Main Buddha Hall (Daeungjeon) — Sit and Bow Online
The Main Buddha Hall (Daeungjeon, 大雄殿) is the central Dharma hall of a Korean mountain temple, dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha; "Daeung" means "great hero," an honorific for the Buddha. At Goyosa in Hapjang (합장), the browser-based online temple, the Main Buddha Hall is an original building with 312 meditation cushions. You can sit and breathe, bow, copy a sutra, use prayer beads, play a singing bowl, and offer incense, candles and Indeung lamps in the same space as other visitors.
- Where
- The central Dharma hall of the Goyosa temple grounds
- Structure
- Two-story exterior, interior open to the ceiling; Eye-Level Gallery on the 2nd floor, Sky Gallery on the 3rd
- Main Buddha
- Seated height 11 m
- Meditation cushions
- 312 (264 on the 1st floor, 24 each in the 2nd- and 3rd-floor galleries)
- What you can do
- Breathing, bows, sutra copying, prayer beads, singing bowl, incense, candles, Indeung lamps, viewing 40 paintings, walking to the moktak
- Services
- Goyosa time 03:30–04:10 and 17:40–18:10
What is a Main Buddha Hall (Daeungjeon)?
Daeungjeon is the hall that enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha as its main figure, and at Korean mountain temples it is often the most central Dharma hall. Bodhisattvas are sometimes enshrined on either side of the main Buddha, and depending on which Buddha is enshrined, the hall may have a different name, such as Geungnakjeon or Daejeokgwangjeon.
A common custom is to enter and leave a Dharma hall by a side door rather than the central one, and to bow to the Buddha first when you step inside.
Inside the Goyosa Main Buddha Hall
Goyosa's Main Buddha Hall is not a copy of a real temple; it was built new, inspired by many mountain temples. From the outside it looks like a two-story building with a double roof, but inside it is one open space all the way up, so you can look up from the floor at the main Buddha, which is 11 m tall seated.
There are 264 meditation cushions (jwabok) on the 1st floor and 24 each in the Eye-Level Gallery on the 2nd floor and the Sky Gallery on the 3rd, 312 in total. Climb to the galleries to see the main Buddha from different heights. In the hall, Windbell Sunim strikes the moktak (wooden percussion block).
What you can do in the hall
- Breathing: sit on a cushion, stay with no time limit, and end with [Finish]. → Breathing meditation
- Bows: full bows are made on a cushion; 108 bows or more follow the beat of the moktak. → Three bows and 108 bows
- Sutra copying and singing bowl: there are 2 spots for tracing the Heart Sutra stroke by stroke and 2 singing-bowl spots. → Sutra copying
- Incense, candles and Indeung lamps: a candle burns for 10 minutes once lit, and a lamp on the back wall glows for 30 minutes with your name tag; everyone can see them. → Candle and lamp offerings
- Also: view the hall's 40 paintings and walk following the sound of the moktak (up to 3 people).
Service times and where to go next
At Goyosa time 03:30–04:10 and 17:40–18:10 there is a temple service, and you can follow the Chiljeongnye (Seven-Part Homage) with on-screen subtitles (Follow the morning and evening service). Leaving the hall, you can go on to smaller halls such as Myeongbujeon, Gwaneumjeon and Sansingak, and to the monks' quarters where the monks live.
Try it in Hapjang
Get close to a meditation cushion in the hall and a button to sit appears (on a PC you can also press E or F). Sit on the cushion, breathe for as long as you like, and press [Finish] to end. While you breathe, the screen shows how many people are breathing together right now. Bows are under [Greet] at the bottom of the screen, and you can take out your beads with the [Prayer beads] button or the B key.
Frequently asked questions
What does Daeungjeon mean?
Daeung (大雄) means "great hero," an honorific for Shakyamuni Buddha. Daeungjeon is the Dharma hall where Shakyamuni Buddha is enshrined.
How many meditation cushions are in the Hapjang Main Buddha Hall?
There are 312: 264 on the 1st floor and 24 each in the 2nd-floor Eye-Level Gallery and the 3rd-floor Sky Gallery.
Can I talk with other people in the hall?
There are no speech bubbles inside the temple grounds, so in the hall, too, people stay together through breath and gestures instead of words. While you breathe, the screen shows how many people are breathing with you.
Related pages
- Simple Breathing Meditation: Inhale 4, Exhale 6The easiest meditation: sit and watch your breath. How to start with a 4-second inhale and 6-second exhale, and breathe with others online in Hapjang.
- How to Do 108 Bows and Three Bows (Korean Buddhist)What three bows and 108 bows mean in Korean Buddhism, how to do them step by step, how long they take, and how to bow along online in Hapjang.
- Sutra Copying: Trace the 260-Character Heart SutraWhat sutra copying (sagyeong) is and how to do it. Trace the 260 characters of the Heart Sutra stroke by stroke in Hapjang's online Main Buddha Hall.
- Buddhist Candle Offerings and Indeung Lamps: MeaningWhy Buddhists light candles before the Buddha and hang name lamps (indeung) in the hall, and how to light a candle or a lamp in Hapjang's Main Buddha Hall.
- Korean Temple Service (Yebul): Seven Bows of ChiljeongnyeHow dawn and evening services flow at a Korean temple and what the seven-bow Chiljeongnye means. Follow the bows to a monk's moktak in Hapjang.
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