The Amitabha Hall of Mujangsa鍪藏寺彌陀殿
1A temple standing in a deep valley
亰城之東北二十許里暗谷村之北有鍪藏寺.第三十八元聖大王之考大阿干孝讓,追封明徳大王之爲叔父波珎喰追崇所創也.幽谷逈絶類似削成,所寄㝠奥自生虛白,乃息心樂道之霊境也.
About twenty li northeast of the capital, north of Amgok village (暗谷村), is Mujangsa (鍪藏寺).
It was built by the daeagan Hyoyang (孝讓), father of the great king Wonseong, the thirty-eighth ruler, who was posthumously enfeoffed as the great king Myeongdeok, in honor of his uncle, a pajinchan.
The deep valley is cut off far away as if carved out, and the site is secluded and deep, so that a bright clearness arises of itself; it is a divine place for resting the mind and delighting in the Way.
2A queen makes an Amitabha image for the king who went before her
寺之上方有弥陁古殿,乃昭成〔一作聖.〕大王之妃桂花王后爲大王先逝,中宫乃充充焉皇皇焉,哀戚之至泣血棘心.思所以幽賛明休光啓玄福者.聞西方有大聖曰弥陁,至誠歸仰則善救來迎,“是真語者豈欺我㦲.”乃捨六衣之盛服,罄九府之貯財,召彼名匠教造弥陁像一軀,并造神衆以安之.
Above the temple is an old Amitabha Hall (彌陀殿).
When the great king Soseong (昭成大王)〔also written 昭聖〕 died before her, his consort Queen Gyehwa (桂花王后) was distraught and restless in the palace, and in the extremity of her grief she wept tears of blood and her heart was as if pierced by thorns.
Thinking of a way to aid him in the unseen and open bright blessings for him, she heard that in the West there was a great sage called Amitabha, who, if one turns to him with utmost sincerity, saves well and comes to welcome.
"These are true words. How could they deceive me?"
So she gave up her six sets of splendid robes and emptied the wealth stored in the nine treasuries, summoned famous craftsmen, and had them make one image of Amitabha, and also make the guardian host (神衆) and enshrine them.
Interlinear notes 1
一作聖.
Also written Soseong (昭聖).
3The name of the valley where helmets were buried
先是,寺有一老僧,忽夢真人坐於石塔東南岡上向西爲大衆說法,意謂此地必佛法所住也,心秘之而不向人說.嵓石巉崪流澗激迅,匠者不顧咸謂不臧.及乎辟地乃得平坦之地可容堂宇宛似神基,見者莫不愕然稱善.近古來殿則壞圮而寺獨在.諺傳,太宗統三已後藏兵鍪於谷中,因名之.
Before this, there was an old monk at the temple who suddenly dreamed that a true man sat on the ridge southeast of the stone pagoda, facing west and preaching the Dharma to a great assembly.
He thought that this ground must be a place where the Buddha's teaching would dwell, but he kept it secret in his heart and did not tell anyone.
The rocks were steep and the stream rushed fiercely, so the craftsmen would not even look at it and all said it was no good.
But when the ground was opened, they found a flat site fit for halls, exactly like a divine foundation. Everyone who saw it was astonished and called it good.
In recent times the hall has collapsed, but the temple alone remains.
Popular tradition says that after Taejong united the three kingdoms, he buried weapons and helmets in the valley, and so it was named.