Bongeunsa

     Bongeunsa {봉은사 } is a Buddhist temple in Seoul. It is just a short walk from CoEx (Samseong Station {삼성역}). The temple was especially busy and decorated when we were there, because this coming Thursday (May twenty-fourth) is the celebration of Buddha's Birthday (Hooray for National Holidays!).
     It was very odd walking around the rustic grounds in Seoul. Everything surrounding the temple is cement, steel, and glass. The trees and gravel walkways were refreshing. Without Jungwon there I would have stumbled into a restricted area that was meant only for the resident monks (the sign was written in Korean). As usually Jungwon took most of the pictures (she's the better photographer). The colorful statues are made of painted paper. I was wondering the whole time "how well will they hold up in the rain?". Probably pretty well since the temples have had paper lanterns strung in the nearby streets for a month. Still, we were lucky that it was a bright and clear day.
     The grounds were crowded and we only went into one building. It had a sort of exhibition of the paper statues and a small display of how they are made. When we were leaving the building the people sitting at the table had me sign and write what I thought into a guest book. They did not let Jungwon sign, it was for foreigners only.
     Another building had some beautifully painted scenes on the side. They depicted a young monk going through all sorts of trials. He did all sorts of things including wrestling a tiger, but the worst had to be the written test. I later discovered that Bongeunsa was the main temple for giving the country's exam for admittance into the monk hood. And as a slight aside, I learned that Bongeunsa is a zen Buddhist temple.
     Finally, you will notice a few swastikas painted on the buildings. This doesn't mean that it is a hideout for nazis. Rather the symbol itself is older than nazism, and has been used to denote temples for many centuries.

Bongeunsa