Temple story · Traditional attribution
A Monk Offering Tea to His Mother
The Hyodae tradition of Hwaeomsa
Korea Heritage Service portal: 'Four Lion Three-story Stone Pagoda of Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye'; Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 'Four Lion Three-story Stone Pagoda of Hwaeomsa, Gurye', 'Stone Lantern in Front of the Four Lion Stone Pagoda of Hwaeomsa'
In the center, surrounded by the lions, stands a monk figure with palms joined, said to be the mother of Yeongi; and the monk figure kneeling toward the pagoda in the stone lantern just in front is said to express Yeongi's deep filial devotion, bearing the lantern on his head and offering tea to his mother.
Northwest of the center of Hwaeomsa, on high ground ringed by pine woods, is a terrace called Hyodae (孝臺), the 'Terrace of Filial Piety,' where a three-story stone pagoda borne by four stone lions stands facing a stone lantern. Among the four lions on the pagoda's upper base stands a figure of a monk with palms joined, said to be the mother of Yeongi, the monk said to have founded Hwaeomsa. In the lantern just in front, a monk figure kneeling on one knee takes the place of the shaft, facing the pagoda with the lantern on his head; it is said to show Yeongi's deep filial devotion as he offers tea to his mother. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, however, describes the central figure as a standing eminent monk with joined palms, and dates the pagoda to the mid-eighth century and the lantern to the late ninth. Climb up to Hyodae and see how the monk figure in the lantern sits facing the pagoda.