Tongdosa

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Gate of Non-Duality (left), Hall of Maitreya (center) and Youngsanjeon (right) buildings with three-story stone pagoda (center fore).
Interactive map of Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea
LocationYangsan, Republic of Korea
CriteriaCultural: iii
Reference1562-1
Inscription2018 (42nd Session)
Coordinates35°29′16″N 129°3′52″E / 35.48778°N 129.06444°E / 35.48778; 129.06444
Tongdosa
Location of Tongdosa in South Korea
Tongdosa
Hangul
통도사
Hanja
通度寺
RRTongdosa
MRT'ongdosa

Tongdosa (Korean통도사; lit. '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.