Goryeo Buddhist State-Protection Movement

Timeline

1. 1271–1273Gaegyeong · GoryeoDuring the Sambyeolcho Rebellion, the royal court and eminent monks held state-protection ceremonies at Gaegyeong and temples throughout the country, praying for peace and an end to the fighting; Buddhist rituals became a public expression of response to political crisis.
2. 1274–1278Haeinsa · South GyeongsangThe woodblocks of the re-carved Tripitaka kept at Haeinsa had already been completed by the mid-13th century. In the 1270s the court and sangha continued to patronize the temple and its existing blocks, restoring temples and holding ceremonies, continuing the tradition of protecting the state through Buddhism rather than launching another large-scale printing project.
3. 1279–1280Gaegyeong · GoryeoAfter King Wonjong died in 1274, Chungnyeol (Wang Gi) acceded to the throne and continued royal Buddhist patronage; ties between monk officials and royal power tightened, and the discourse of Buddhist state protection became a cultural support for Goryeo political legitimacy under the Mongols.