Dongwhasa

It is somewhat of a unique feeling; Korea is seeming more and more like home after completing one month of residency. But from time to time we will look at the map of the Korean Peninsula tacked to our living room wall and say, "Look at that map. We live there," and an invigorating feeling of disbelief will set in for a few moments.

We finally have our very own internet connection! No longer do we have to dangle our computer out the window in hopes of pirating a neighbor's wireless connection. Actually, we have had the internet for the past week but no one bothered to tell us. So, after being patient for several days, we finally decided to ask again and were told that we already have it, and all we need now is a cable (which took several more days to find its way to us). But, here we are now, world! Permanently connected!

We took a trip to a Buddhist Temple named Donghwasa in the Mt. Palgong Provincial Park during our Lunar New Year holiday. This mountain and its accompanying temple complex is just a one hour bus ride from our apartment, and after paying for a round trip in bus fares and admission into the park and the museum, Cordia and I were out a total of $7. And not at all did the total cost of our day reflect the experience we had...



We passed through the entrance gate and between the Four Guardians, wooden statues of fierce-looking warriors whose duties are to protect the north, south, east, and west sides of the temple from evil. The Guardian of the North stands holding a pagoda as a tribute to passed monks. The Guardian of the South carries a lute with which he can control the weather. The Guardian of the West keeps with him a sword capable of multiplying whenever needed. And the Guardian of the East holds a dragon for good fortune. We made it past the guardians and followed a paved road across a small pond and into the first complex of temples. Here we found a small building with an open door and three golden Buddha's perched on their thrones inside. Koreans in casual attire and monks wearing their traditional dress were entering and exiting the building, and we decided to remove our shoes like everyone else and step inside. We took a seat on one of the many floor pads available and let our senses take over. The cool floor pad, the smell of incense, the sound of whispered prayers, the sight of ornate interior and delicately crafted homages to the Buddha. We noticed that everyone but the two foreigners in the building was placing a small monetary contribution into a donation box placed in front of the statues prior to sitting down. Feeling guilty for not doing so, we took this as our cue to leave. Upon exiting, two monks walked past us, one of which who spoke excellent English. He asked us where we were from and made some small talk and assured us that we were welcome there. Making our way further down the road, we found Donghwasa, the largest of a complex of temples scattered on the southern face of Mt. Palgong. The intricate architecture and painting on these buildings is something to marvel. I tried to get some shots of what I am describing, but I feel my photographs don't nearly represent seeing it in first person. Behind Dongwhasa is a 33 meter granite Buddha erected in hopes of a re-unification of North and South Korea. After some photographs of this giant, we toured the Donghwasa museum, inside which all the the text was written in Korean. So, we mostly just looked at the pictures and formed our own assumptions about the trinkets and statues they had on display. We left the museum, and this is when it started to snow. Our original intention was to hike to Gwanbong Peak to see a 1000-year old seated Buddha statue named Gatbawi. But when it started snowing, we looked up toward the peak and couldn't actually see it, meaning it was probably a full-on blizzard up there. We decided to come back on a warmer day to try again. On our way out, we took some photographs of the stone pagodas lining the road and talked to a very nice Korean couple (who had a brother living in San Antonio, small world, I know) about those pagodas and Daegu's Buddhist culture, and they shared the names of some of their favorite temples nearby. Then we boarded the Red No. 1 bus, and we were on our merry way home.

After sharing our experiences with one of our Korean partner teachers at work, specifically the awkward feeling in the Buddha room, she told us that a donation is not necessary and to feel welcome to sit without giving money. We will heed this information next time.

Not bad for a $7 holiday.

I will end this with my favorite photograph from the trip.


-Us