Wooden Sakyamuni Buddha Triad of Heungguksa Temple, Yeosu

This triad consists of Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, at the center with Dipankara (Bodhisattva of the Past) and Maitreya (Bodhisattva of the Future) to either side, who all together represent the past, present, and future Buddhas. All three statues were created between 1628 and 1644.

Sakyamuni’s right hand reaches down toward the ground, and his left hand rests on his lap, indicating his defeat of worldly desires and his attainment of spiritual enlightenment. Sakyamuni is plump with a large head, while the bodhisattvas are slender and tall. The two bodhisattvas wear jewelled headdresses and hold a lotus branch. Their overall shape is very similar to each other but the folds of the robe of Dipankara, who is to the right of Sakyamuni, are expressed more elaborately.

The majority of wooden Buddhist statues in the Jeolla-do region were made in the late 17th century, but this triad is of particular value in that it was made in the early 17th century.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08