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
