[Temple Adventures] Jesus' message at a Korean Buddhist temple

Rows of Nahan statues at Seonji Temple in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

By Dale Quarrington

What would Christmas be like without eggnog, some turkey, Santa Claus and Jesus? And more pressingly, what does this all have to do with a Korean Buddhist temple? Well Seonji Temple in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, is the answer to this little riddle. But while the temple has no relation to eggnog, turkey or Jolly Old Saint Nick, it most certainly does with Jesus.

Seonji Temple is a Buddhist temple located in the western part of Gimhae, in the foothills of diminutive Mount Gyeongun (377.2 meters). Seonji Temple is a modern temple, having been officially registered with the Korean government in 2007. Its name is in reference to the local village of Seonji, and it's also the name of a local pond, as well. Purportedly, there used to be a temple that once existed on the land that Seonji Temple now occupies until it fell into disrepair and disappeared altogether, but this is nothing more than speculation by some. For nearly 30 years, the current Seonji Temple was nothing more than a tent that the head monk lived in. Two Buddhist lay-women, known as "bosal" in Korean, donated enough money so that a proper temple with wooden structures could be built. And today, this is the temple that we see at Seonji Temple.

Specifically, Seonji Temple was built around the worship of the Nahan, who are the historical disciples of the Buddha. The idea for this type of arrangement came to the head monk of Seonji Temple after he had seen the 500 Nahan of Gongjuk Temple in China. With all this in mind, the head monk at Seonji Temple decided to construct the Yeongsan-jeon Hall for the worship of the Nahan as the main hall at the temple. Also, and according to the head monk at Seonji Temple, the central goal of the temple is to help people of this multi-religious 21st century feel more comfortable at Seonji Temple.

The Yeongsan-jeon Hall at Seonji Temple in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

So what does this all have to do with Christmas and Jesus? Well, when you combine the multi-faith focus with the diversity found in the forms of the 500 Nahan statues inside a Yeongsan-jeon Hall, you are blessed with the presence of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, at Seonji Temple.

The Yeongsan-jeon Hall, which is known as "Vulture Peak Hall" in English, is front and center at Seonji Temple. Its exterior walls are adorned with elfish-looking Gwimyeon (monster masks) paintings at the base of the entry doors. Additionally, there are two sets of murals adorning the walls. The first set, which is the lower of the two, shows the Sibiji-shin (12 Zodiac spirit generals). Each of the 12 animal paintings is painted simplistically in their own circular panel. The second set, on the other hand, and for which the main hall is dedicated to, are a collection of paintings dedicated to the Nahan.

But as beautiful as the exterior is to the main hall, it's the interior that's the real highlight of Seonji Temple. Housed inside are 500 statues dedicated to the Nahan and other various historical figures.

The vast rows of statues on the main altar include such luminaries as Jangyu-hwasang (the monk brother to Queen Heo of Gaya), the famed monk Wonhyo-daesa (617-686), his friend Uisang-daesa (625-702), the warrior monk Seosan-daesa (1520-1604) and Jesus. Trying to locate and identify all of these historical religious figures can be a bit daunting and a little like "Where's Waldo" in 3D, but you certainly won't have that problem with locating Jesus, who is also known as Hyangsang-jonja, and who most definitely stands out in the bottom left side of the rows of statues.

With his long flowing beard and hair, and a wooden walking staff in his right hand, the statue of Jesus stands out from the collection of statues that mainly have shaved monkish heads. Jesus is considered to be the 109th Nahan.

A statue of Jesus at Seonji Temple in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

Jesus' purported connection to the Nahan was made by way of a temple in China. According to the head monk at Seonji Temple, there's a Buddhist temple in China called Gongjuk Temple. Purportedly, Jesus traveled to China from the Middle East. By way of China, and Gongjuk Temple, Jesus then made his way over to the Korean Peninsula. The reason that Jesus decided to visit Korea was to tell Koreans the message that we should all live well together since the society we live in, and will live in, is multicultural and multi-religious.

Perhaps there's a lot to question about this story and its veracity, but the sentiment is something we should all be able to get behind this holiday season whether you're Buddhist, Christian or anything else religiously or non-religiously. For the idea of harmony and peace should know no bounds during this holiday season ― or any other season for that matter. Happy holidays, everyone!

Dale Quarrington has visited over 500 temples throughout the Korean Peninsula and published three books on Korean Buddhism. He runs the popular website, "Dale's Korean Temple Adventures."