Saseongam
Saseongam is a Buddhist hermitage located in Gurye County on Mount Osan, a foothill of the mountain Jirisan in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Origin
Saseongam is said to have been built in 544, the 22nd year of the reign of King Seong of Baekche, by Priest Yeongi Josa, but there are no records to substantiate it. Yeongi Josa is also credited with establishing the nearby Hwaseomsa and Yeongoksa.History
Initially the hermitage was called Osanam, being positioned near the 531 meter/1,742 foot summit of mount Osan, before it was renamed Saseongam, or the Hermitage of Four Saints, in honor of the four high priests Yongi Chosa, Wonhyo Daesa, Toseon Kuksa, and Chinkak Seonsa, that lived, worked, and studied here.Records do indicate that both Great Master Wonhyo Daesa and National Master Doseon Guksa practiced the Dharma in retreat on these cliffs when they visited this area.
Hermitage buildings were reconstructed under supervision of National Meditation-Master
Jingak Seonsa. The Main Hall was reconstructed in the 1980s.
It is believed that the high priests practiced asceticism here for an interval from the closing period of Unified Silla era through the Goryeo Kingdom era.
Features
Two halls, at the front of the hermitage are supported by large painted pillars, are set against the steep granite cliff, and two other halls rest atop a crest to the west of the main hall. Around Mount Osan are found many peculiarly shaped rocks, one of which has an engraving of a standing Buddha.Main hall
The Main Hall sits atop three massive red wood pillars positioned in front a standing Buddha cut into rock face, called Maaeyeoraeipsang. The Buddha carved into the rock face is visible through a large glass window that makes up most of the back wall of the main hall.Cultural authorities estimate that Maaeyeoraeipsang dates back to the early Goryeo Dynasty. A steep stone stairway leads up to a bridge that crosses over to the main hall.