Amazing Buddhist Korea

Wisdom Quarterly, Lonely Planet, P.R. Crossman, Frommers

The intricate stone carvings of Seokbulsa hermitage (Anosteen/Flickr)

BUSAN, South Korea - Seokbulsa ("Stone Buddha") Temple is an amazing, out of the way treasure. Lonely Planet, the backpacker's Bible, describes it in brief:

Hard to find but a wonder to behold, Seokbulsa Temple is a [Buddhist] hermitage carved into rock. Massive boulders stretching 40m in height jut out from the mountainside to form a U-shaped enclave with three rock facings that is now a place of worship.

Inside the enclave enormous Buddhist images have been meticulously etched into stone. Visually powerful in scale and impact, it's the kind of work that moves first-time visitors to exclaim "Wow" as they step back and arch their necks to get the full picture.

Patrick R. Crossman, Angelica, and Maria quietly explore the wonders of Seokbulsa, Korea

Quietly walk past the women bowing on the shoes-off platform and step into the small caves for a close-up look at the Buddha glowing in soft candlelight.

Getting to Seokbulsa is a worthwhile challenge for anyone with a desire to explore out-of-the-way places.

The most interesting -- and strenuous -- route is to add this stop to your Geumjeongsan Mountain hike. From the South Gate (남문), the path indicated by the Mandeokchon (만덕촌) sign leads to a collection of restaurants and foot-volleyball courts in Namman Village (남만 마을). More

• Seokbulsa: Korean Travel Journal (Tigers & Magpies)
  
• Seokguram (Stone Grotto) is a hermitage and part of the Bulguksa temple complex, four km east of the temple on Mt. Tohamsan, in Gyeongju, South Korea. It is classified as National Treasure No. 24 by the South Korean government. The grotto overlooks the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and rests 750 meters above sea level. In 1962, it was designated the 24th national treasure of Korea. In 1995, Seokguram was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Bulguksa Temple. It exemplifies some of the best Buddhist sculptures in the world.
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• (Frommers) Most people don't know about this small temple south of Geumjeong Fortress and north of Mandeok tunnel. Since it's a walk to get here (no buses stop nearby), it's a quiet temple even on the busiest of summer weekends. The temple got its name from the statues of the Buddha carved in the rock here (Seokbul means "stone Buddha"). More
  

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Did it all begin with Korea? (video)

America was once Korean territory -- as was Sumer, Egypt, and Central Asia, which includes Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization"? (Mash84)

Historian Rick Field's research (How the Swans Came to the Lake) establishes an Asian history of Buddhism in America -- long before Christianity. It was the first world religion to reach the Americas prior to Columbus and the Conquistadors.



It is easy to imagine Japanese or Chinese expansion, but Korea? Some Korean historians say Korea seeded Sumerian, Egyptian, Central Asian, and Mesoamerican cultures and eventual empires.

Sublime has a remake of a classic punk rock song by Bad Religion that teaches us all a lesson about expansionism, a Manifest Destiny view of the planet, and an endless thirst for fresh conquests:

We're Only Gonna Die

"Early man walked away as modern man took control

Their minds weren't all the same to conquer was his goal

So he built his great empire and he slaughtered his own kind

He died a confused man killed himself with his own mind... Go!

We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.

We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.

We're only gonna die from our own arrogance.

(That's why we might as well take our time)."

(Written by Greg Graffin, Ph.D. of Bad Religion from their debut release: "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?")

Did Korea establish Aztec and Inca empires?

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A young hairdresser in Kaluga, Central Russia, locked a robber who tried to steal her money in the basement of the beauty salon. After that, she has brutally raped her hostage for three days. A court in Kaluga has filed criminal charges against both of them, the Russian website Newsru.com reports. The robber, who has not been named, burst into the salon armed with shotgun at about 17.00 on March 14. He demanded money. There were two hairdressers and one client in the salon at the time. One of hairdressers, who was studying judo and taekwondo, disabled the robber with a smashing body blow. Then she carried the unlucky robber to the basement and bound him with a hairdryer cord....

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Korean Seon Legend: Wonhyo's realization

Korean Buddhist legend, Robert Koehler (rjkoehler.com, geumsan-sa.org)

In a graveyard realizing he had drank from a skull cup, Wonhyo had an epiphany (satori).

The following tale is from the life of Ven. Wonhyo, the renowned monk from the Silla peninsula. He twice tried to visit Tang, China. At the age of 33 with his Dharma friend, Ven. Uisang, he tried to cross the Amnokgang river on a trip that failed. On a second attempt, he left with Usiang for Dangjugye, in the territory of Baekje, to reach Tang by sea.

When they arrived at the harbor, it was already dark and stormy. They stayed in a cave hewn out of the earth. When they awoke he realized it was not a cave but an old graveyard.

The heavy rain had not stopped, so they had to stay another night. On the second night he could not sleep. He knew it was a graveyard. And this led him to a sudden realization:

“All phenomena arise when the mind arises. And when the mind is absent, the cave and the graveyard were not two; there was no sense of duality.”

This sudden realization gave rise to a profound understanding of the world. Wonhyo said, “The three worlds are only mind, and all phenomena arise from the mind, from consciousness. If the truth is present in the mind, how could it be found outside of the mind! I won’t go to Tang.”

Then he once again returned to Silla.

There is a dramatic story which was later added to these events. It is said that Wonhyo drank water when he awoke in the night desperately thirsty. In the darkness, he found a container with water in it and gratefully drank it.

The next morning he found that the water he drank was filthy rainwater that had collected in the skull. This experience became the basis of his realization that “there is nothing clean and nothing dirty; all things are made by mind.”

The fact that all phenomena arise from the mind is a truth he clearly understood. He knew that the mind exists in all human beings. So he decided not to go to Tang China but to return home.

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Sanshin mountain-spirit, Mt. Seorak-san,

Prof. David Mason (san-shin.net)

Absorption of San-Shin by Korean Buddhism

San-shin.org

There were at least three elements similar to Korea's [indigenous] San-shin traditions already present in the Mahayana Buddhism that took root in Korea. This made it easy for the imported religion to absorb native spirits: protection by devas, meditation-practice in caves, and carving stone Buddhas.

Protection by Devas

In the Hwa-eom-gyeong 18 "Mountain Gods" are said to serve as guardians of the Dharma [Buddhist teachings]. They are considered devas, demigods, or nature/animal spirits ranking lower than the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Na-han but higher than any human being.

Each San-shin of each mountain that hosts a Buddhist temple is said to protect the temple buildings themselves and the local Sangha [community of monks]. Protection of the nation in general, always a part of Korea's San-shin traditions, became a major theme of Korean Buddhism throughout history.

Still today, monks and common people both pray to San-shin for spiritual protection from ill-fortune.

Meditation-practice in caves

In the Seon sect which became very important in Korea from the ninth century onwards, it was standard from the beginning for monks (in both China and Korea) to seek enlightenment without distractions by extended meditation practice conducted in mountain caves.

Both beneficent and harmful spirits were encountered there as part of the monk's development; there are several old stories about Korean monks [such as Wonhyo and Usiang] and other heroic seekers meeting and being helped or advised by San-shin while meditating or deeply praying in caves. There are many Tantric Buddhist texts which... More

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