room on the left and right walls. A pair of Vajrapanis, one on either side of the entrance to the corridor, are carved in deep relief. With robust, bare upper torsos above skirts hanging down to their knees, with both hands clenched into fists, one of them raised, and with goggle eyes glaring, they are ready to drive away any evil that may approach.

Construction

Under the vault of the stone ceiling in the rotunda, which stands for heaven, the majestic figure of the main Buddha Sakyamuni Tathagata sits facing the East Sea. A mysterious incarnation of the supreme being, the Buddha is portrayed as having slit eyes, gently curved eyebrows and an equally gentle nose, long ears, and full lips. Wearing a smile of serene benevolence, he is sitting with legs crossed and his hands are poised in a mudra (hand gesture) touching the earth, while the robe underneath the crossed legs is scalloped.

It is as if the Buddha were about to preach to us and awaken the virtuous human nature dormant within us. Along the lower part of the circular wall are bas-relief images of one eleven-faced Avalokitesvara, ten disciples, one Manjusri, one Sakradevanam Indra, one Mahabrahmandah, and one Samantabhadra. Above these, at about eye level, are ten niches with ten bodhisattvas. The eleven-faced Avalokitesvara, or Bodhisattva of Compassion, on the curved wall right behind the main Buddha, is arresting in its resplendence. While the surrounding disciples stand sideways, the Bodhisattva stands straight, the silken flow of robes adorned with dazzling jewel-ry, the graceful face under a crown decorated with the heads of ten bodhisattvas and a central Amitabha, or the Buddha of Boundless Light, the left hand holding a vase with a slender lotus flower, and the right hand lightly holding a long necklace. The sculptor must have taken great delight in rendering every detail of this splendid figure. The niches on the wall at about the level of the main Buddha's eyes are symbolically midway between heaven and earth and are therefore perfectly appropriate for bodhisattvas, which are intermediate between divine beings and sentient beings.

Seokguram Grotto gives us a fine portrait of Korean Buddhism in the mid-8th century. This granite sanctuary stands as the zenith of Buddhist faith, architectural aesthetics and geometry, advanced science, and meticulous workmanship developed in the golden age of Korean Buddhist art. It represents the very pinnacle of human artistic achievement in the medium of stone.