Temple story · Traditional attribution
The Pond of Nine Dragons
The founding tradition of Tongdosa
Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 'Tongdosa on Yeongchuksan'; Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture, Yangsan: 'The Origins of Yonghyeoram Rock and Guryongji Pond'
There is a legend that a great pond once lay on this temple site, home to nine dragons, and that the founder, Vinaya Master Jajang, led them to deliverance and left one dragon here to guard the temple.
When Vinaya Master Jajang returned from Tang China and set out to build Tongdosa, the site, it is said, held a great pond where nine dragons lived. In the version told in the Yangsan area, he chanted spells and sutras asking the dragons to leave, and when they would not, he wrote the character for fire (火) on paper, sent it flying into the sky and stirred the pond with his staff until the water began to boil. Three of the dragons died and five fled to a valley southwest of the temple, the story goes, while the last, a blind dragon, swore to guard the temple and begged him to make a small pond for it. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says instead that Jajang led the dragons to deliverance and left one behind to guard the temple, so the story of the last dragon differs between versions. Look for Guryongsinji, the small symbolic pond right next to the main hall, beside the Geumgang Gyedan (Diamond Ordination Platform).