One entire side of the spacious yard in front of the National Museum of Korea is lined with majestic stupas and steles to honor eminent monks of Seon Buddhism. Standing tall like a stone forest supporting the sky, these monuments seem to represent the Seon Buddhist sects of each era, spanning from the stupa for Master Yeomgeo, erected in 855, to the one for State Preceptor Wongong, created between 1018 and 1025. Walking amidst these stone monuments honoring Buddhist monks who achieved profound enlightenment, one can truly sense the lives and legacies of the people of the Unified Silla period and Goryeo Dynasty.

This pagoda was erected in honor of State Preceptor Wongong, also known as Jijong (圓空國師 智宗, 930–1018), at the site of Geodonsa Temple in Buron-myeon, Wonju, Gangwon-do Province. Jijong was a monk who studied both the Beoban school (Ch. 法眼宗, Fayan school) and Cheontae school (Ch. 天台宗, Tiantai school) of Buddhism in China. It is estimated that he entered the monastery at the age of eight and studied under the Indian monk Hongbeom (弘梵) at Sanasa Temple near Gaeseong. He was later ordained at Yeongtongsa Temple, before passing the state examination for Buddhist monks under King Gwangjong (r. 949–975) of Goryeo.

In the early reign of King Gwangjong, Seon Buddhism was still quite popular in Goryeo, but this soon shifted with the introduction of the Beoban school, which adheres to the position of Seon Buddhism while also incorporating the teachings of the Gyojong school (教宗), which is centered on Buddhist doctrine. In particular, King Gwangjong came to admire the Chinese monk Yanshou (延壽, 904–975), who taught the Beoban school at Yongmingsi Temple in China’s Wuyue Kingdom. Thus, as part of his policy to introduce Chinese culture to Goryeo, King Gwangjong sent thirty-six monks to study under Yanshou, and personally hosted a farewell banquet for them prior to their departure.

One of these monks was Jijong, who to Yongmingsi Temple in 959, where he spent two years learning the Beoban school. After that, Jijong spent the next seven years (916–968) studying the Cheontae school from the monk Jingguang of Guoqingsi Temple (國淸寺) in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province. In 970, after studying in China for eleven years, Jijong returned to Korea, where he was revered through the ensuing reigns of King Gyeongjong, King Seongjong, and King Mokjong. He continually ascended the ranks until eventually being appointed as the head monk of Oejeseogwon (外帝釋院), the royal temple founded by King Taejo, founder of the Goryeo Dynasty. During the reign of King Hyeonjong (r. 1010–1031), Jijong was bestowed the title of Daeseonsa (“Great Seon Master”), the highest rank in Seon Buddhism. Subsequently, in 1013, at the age of eighty-four, he was appointed as Royal Preceptor.

In April 1018, Jijong went to Geodonsa Temple on Hyeongyesan Mountain in Wonju, where he died on the seventeenth day of the same month. After his death, he was posthumously honored with the title of State Preceptor. Jijong was succeeded as the Royal Preceptor by Beopgyeong of Hyeonhwasa Temple of the Beopsang school (法相宗, Ch. Faxiang school). Thereafter, the Beopsang school rose to prominence through the support of high-ranking aristocratic families, such as the Inju Yi clan. In opposition to the Beopsang school, the Cheontae school was newly established, which then absorbed the disciples and associates of Jijong. Thus, Jijong came to be revered for his role in establishing the Cheontae school in Korea.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, when Buddhism was the official state ideology, esteemed monks from powerful Buddhist sects, including Seon Buddhism and the Beopsang school, were appointed to serve in high-ranking government positions, such as the Royal Preceptor and State Preceptor. Those holding these positions were greatly revered, such that even the king respected them as a disciple and consulted them on state affairs. They were also considered symbolic figures promoting national unity. The power and influence of these monks can still be seen through the posthumous titles bestowed at their funerals and the stupas and steles erected in their honor.

For a relatively brief period during the mid-tenth century, after the reign of King Gwangjong, no new stupas were produced. But that changed in the eleventh century under King Hyeonjong, when this highly refined stupa was built for State Preceptor Wongong, or Jijong. It was produced some time between 1018, when Jijong died, and 1025, when it was erected. On the front side of the body, there is an image of a door with a plaque, and carved on the plaque is an inscription that reads “圓空國師勝妙之塔,” meaning “Stupa for State Preceptor Wongong, ‘Seungmyo’” (Jijong’s posthumous Buddhist name). Carvings of the Four Heavenly Kings are seen both sides of the front and back doors, while the other two sides are decorated with Goryeo-style latticework.

Goryeo stupas typically have a body shaped like an octagonal house atop an octagonal pedestal, reminiscent of the platform for a statue of Buddha. This characteristic shape, which was established with the stupa for Master Yeomgeo, was maintained until the stupa for State Preceptor Wongong. An octagonal roof stone with thin eaves and raised corners sits on top of the body. The roof stone is elaborately sculpted to look like the roof of a wooden architectural structure, with even the roof-end tiles being expressed in the eaves. On top of this roof stone, an octagonal canopy decoration was added as another decorative element. Part of the original finial has been lost, but there is now a jewel decoration atop the canopy. As the last grand stupa of its kind ever produced, the stupa for State Preceptor Wongong exhibits an outstanding form and sense of grandeur.

During the Japanese colonial period, a Japanese resident in Seoul illegally moved this pagoda to his house. After independence, it was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1948 and then became part of the collection of the National Museum of Korea.

The Four Heavenly Kings, depicted in relief carvings on the body, are guardian deities that accompany Buddha. The fact that the personal guardians of Buddha are carved on the stupa signifies that the monk is to be revered with the same status as Buddha. After first appearing on the stupa for Master Yeomgeo during the Unified Silla period, the Four Heavenly Kings continued to be represented on stupas until the stupa for State Preceptor Wongong, made in the early eleventh century. Not coincidentally, this was the period when the artistic value of stupas was at its peak, as was the status and power of Buddhist monks.

Today, the relief carvings on a stupa can serve as an important standard for determining its date of production. This stupa features low-relief carvings of the Four Heavenly Kings, with a more refined and restrained style than earlier stupas. The bodies of the deities are relatively flat and contracted with a low volume, but the facial expressions are more voluminous. This is a stylistic characteristic of the era, as seen in other works such as the carvings of eight demigods on the stone pagoda at Gaesimsa Temple in Yecheon (1010).

Among the Four Heavenly Kings on this stupa, Virūpākṣa (guardian of the western direction) and Vaiśravaṇa (northern direction) are depicted with their sleeves tied and flapping behind their arms, a detail often associated with stone human statues at the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Meanwhile, Virūḍhaka (southern direction) is wearing protective armor around his neck and face, a detail never seen before, and holding two arrows in his hand with a bow on his right arm. This is quite interesting, given that the Four Heavenly Kings were rarely portrayed with a bow and arrows in this period.

Another new feature is the plaque that is engraved above the door image, where the inscription can be found. All of these new details and expressions in the relief carvings reflect the increasing prosperity of Buddhist culture in the early eleventh century under King Hyeonjong of Goryeo.