Fall has arrived on the temple grounds. The trees were just starting to show their color. I am sure that in a week it will be breathtaking.
Little piles of luck.
A little bleached... but that is my family!
Sadie chilling with mom.
They were burning incense in this furnace and the white smoke wafted throughout the temple grounds.
You can see the gold leaves starting to show.
Workers were in the process of taking down the lanterns that had been up since the spring.
The paint is fading away.
Addy practicing writing her name in the sand.
Here are the colors.
Still a lot of green though.
I love the intricate painting on these buildings on the compound.
I love the green tiles on the roof.
This is a shrine to Samyong, a priest that helped to organize an army of monks called the righteous warriors to fight against invading Japanese during the Imjin war. The Imjin war was named for the water dragon which was the year of the invasion. This year is also the year of the water dragon. It comes once every 70 years. Many of Korea's heroes made names for themselves during the Imjin war such as the admiral Yi Sun-sin, the father of the famous iron-clad turtle ships. My favorite is Yuchong also known as Samyong. He came to Jikjisa as a young teenager monk and later became a "Great Master." During his life, he endured the growing pains of Korea as the government opted to embrace the logic of Confucianism and cast the Buddhists out of the cities into the mountain temples. Much later in life, King Sunjo approached him and asked that he gather an army to beat back the Japanese that had taken the Korean forces by storm. In a letter he wrote the following to the monks of Korea:
"Arise, hold your banners high, righteous warriors of the land. Who among you have not been given birth in our land? Confucius taught us to lay down our lives to achieve benevolence. Sacrificing oneself for a just cause and suffering in the place of fellow souls is also the spirit of Buddha... Abandoning such a cause for the purpose of self preservation is not the right path. The enemy knows not mercy, and once the land perishes, how then do you expect to survive? Put on the armor of the mercy of the saints, take the precious sword to fell the enemy, wield the lightning bolt of the gods and come forward. Only then can you do your duty. Only then can you find your life. Let the old pray in the temple, let the young fight to save the land."
During the many battles to follow, he persuaded the invaders to spare women and children and later even journeyed to Japan to negotiate for prisoner exchanges. He reminds me of Captain Moroni and the title of Liberty. There is no better cause than to give yourself for the protection of your family, your country and your freedom. What a fascinating hero.
We always find plenty of kittens here
I had never seen this painting before. Battling a tiger. Very cool.
Sadie
More SPIDERS!
Addy makes a good guard.
Everything is a-okay with Logan!
We just missed the best grapes in Korea. Unfortunately the season ended a few weeks ago. I spent many hours working with church members in their vineyards as well as enjoying the fruits of their labor.
No comments:
Post a Comment