Overview
Gyeongguksa was founded in 1325 by Jajeong Monk and is said to have been called 'Cheongamsa' because it was located beneath Cheongbong of Samgaksan Mountain. The founder, Jajeong Monk, was not only well-versed in the precepts but also deeply knowledgeable in the Lotus Sutra and Yogācāra, serving as a temple that upheld the precepts, the Lotus Sutra, and Avalokitesvara faith. Then, in 1349, the ancient general monk Taigo Bou (太古普愚) went to China, received the Dharma transmission from Monk Seokokcheonggong (石屋淸珙), returned to Korea, and received the request of King Gongmin to Gyeongguksa and was granted the Geumrangasa and a walking staff (拄狄子), becoming a national priest. In 1545, during King Myeongjong's reign, Queen Munjeong, the queen mother, performed a Buddhist ritual and prayed that the nation's celebrations would not be interrupted, the temple was renamed 'Gyeongguksa.' Later, in 1698, Venerable Yeonhwa Seungseong renovated the temple and built the Cheontai Seongjeon Hall. Cheontae Seongjeon is a temple dedicated to poison poison, and the 『Cheontae Seongjeon Sangyangmun』 recorded at that time is still preserved today. There is also an anecdote that former President Syngman Rhee, who was also presiding over Gyeongguksa Temple, was inspired by his character and visited the shrine together with former Vice President Nixon. From 1977 to 1985, the great monk of Bogyeong Geum-eo, who succeeded as abbot (former Chief Administrator of the Jogye Order), transformed Gyeongguksa into its current form. In 2005, the Gyejuwonmyeongsari Pagoda (戒珠圓明遺立塔) of Jaundae Ulsa, who devoted himself to promoting Korean Buddhist virtue, was also erected here.