Cracks and light

"He'd made a crayon sketch of his own body in the form of a vase with a deep black crack running through it. ...Several years later, he ran his finger along the crack, saying, 'You see here, this is where the light comes through.' With a yellow crayon, he drew light streaming through the crack into the body of the vase and said, 'Our hearts can grow strong at the broken places'."
Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart

Buddha bless Congo!

No doubt enlightened to the Truth in Soreaksan, the temple housing one of the most famous Buddhas in Korea, Boniface Samba from Congo left this heartfelt message for all to share in his insight:
"May God Almighty bless my beautiful and rich country which has recovered peace and tranquillity. I address my sincere gratitude to our political and administrative leaders, especially President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Mr. Jean Alfred Onanga, Director of Customs."

Where i end and you begin

"I couldn't hear the rest. Then i couldn't hear or feel anything, nothing there except the sound of the air in my nose and the cold of the air at the back of my throat. So i sat and listened to that, just that, and time went past and when i opened my eyes it was now.

The simplest of things. The in of air, the out. It's like, if you can stop everything else and just listen to that, you can even find the exact place where you first touch the rest of the world, the exact place where it first comes into you. When there's nothing but that, you can give yourself room. You can feel your lungs moving inside your rib cage like the opening and closing of wings."
Ali Smith, Like

A tour in Korean temples

Far from the glitter ruling in Thailand, temples are a more sober affair here, yet colorful when they are painted. Traditional Korean temples usually comprise a number of pavilions - the Buddha hall, shrines to various Bodhisattvas, pagodas, and the indispensable bells pavilion. This is a composite made with pictures taken in various places.









A closer look at details.









The people you will meet in a temple.

A monk chanting a kido.

Note the funky socks. I have the same!

A small memorial ceremony for a recently deceased. The monks chant to Jijang Bosal, the Bodhisattva of hell beings who vowed to rescue all beings in all the hells. The family offers a symbolic cup of alcohol and bows to the portrait of the deceased, before also bowing to the monks in sign of respect and gratitude for their work. Interconnectedness - the monks serve the lay community and the laypeople support the monastics.

The scholar of the house.

Monks chilling before dinner.

A very cheeky monk.

Nuns shopping for bells.

After meeting my father, this eccentric old monk wanted to meet the daughter-who-was-interested-in-Buddhism, so i was treated to a lecture on the importance of being a good Korean *ahem* and received a calligraphy for my pains!


Temple aficionadas.

The welcoming committee - fierce guardians meant to ward off evil spirits.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.






One mischievious looking Bodhisattva.


First time i see a Buddha holding his hands together in this fashion, like he's just managed the deal of the century. Well, i guess enlightenment would qualify as such...

This one caught my eye in a mandala exhibit. The missing link between Judaism and Buddhism?

Leaving...

... but i'll be back.