Namhae - Part 5 Boriam - Hermitage with a view

Boriam Temple - Namhae-do ; Thanks to ali on Vimeo.

Unfortunately, Daraengi in Namhae doesn’t get good views of either sunrise or sunset. For that, one would have to take the bus to Boriam, a tiny hermitage situated right at the top of Geumsan.

Below: Boriam's perch on Geumsan seems precarious

Above: The Goddess of Mercy has a great view of the southern sea

Compared to other mountains in Korea, it’s not high ( 681 metres above sea level) but it promises spectacular views of surrounding fantastically shaped rocks that would give your imagination a good workout. Or if they don't catch your fancy, you can enjoy panaoramic views of the Hallyeo Haesang National Park and look down on Sangju beach as well as a fair part of the Namhae coastline. Provided, of course, you are fortunate enough to get good weather. Which I wasn’t.

Sangju beach

Perhaps I should have made a special prayer in this place of worship dedicated to the Gwanseeumbosal or the Goddess of Mercy ( Kuan Yin as she is known to the Chinese). I should have asked her selfishly for good weather because for most of the time that I was up there, it was wet, misty, moisty and I could hardly see a thing and even had to inch my way carefully on the slippery stone steps.

But really, I shouldn’t be complaining. I was lucky enough to catch the free shuttle bus headed for the hermitage on its way back from the daily marketing errands. Along the way, it stopped by Bokgog reservoir as well to pick up more passengers. I was also grateful to the temple administration for allowing to stay there overnight, provided of course, that I followed the temple routines and paid 10,000 won ( in 2007 ) for meals and a place to sleep ( the dining quarters were converted easily into one big common space for mattresses.)

After spending a full day and night, it seemed as if I had made my way unwittingly to one of the most important hermitages in Korea, judging from the steady stream of visitors who would pay their respects to the female deity. The chanting and prayer sessions were always crowded affairs; for such a small temple, it seemed to have a fair number of monks and devotees who came specially to pray in this hermitage which was established by the famous Buddhist monk, Won-hyo in 683 A.D.

An extract from a KBS World Radio webpage explains the significance of this small temple:

Boriam Temple near the summit of Geumsan Mountain is one of the three most famous temples for prayer, the others of which are Hongryeonam Temple at Naksansa Temple in Yangyang and Bomunsa Temple in Ganhwado Island. These three temples are the three holy places for Gwanseeumbosal in Korea. In 683 (the 3rd year of the reign of King Sinmun of the Silla Dynasty), the great monk Wonhyodaesa built a temple here and met Gwanseeumbosal while he was praying. He named the mountain "Bogwangsan" and the temple "Bogwangsa." During the Yi Dynasty the imperial family made this temple the royal temple and changed the name of the mountain to Geumsan (silk mountain), and the name of the temple was changed to Boriam.


A poem " Namhae Mount Geum" by Lee Seong-bok is inscribed on a post just as you enter the temple:

A woman is buried in rocks ...
And I’m standing alone on Mount Geum  in Namhae under the blue sky.
I sink alone into the blue sea of Mount Geum in Namhae.

Boriam seems to be the ideal place to pray for miracles or to bury one's griefs.

sources:
http://vimeo.com/745647
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=262191
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2898478
http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/culturenlife/culturenlife_tour_detail.htm?No=1336