As shown in A HANDBOOK OF KOREA, published 1993, KOIS.![]() Extracted from the Stamp Information Card, Dec. 9, 1998. Haeinsa Temple, nestled at the foot of Kayasan Mountain, is home to the Buddhist Tripitaka Koreana,
inscribed on over 80,000 wooden blocks. Pious and patriotic Korean monks painstakingly carved the
Buddhist scriptures in their entirety to invoke the spiritual help of Buddha in warding off foreign
invasions. Each of the 81,258 wooden blocks is inscribed using the highly advanced woodblock
printing technique and refined calligraphic style of the Koryo dynasty, so uniform that one would think
a single person did the entire set. In the 15th century, the monks designed and built superb storage
buildings with special attention to temperature, humidity, and ventilation controls, so that the Tripitaka
Koreana was preserved in perfect condition. The architectural style employed demonstrates the
advanced level of scientific understanding possessed by our ancestors. Changgyong P'anjon consist of two long buildings running north-south, and two smaller ones between
them running east-west. The large buildings measure 15 kan in front. Built in 1488 during the early
Choson dynasty, all four buildings are still standing despite repeated fires that destroyed many of the
temple buildings. The Sutra Depository, the southern building, was repaired in 1622 and the
Dharmaratna (Law Treasure) Hall, the northern building, was repaired in 1624. |