[Temple Adventures] The Four Heavenly Kings of Korea's Buddhist temples

One of the Four Heavenly Kings at Borim Temple / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

By Dale Quarrington

Oftentimes, Korean Buddhist artwork and architecture can seem confusing and incomprehensible, especially to those who haven't grown up in the tradition or culture. From the temple shrine halls to the artwork that adorns them, both inside and out, Korean Buddhist temple artwork can appear to be a mystery without a solution, which can often lead to the common refrain that all Korean Buddhist temples look the same. However, with a little more insight, the mystery of temple artwork unravels itself. And such is the case with the Cheonwangmun (Heavenly Kings Gate).

Cheonwangmun at Borim Temple / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

The Cheonwangmun is traditionally the second of three entry gates at a Korean Buddhist temple, which include the Iljumun (One Pillar Gate) and the Bulimun (Non-Duality Gate). And housed inside the Cheonwangmun is a set of four images that have intimidating stares, bulging eyes and gnashing teeth.

So who are these four figures? They represent the Four Heavenly Kings that are Hindu in origin. They are said to stand in the four cardinal directions on the mythical Mount Sumeru, which is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. According to the same ancient Buddhist cosmological belief, the Four Heavenly Kings stand approximately 750 feet in height and they live for 9 million years.

And the reason that you find the Cheonwangmun placed where it is at a Korean Buddhist temple is that it's meant to protect the temple and the Buddha's teachings from evil spirits. The four kings look ferocious inside their gate because they are forcing unruly spirits to submit to their will. In fact, if you look down at the feet of the Four Heavenly Kings, you'll see images that look like government officials, foreign soldiers or just plain demons being trampled underfoot. The name for these images that the Four Heavenly Kings trample underfoot is "saengnyeong" (living souls). As for how the Four Heavenly Kings are represented, they can appear either as four large statues, which is more common at larger temples, or as four murals that hang inside the gate.

Damun-Cheonwang at Sudeok Temple / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

As to each of their identities, the leader of the four is Damun-cheonwang. Damun-cheonwang is the one that holds a miniature pagoda in his hand, which serves as a reminder of death and spirituality. And of the four cardinal directions, he represents the north and stands in the back left side of the Cheonwangmun as you enter the gate.

To help identify the other Heavenly Kings, you'll need to move counterclockwise from Damun-cheonwang. The next in the front left of the Cheonwangmun Gate is Gwangmok-cheonwang, the guardian of the west who holds a dragon in one hand and a jewel in the other. Next in the front right of the entry gate is Jeungjang-cheonwang, who holds a sword and guards the south. He is said to have the power to multiply his sword so that he can always outnumber his opponents. And the fourth king is Jiguk-cheonwang, who holds a lute in his hands and protects the east. With the strings of the lute he controls the weather, like the wind, thunder and lightning. Jiguk-cheonwang stands in the back right corner of the gate.

Now, with all that being said, there seemed to be a great amount of fluidity found within the imagery of the Four Heavenly Kings and the objects they held in the past. During Unified Silla (668-935) and the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), it was believed that the objects held by the Four Heavenly Kings started to coalesce around specific items.

Historically, it was during Unified Silla that the images of the Four Heavenly Kings started to appear. Typically, Silla images of the Four Heavenly Kings were armed with several items like a sword, spear or pagoda, and they appeared on the surfaces of reliquaries or pagodas. Initially, the images were regarded as protectors of Silla. The greatest example of this is Sacheonwang Temple, which was built to defend against the invasion of China's Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, this temple and its artistic accomplishments no longer exist. The oldest extant images of the Four Heavenly Kings can be found in the form of a reliquary discovered inside one of the three-story pagodas at Gameun Temple, which was also built as a nation-protecting temple. It was after this that the images of the Four Heavenly Kings changed gradually from protecting the nation and Buddhist holy relics to warding off the evil spirits of a temple like at the Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju, where three of the four kings hold swords, while Damun-cheonwang holds a pagoda.

The oldest extant image of the Four Heavenly Kings, from the reliquary at Gameun Temple / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

Then during Goryeo, the objects that the Four Heavenly Kings held became more standardized. These objects became a lute, a dragon, a sword and a pagoda. This standard was established by the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China, and then exported to Goryeo and early Joseon (1392-1910).

However, and more recently, there seems to be some scholarly debate as to who Damun-cheonwang was meant to represent during Joseon. In 2012, new evidence was discovered inside the statues of the Four Heavenly Kings at Jikji Temple dating back to 1665. According to "The Four Heavenly Kings of Jikjisa Temple (1665) and Their Significance" by Youngae Lim, the Damun-cheonwang image is identified as the king of the west and not of the north. This is further supported by other examples found at Tongdo Temple (1724) and Songgwang Temple (1628) in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, that also identify Damun-cheonwang as the king of the west.

The question remains then, why the change? And for some the answer is that it was a simple mislabeling, while for others like Lim, the answer lies in the strong influence at this time found in Tibetan Buddhism on Ming Dynasty Buddhism (1368-1644); and in turn, Joseon Dynasty Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, the west is always thought of as the most important cardinal direction, which would help explain how the Ming Dynasty, who were formalizing the items that the Four Heavenly Kings held, made the decisions they did. Whatever the answer, the differences in opinion are fascinating and still need to be resolved.

Inside Cheonwang Gate at Jikji Temple / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington

So the next time you're at a Korean Buddhist temple, have a long look around at this second traditional gate and the Four Heavenly Kings housed inside it. Like the entire grounds at a Korean Buddhist temple, the Cheonwangmun is packed with symbolic meaning.

Dale Quarrington has visited over 500 temples throughout the Korean Peninsula and published three books on Korean Buddhism. He runs the popular website, "Dale's Korean Temple Adventures."