Monday 20 July 2009 The trip to Haeinsa is via Daegu. A quick tube journey to the inappropriately named Busan Central Bus Terminal – at the northernmost extremity of the Busan public transport system (Nopodong), and then the express bus to East Daegu station takes nearly two hours. Another tube to the Seobu bus terminal … [Read More]
Category: Buddhism (page 4)
A scientific look at ancient Korean art
Jennifer Barclay reports on the Anglo-Korean Society evening at the Korean Cultural Centre, 16 June 2009 Short documentaries on some of Korea’s ancient cultural artefacts were shown at the Korean Cultural Centre on 16 June, presented by members of the non-profit Korean Spirit and Cultural Promotion Project. Matthew Jackson and Hang-Jin Chang, who graduated together … [Read More]
Korea’s least-known best films?
Mark Morris from Cambridge University’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies discusses two films shown at the Barbican on Sunday. The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) chose the Barbican Centre for its venue between 7-17 May. Two remarkable Korean films stood out among an eclectic mix of documentary and narrative films. The 1949 Hometown … [Read More]
Two rare Korean Buddhist films at the Barbican
International Buddhist Film Festival World Cinema with a Buddhist Edge Thu 7–Sun 17 May 2009 The world’s leading resource for Buddhist cinema, the US based IBFF comes to the UK, and the Barbican, for the first time. Part of The Many Faces of Buddhism series, the lineup of programmes here at IBFF 2009 LONDON includes … [Read More]
The World’s Oldest Woodblock Print
Matthew Jackson explores another of Korea’s contributions to world culture The first printing presses were made out of wood. The process of woodblock printing emerged in the East during the 8th century. For some time, the earliest woodblock print was believed to be a copy of the Diamond Sutra, discovered at Dunhuang in China by … [Read More]
Exhibition visit: Smile of Buddha, the big Korean show in Brussels
The Smile of Buddha exhibition is the centrepiece of the Made in Korea festival currently showing in Brussels, which also includes photography, ceramics, architecture and video art. As the Korean ambassador to the EU says in his introduction to the exhibition catalogue, not many people in the West know much about Korea, and this exhibition … [Read More]
Koryo Buddhist painting
Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles about the artistic treasures from Korea’s past The essence of Korea, if you had to sum it up, is ‘hidden virtue’. An innate modesty, or something more profound, means that the good things about Korea tend to hide from me at first glance. While this may make matters … [Read More]
The Tripitaka Koreana part 2 – the Depository Buildings
Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea’s past The depository buildings which house the Tripitaka Koreana library are unique in almost every sense. Officially the largest wooden storage complex in the world, they are registered together with the Tripitaka itself as part of the UNESCO World Heritage (http://whc.unesco.org/). The … [Read More]
Yi Chul Jin at Durham and SOAS
Dr Yi Chul Jin (이철진) has been in London for 6 months as part of a residency at SOAS. Dr Yi is head of the Korean Dance Art Academy, and is one of the likely candidates to be the next holder of the national intangible cultural property number 27, the Seung mu. There are two … [Read More]
Saturday documentaries at the KCC: Koryo Buddhist Paintings
Every Saturday, from November till the end of December, the KCC will be screening a documentary on Koryo Buddhist Paintings. Acclaimed as “divine artistry” in Asia, the Koryo Buddhist Paintings are known for their “infinite labour”. In one painting, 15,000 miniscule faces of Buddhas were drawn in gold to make a single figure of Buddha. … [Read More]
The Tripitaka Koreana – part 1
Matthew Jackson continues his series of articles on the important treasures from Korea’s past One crowning achievement of Korea’s Buddhist heritage that is not included in the Bozar ‘Smile of Buddha’ exhibition is the Tripitaka Koreana. There is a practical reason for this, as it consists of 81,258 woodblocks, weighs 280 tons in total, and … [Read More]
Crowning glory at the Smile of Buddha
Matthew Jackson reports from the “Smile of Buddha” exhibition in Brussels I had never been to the Bozar Centre (French: “Palais des Beaux-Arts”) in Belgium prior to the current “Smile of Buddha” exhibition of Korean Buddhist art. It is an impressive place (right) and I highly recommend it if you are ever in Brussels. The … [Read More]
The Pensive Bodhisattva comes to Brussels
By Matthew Jackson The centrepiece of the Bozar exhibition of Korean Buddhist Art, beginning in Brussels on the 10th of October, will be the Pensive Bodhisattva statue, Korea’s National Treasure No. 83. It is difficult to describe in words why the statue is regarded so highly as a work of Buddhist art, because its qualities … [Read More]
Words of inspiration
NO RIVER TO CROSS: Trusting the Enlightenment that’s Always Right There Zen Master Daehaeng Wisdom Publications, Boston US$14.95 The title refers to the idea that you don’t have to make a grand pilgrimage to find your Buddha nature, as it’s already inside you, and this approachable book offers plenty of inspiring thoughts. It starts with … [Read More]
Book review: Kim Seong-dong — Mandala
Kim Sung-dong: Mandala Translated by Ahn Jung-hyo Dongsu Munhaksa, 1990 A novel about the search for truth, and about the nature of corruption in religion. When Pobun takes his priestly vows, he undertakes not to kill, steal, have sex, lie, drink, wear ornaments, sing or dance, sleep in a comfortable bed, possess gold, or eat … [Read More]
A Little Monk screens at Royal College of Arts
An email from out of the blue today, advising of an upcoming screening at the Royal College of Art. Strange place for a screening, and I await to hear more about whether it’s part of a series; and why. And the choice of film is a little odd: A Little Monk. Not one of the … [Read More]