Buddhist Beginnings in Korea

Over 1000 staff and family members from my school (TCIS) and our sister school (GSIS) met in Gyeongju for a weekend retreat. Needless to say, this was a wonderful time to get to know the new staff and rekindle friendships with returning staff. Most of the weekend was made up of meetings, times of worship and opportunities of recreation and playing tourist.

I did not know this at first but many of the most famous and photographed historic sites in South Korea are in the Gyeongju area, the former capital during the Silla Dynasty (57 BC–935 AD). This includes our first stop at the Bulguksa Temple, the oldest Korean Buddhist site constructed by King Pob Hung in 535 AD. Koreans were introduced to Buddhism at this time and the king wanted a place for his queen to pray.

As you approach this religious site you encounter two grand stairways, a magnificent entry into the temple compound. These staircases are named the Blue Cloud Bridge and White Cloud Bridge, each having 33 steps that represent the 33 levels of heaven in Buddhist legends. Climbing these stairs serves as a reminder that Buddhists can transition into Buddha Land or the Land of Happiness.


At the top of the stairs visitors enter the courtyard of the Daeungjeon, which is the main building known as the Great Enlightenment Temple. Each building and statue throughout the complex is either symbolic in some way of the Buddhist religion or has a defined purpose to enhance the religious experience. The courtyard is guarded by statues to ward off evil spirits, for instance, and two pagodas in the courtyard represent the teachings of Sokka Yorae (a collection of stories about the trials of the ten lives of Sakyamuni Buddha).

Buddhism is so rooted in the Korean culture that the Seokgatap pagoda is displayed on the 10 won coin, its value similar to the penny in US and Canadian currencies.



Behind the main temple visitors encounter a steep staircase that leads to a series of smaller temples. In this upper tier of the Bulguksa Temple compound you can find hundreds of small stones stacked along ornate walls from one temple to another. Apparently these stones are placed by Buddhist believers to enhance their chances of good fortune.



Did you know the swastika is a decorative Hindu symbol from which Buddhism evolved? Hindus and Buddhists will often display this symbol on the main doors and gates of their homes as was evident in my former neighborhood in downtown Daejon.

Undoubtedly, I was fascinated by the near 1500 year old site and its Buddhist architecture during my visit to the Bulguksa Temple.

But as a Christian believing in the God of the Bible, my heart goes out to those who believe reincarnation and gaining a preferred state of consciousness is the way to everlasting peace. My hope and prayer is that seekers will come to know that everlasting peace can only come through repentance and accepting the shed blood of Christ as payment for their sin and then by establishing a relationship with the living Christ! Unlike the efforts needed to attain the 33 heavens in Buddhism, our God offers only one heaven reserved for His followers where true eternal joy and peace with Him is promised as our ultimate gift!

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. ...For He Himself is our peace.
Eph 2:4-9,14

No Groundhogs Here!

Next on our historic tour of Gyeongju was a stop at Cheonmachong. At first glance it looked like the city of Gyeongju had a problem with overly ambitious groundhogs, only to find out these grassy mounds were burial places for kings dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries.

As expected, the grounds were immaculate and inviting, complete with ponds, flowering trees and inviting walkways leading you from one grave site to another.





There are a total of 23 burial mounds at this site with a couple that are open for viewing! I entered the Heavenly Horse Tomb and, needless to say, it was a little eerie. Excavation efforts in the 1970s allow visitors to see the ancient construction and experience the enormity of these burial mounds first hand, each tomb having a wood-lined chamber running east to west that was then covered in a mound of boulders and earth.


Inside is a lacquered wooden coffin which had burial goods placed around it. Over 11,500 artifacts were recovered from this tomb alone including paintings, jewelery, horse saddles, weaponry and this gold crown; an obvious indication of the lavish royal lifestyle during the Silla era.


One can definitely feel the ancient Korean culture of 1,500 years ago when visiting the burial mounds at Cheonmachong.

Shanghai II

This year's attendance at the Learning 2.008 technology conference proved to be another exciting trip as was my first visit to Shanghai last year. These conferences are wonderful opportunities to not only have discussions on the use of technology in education but also to explore the city before and after sessions... sometimes bringing us to the point of exhaustion =)


Fortunately many of the international schools that host these yearly tech conferences are located in the Huang Pu district of Shanghai, or what is known as the heart of the city. Here visitors can find China's famous shopping street (Nan Jing Rd), city life at its best and stunning art deco buildings lining the Huang Pu River. Our five days in Shanghai allowed us lots of time to explore the city.






So what were my impressions of Shanghai this time around? Well, it's hard to visit China and not be impressed with the traffic and interesting modes of transportation. Now that I've lived in Asia for over a year, I am getting used to surviving street life dodging cars, trucks, scooters, hand-drawn carts and anything else with wheels. But this year I witnessed the Chinese sporting some pretty inventive modes of transportation, including (and I'm not sure what to call it) this "two-stroke rickshaw" =)



Some of the guys from our group decided to rent scooters and venture into the streets of Shanghai in an attempt to get into the action. Nothing like driving wherever you want -- on roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian crosswalks, between vehicles -- and be able to do it legally! Actually, this type of driving is no different in Korea and is one of the reasons I'm holding back on getting my license here. Until I find my nerve, I think I'll stick to the safer modes of transportation...


A small group of us decided to cross the Huang Pu River by way of an underground subway called the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. It's kind of like a Disneyland ride from the 1970s with the feel of a cosmic disco. It was really far out... and all this for $6 =)




Shopping in China is always an experience. It differs a little from Korea because seemingly every shop has its staff beckoning you into their store as you pass by... and each one of them sells shirts, watches, belts and luggage. But the fun really occurs when you enter these shops and watch the sales people do almost anything for a sale. It can be fun if you're in the mood to barter but can be annoying if you're just out to window shop. I even had a sales girl leave her booth unattended to walk me to the nearest ATM when I didn't have the right amount of cash on me. She really really wanted the sale!

Shanghai definitely has a western face to it, as I witnessed up and down the streets. I am used to seeing the McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks throughout Asia but this time I was able to go into the local Ikea store! I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the existence of this symbol of western commercialism in the heart of a communist country. How the world is changing.




There always seem to be some surprises at the dinner table and this year was no exception. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me when I saw the plate of pickled octopus at the breakfast buffet. At least the octopus wasn't moving like at some dinner tables in Korea =) Nothing like raw seafood first thing in the morning!

But I did have my camera with me on the way to the airport when we passed endless high-rises displaying peoples' laundry. On almost every floor there were laundry racks extending from windowed apartments. I guess Mondays are laundry day in China as in most rural areas of Canada. While I'm used to seeing clothes drying on lines in the country, I have to say this is a first to see laundry blowing around on the 20th floor!

The five day conference went by very quickly but it was enough time to provide another boat-load of memories.