It is a common feature that Korean artworks ‘hide’ their beauty from you on a superficial viewing. The Seokguram grotto, which appears on many brochures and could lay claim to being the most recognisable of Korea’s national treasures to outsiders, conforms to this rule. You would rarely meet someone who had been bowled over or … [Read More]
Category: Buddhism (page 3)
Tripitaka Koreana is a copy, but an improvement on the original
Interesting article on the Tripitaka Koreana – an early example of Korean improvement on foreign intellectual property. http://bit.ly/fjShBC # [Read More]
Waujeongsa, Gyeonggi-do: home of record-breaking statues
Where is the biggest Buddha head in the world? Waujeongsa, Gyeonggi-do (above. Photo credit: Wake up and Laugh!). It also contains the world’s largest wooden statue of a Buddha in a lying down position. Via @CoolstuffKorea. [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #33: Remembering Seong Cheol Sunim
What is Buddhism all about? I confess to knowing very little. One night of temple stay, and browsing round a few exhibitions of Buddhist art, does not qualify as a proper introduction. In Daewonsa, Neunghae Sunim took a pleasingly laid back approach to the Buddhist life. “Don’t rush things” and “Enjoy yourself” seemed to be … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #30: Daewonsa – early morning prayers and sutra painting
Friday 7 May. I wake up at 3 o’clock. My body seems to be ready for early morning prayers even though I hadn’t signed up for them. I wanted to hear those moktaks and chants again, so I crawl into my clothes and stumble out to the main temple courtyard to wait for the prayers … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #29: Daewonsa – the 9 o’clock meditation
Thursday 6 May. I’m not sure if the monks do their 108 bows every day. If they do, we did not see it because we did our bows in a separate chapel. And if they do, I’m sure they don’t listen to that CD when they’re doing it. But I was expecting the 9 o’clock … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #28: Daewonsa – the 108 Bows
Thursday 6 May. The time has arrived for the 108 bows. Strangely, we are told to meet in the car park. But that’s where a large side chapel has recently been built, mainly to minister to visitors on the temple stay programme. The chapel at the moment has none of the internal decoration of the … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #27: Daewonsa – the magic at sundown
Thursday 6 May 2010. A monk sits in the corner of the room, brewing yellow tea, while we sit on the floor around the main table. Perfectly ripe fruits are laid out in front of us, including some of Sancheong’s famous strawberries. The conversation rumbles on, I’m not sure about what, because it was all … [Read More]
2010 Travel Diary #26: Arrival at Daewonsa
Thursday 6 May 2010. We drive up a winding road, through woodland on the side of a valley until we arrive in the car park of Daewonsa Temple, in the foothills of Jirisan mountain. We are met in the car park by a monk well known to our local guide. “She’s my favourite monk,” he … [Read More]
Wake Up and Laugh!
Just discovered a great Korean Buddhist blog, Wake Up and Laugh! Their latest post Three months of eating garlic and mugwort analyses the Tangun myth, and in passing talks about the Korean saying “In the days when tigers smoked tobacco…”. # [Read More]
Park Chan-soo gives Buddhist art a new voice
Most classic representations of Buddha, and indeed many items of Buddhist art more generally, are quiet and pensive. As they have come down to us, they are painted in subdued and muted colours, or left in simple undecorated stone or metal. At her lecture at the KCC last week, Park Young-sook pointed out that originally … [Read More]
KCC Lecture: Tradition and Innovation of Korean Buddhist Sculpture
News of this month’s Global Korea lecture at the KCC: Tradition and Innovation of Korean Buddhist Sculpture By Professor Youngsook Pak (SOAS) Date & Time: Wednesday, 19th May 2010 6.30pm Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, Korean Cultural Centre UK Email to [email protected] or call +44(0)20 7004 2600 to reserve your place About the Talk As part of … [Read More]
The Avatamsaka Sutra: more Buddhist-themed film at the KCC
Sometimes known as “Passage to Buddha”, The Avatamsaka Sutra (1993) from director Jang Sun-woo continues the Buddhist theme at the KCC this month. Tony Rayns explains: Hwa-om-kyung is the Korean name of the Avatamsaka Sutra, a Buddhist scripture from the 5th century BC. Ko Un’s novel of the same title is an imagined biography of … [Read More]
Come, Come, Come Upwards at the KCC
To coincide with their exhibition of Buddhist art opening this week, the KCC’s film screenings this month have a Buddhist theme. First, on Thursday this week, 8 April, is Im Kwon-taek’s Come, Come, Come Upwards (아제 아제 바라아제) Synopsis: A high school girl student Soon-nyeo’s father, Buddhist monk Yun Bong, dies. The paternal pain is … [Read More]
Buddha Speaks with a New Voice: Who am I? – upcoming KCC exhibition
Details of the upcoming exhibition at the Korean Cultural Centre: a major exhibition of Buddhist work with associated events. “Buddha Speaks with a New Voice: Who am I?” Exhibition Dates: 10 April – 29 May 2010 The Korean Cultural Centre UK in association with the Mok-A Buddhist Museum proudly announces the upcoming exhibition ‘Buddha Speaks … [Read More]
Zen Meditation workshops with monk Master Jisu Sunim
5 Week Zen Meditation workshop with monk Master Jisu Sunim Starting 30 September 2009 – 7-9pm – Every Wednesday evening Jisu Sunim is a meditation master from the Chogye Son Buddhist order in Korea. He speaks excellent English and teaches the Zen meditation in a fresh, original and deeply inspiring way. Jisu Sunim has been … [Read More]