This plum tree is a kind of “red plum” (hongmae). In late March it produces thick pink blossoms with a subtle fragrance, brightening the ancient temple grounds. With the main trunk dividing into three big stems near the bottom, the old tree looks handsome and dignified. From around 1700, monks at Baegyangsa Temple planted several plum trees in the front courtyard and tended them carefully. One “red plum” tree and one “white plum” (baengmae) tree were transplanted to the present grounds when the temple was moved here in 1863, but the white plum tree later died. Later, the community of Baegyangsa Temple formed the Old Buddha’s Monastery (Gobul chongnim) to honor the original teachings of Sakyamuni in 1947, which is when the plum tree earned its name, Gobulmae, literally meaning “Old Buddha’s Plum.