Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha of Beobinsa Temple, Hamyang

This wooden statue depicts Amitabha, the Buddha of Western Paradise, who guides those who have died to be reborn in the Buddhist paradise of the West. It was made in 1657 to wish for the enlightenment of the people and the peace of the country and nation. Seven sculptor-monks, including Yeonggyu and Joneung, were involved in the making of this statue.

Amitabha is depicted seated with his legs crossed. The life-like folds on the skirt of his garment fall between his knees in the shape of a fan. It is considered a highly refined example of a 17th-century Buddhist statue and is therefore valuable in research on Buddhist statues of this period.

In 2010, when the statue was listed as a cultural heritage, a number of relics were discovered enshrined inside, including written vows, a copy of the Lotus Sutra, and a Buddhist incantation (dharani). The written vows remain inside the statue, while the other relics are kept at the museum of Haeinsa Temple.

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