About Haein-sa

Haein-sa,"Reflection on a Calm Sea" Temple, is one of the three main temples of korea; it represents the teaching of the Buddha. These three temples are symbols of the three gems, the Buddha, his teaching (the Dharma) and the community of adherents (the Samgha), in which Buddhists take refuge. T'ongdo-sa represents the Buddha, as it has a relic of the Historical Buddha enshrined in its main pagoda; Haein-sa houses all the Buddhist texts carved on wood blocks, symbols of the teachings; and Songgwang-sa represents the samgha, for many great masters have lived there.

All three are major temples of the traditional Cbogye Order which is a Zen (Son, in Korean) School of Buddhism. The temples have facilities for the three branches of Korean Buddhism: a meditation hall where ordained members can sit for the summer and winter three-month sessions; study facilities; and a place for chanting, the Main Hall, as well as a variety of devotional halls. Always places of spiritual refuge for the Korean people, these temples represent the heart of Korean culture for the last 1600 years. In addition they are centers for the arts. Painting, sculpture, landscaping, and architecture, even, sometimes, the performing arts are an integral part of the temple compound also. Along with the arts, there is also the folklore which is often rich with stories.

Haein-sa, in particular, has many stories associated with it. One of these stories happened during the Korean War. At that time, many guerrillas hid in Haein-sa and so the order was given for the temple to be bombed. The pilot flew over the buildings, trying to judge where best to drop his bomb. As he gazed down at the beautiful pattern created by the juxtaposition of the magnificent halls, he could not bring himself to destroy such a lovely place. He was court marshaled and imprisond. After the war, however, he became a national hero.

Haein-sa is located at Hapch'on-gun, in Southern Kyongsang-do Province. Kaya-san, the mountain on which Haein-sa stands, has many names. They are Kaya, Uż©, Sangwang, Chihan, Chunghyang, and Solsan. Also, Kaya-san is considered so graceful that there is a legend that "Mansudong,"paradise, is on the southern side. Kaya-san rises to a height of 1,430 m. and it covers an area of about 8,156 acres. There is a dense forest of evergreen trees and strange rock formations with streams of clear water flowing between the rocks. In particular "Hongnyu-dong," a valley just near Haein-sa, is known as the best of the Eight Natural Scenes especially when viewed in the different seasons.

Haein-sa is said to look like a great ship on the ocean of Kaya-san and it is considered to be an auspicious site from the point of view of geomancy.
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