Tripitaka Koreana Goes To Seoul

Oh, to be in Seoul now that the Tripitaka Koreana ( a.k.a. Goryeo Tripitaka or Palman Daejanggyeong ("Eighty-Thousand Tripitaka") is making a brief appearance at  the 2010 International Archival Culture Exhibition. The theme for this year's exhibition is "기록으로 만나는 세계" - "A World Re-discovered in Archives" .

Monk checking on the condition of the woodblocks for the Tripitaka Koreana in Haeinsa

What's so special about the Tripitaka Koreana, aside from the way the name trips on the tongue?

It is...

1. National Treasure No. 32
2. one of the most comprehensive and oldest examples of Buddhist scripture; "Because of the accuracy of the Tripitaka Koreana, the Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese versions of the Tripitaka are based on this Korean version." ( from wikipedia)
3. listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register
4. an artefact from Goryeo Dynasty and has survived Mongol attacks and remained well-preserved over 1000 years
5. "...not only (historically) invaluable, it is also aesthetically valuable and shows a high quality of workmanship.( from wikipedia)

An excerpt from the Chosun Ilbo shows how important the TK is:

"To make its second public debut the scriptural work was transported from Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple in South Gyeongsang Province. Monks carefully moved the treasure onto a palanquin and held a special ceremony with over 400 followers. The blocks were delicately wrapped in Korean mulberry paper and placed in a special box before starting the four-hour journey to Seoul."

In addition, you can also see some uigwe featured at this exhibition.So, hurry! IACE 2010 will be held for less than a week between the 1st and 6th of June at COEX A hall, National Archives (Nara repository). Hope some blogger in Seoul will be interested enough to cover this event.  It would help if that person can read Hanja and translate! Ok -I'm half-kidding about the translating but please take lots of pics and check out the hands-on activities.

Sources:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/06/02/2010060200791.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripitaka_Koreana
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/737
http://www.iace.or.kr/eng/exhibition/writing_invitation.html?Fnum=70&Fnum2=71

Lotus Lanterns

Buddha's birthday is celebrated in Korea this year on May 21st. The main image associated with this occasion would be lotus lanterns. Koreans have been lighting these since the Shilla Dynasty (B.C. 57-935 A.D.). What is surprising is that lotus lanterns don't seem to be so prominent in other Asian countries where there are Buddhist devotees even though the flower has long been a symbol of purity, the aspiration to rise above the dirt and dust of worldly cares or above "the mud of delusion" and enlightenment. One source claims that "The lotus lanterns are unique to Korean culture; they cannot be found in Chinese or Japanese Buddhism." What about in India?

According to Ven. Hye-Kyeong, "Athough the blossom remains clean,  it doesn't force its surroundings to get cleaner. Buddha also teaches that everything has a purpose -  even dirt. If there is no dirt, there is no need for lotus blossoms as well." Hmmm.

All I know is it's not easy work making these lanterns.  Each paper petal and leaf is stuck by hand onto a wire frame with sticky starch and usually each temple or hermitage is decked out with hundreds or even thousands of these each year. I'm guessing from one visit in spring that an army of ajumma volunteers prepare the 연등  or yeondeung or lotus lantern weeks before the celebrations begin. Question is: what happens to them afterwards? Are they relegated to some bonfire as a some symbolic gesture or are they recycled or used again the following year? Surely Buddha wouldn't object to the latter in these environmentally-critical  times?

      Love this photo of lanterns at Jogyesa. Credit: Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

sources:

http://www.buddhism.org/board/read.cgi?board=WhatsNew&y_number=4

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=45,6287,0,0,1,0
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/05/203_65815.html

My Fav K Sounds - Part 2

Sometimes the things you don’t seek are the most rewarding. One of my favourite sounds in Korea is something I discovered by chance when I stayed overnight at Baekdamsa in Gangwon-do. I went there just to see what this quiet corner of Soraksan National Park was like and was already taken with the beauty of the maples in autumn there. I sought silence in Baekdamsa but found instead an unforgettable sonic experience.

It was also my first temple stay experience except that there was no formal program here. The vegetarian meal taken in silence was almost over in the communal dining-hall when I heard a muffled but intriguing rhythm building up on a drum somewhere outdoors on the temple grounds. Hastily, I cleared my dining-tray and went out into the nippy evening air in search of the source. In the darkness, my ears led me to a raised pavilion which housed an enormous drum, a cloud-shaped metallic cymbal of sorts, a wooden fish with a hollow body and a bronze bell with a profile reminded me of the Emile Bell. One seonim was facing the drum, his hands wielding two sturdy drumsticks while another was waiting for his cue beside the other instruments.

How can I describe to you what I heard? Definitely not mere banging. Not tuneful but riveting. Surprising because of the variety of rhythms created on the massive drum and so different from the monotonous beating heard in temples outside Korea and it. It had a commanding presence, speaking with authority, except that I wasn't sure what it was saying. But it was magical.

According to Brother Anthony, an expert on Korean culture, sounding the Dharma Instruments (bell, drum, fish, cloud) “represents communicating the call to enlightenment (the Dharma) to all 'sentient beings'.” The bell made of metal reaches out to those below the ground, while the drum made of leather is the call to living things above the ground. The hollow body of the wooden fish is struck to communicate to all the creatures in the sea whilst the cloud shaped gong is meant for all in the air.

Source of pic on left: KNTO website