Bonwonjeongsa (Seoul)

Bonwonjeongsa (本願精舍) is a temple belonging to the Daegakhoe of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, located on Mt. Samgaksan in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul. The temple enshrines a wooden seated statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, which is said to have been moved here after a fire at Taegosa Temple during the Korean War. Ksitigarbha is a compassionate bodhisattva who educates sentient beings in the age without a Buddha, between Sakyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Buddha. He is widely known as a bodhisattva who enters hell to rescue and enlighten suffering beings. In the early 1980s, Ven. Wonseong, who took charge as the abbot, was inspired by this statue of Ksitigarbha and made a vow to follow the original vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Hence, the temple name was changed to Bonwonjeongsa. Since then, Bonwonjeongsa has been developed as a place to heal the physical and mental ailments of sentient beings in the Saha world. Additionally, as an always-open temple, it provides a space for Seoul citizens and Buddhists to rest their troubled minds and pray, thus adorning Bonwonjeongsa as a place of practice.