In the book of <Ancient and New Creation of Bulguksa Temple>, it is recorded that the names of ingressive stone stairs to the main shrine were Cheongwoongyo(blue cloud bridge) and Baekwoongyo(white cloud bridge) and the names of stairs to the paradise hall were Yeonwhagyo(lotus bridge) and Chilbogyo(seven treasure bridge). But, the ingressive stone stairs to the main shrine and the paradise hall are single consecutive stairs with 2 levels respectively. Because of this, it is rather hard to clearly designate the names to the upper level and the lower level stairs. But, of the stairs to the Paradise hall, the lower stairs have a carving of lotus, and the upper stairs have seven stairs. In this aspect of artifacts, we can safely assume that the upper stairs are Chilbogyo and the lower are Yeonwhagyo. But, for the ingressive stairs to the main shrine, there is no such artificial hint. So, it is difficult to designate the upper and the lower stairs for the two bridges. Especially, it is not clear whether the descriptive order of "lower stairs upper stairs" in the names of Yeonwhagyo and Chilbogyo can be applied to the names of stairs to the main shrine. It is because the general descriptive order is "upper lower" rather than "lower upper." Even though there have been many studies on the Bulguksa temple, the study on the ingressive stone stairs to the main shrine has not made till now. Therefore, the study on the position of Cheongwoongyo and Baekwoongyo stairs can have its validity. In this paper, the positional approach to Cheongwoongyo and Baekwoongyo has been made in following aspects: First, the temple structure of Bulguksa; Second, the five element theory of oriental philosophy and the Book of Changes; Third, the directional consciousness of Buddhism. Through the aspects, the validity of up-down position of Cheongwoongyo and Baekwoongyo has been sought. In this research, it can be concluded that the upper level of ingressive stone stairs to the main shrine of Bulguksa is Cheongwoongyo and the lower level is Baekwoongyo. When considered in the Buddhist directional consciousness, it forms the total structure of "East- Cheongwoongyo·South- Baekwoongyo·West- Yeonwhagyo·North- Chilbogyo."

• 염중섭(동국대학교 철학과 강사) | Youm, Jung seop (Department of Philosophy an instructor, Dongguck University)