Tongdosa

Tongdosa ((in Korean), "Salvation of the World through Mastery of Truth") is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Tongdosa is one of the Three Jewels Temples and represents Gautama Buddha. (Haeinsa, also in South Gyeongsang Province, represents the dharma or Buddhist teachings; and Songgwangsa in South Jeolla Province represents the sangha or Buddhist community.) Tongdosa is famous because there are no statues outside of the Buddha at the temple because the "real shrines of the Buddha" (relics) are preserved at Tongdosa. Courtyards at the temple are arrayed around several pagodas that house the Buddha's relics.