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Haeinsa Monastery houses the Tripitaka Koreana, a 13th century edition of scriptures known to be the world's most comprehensive and oldest intact version of Buddhist canon in Chinese script. The temple, tucked away in a secluded valley in the deep mountains about an hour west of Daegu, has maintained its reputation as a religious heaven among Korean Buddists over the centuries. The 500 monks at Haeinsa are responsible for protecting the "jewel" of Korean Buddhist faith, the 81,258 wooden blocks for printing the scriptures, which have been housed in the temple since 1398.

The photo galleries on this page are divided into five sections. The first (A) includes general views on the road to Haeinsa, the environment walking toward the temple, and the village nearby. The second (B) is of the first group of buildings, the next is the main group (C), where the Tripitaka Koreana, is housed, the fourth (D) section is the archive for the Tripitaka Koreana, so that it can be viewed separately, and the last section (E) is of the Third and Fourth building groups near the main Temple grounds.

An interesting feature of the Main Group's courtyard, is a maze that covers a portion of it. Entering, the faithful read a Buddhist prayer as they continue through the maze until they exit near the point of their entry. Several photos record not only the devoted following this prayer path, but kids playing in the courtyard.

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