Stupa of Seon Master Cheolgam at Ssangbongsa, Hwasun

Also called: Cheolgam Seonsa Stupa

An octagonal stupa holding the relics of the Seon master Cheolgam (Doyun). Carved down to the tiles of its roof stone, it is counted the finest of the Silla stupas.

A seungtap (budo) is a stupa for the relics of an eminent monk. As Seon spread in late Silla, its monasteries, which prized the authority of the master, raised stupas and memorial steles for their teachers, with the backing of local magnates. The Cheolgam stupa at Ssangbongsa was built for the master Doyun, who died in 868, around that time.

Base, body and roof are all octagonal — the standard Silla type. Lions and clouds on the base, doors and Four Heavenly Kings on the body, and rafters and roof tiles on the roof stone, carved as on a wooden building, make it the most ornate and refined stupa to survive. It is a National Treasure; beside it stands its stele (a Treasure), of which only the tortoise base and capstone remain.