Luckily, I did a little research and discovered that Bongeunsa, one of the biggest Buddhist temples in Seoul, was still hosting its exhibition of hand-made paper lanterns. So Saturday afternoon, David and I ventured across the Han River to visit the temple. (It's right across from the COEX mall, the biggest mall in Asia.)
After pulling into the parking lot, David and I were greeted by this statue of Buddha in the center of a pond filled with lotus flowers. I was quite surprised how big and spacious the temple complex was and how much greenery surrounded the individual buildings. It's always rare to find open space and nature in such a big city like Seoul.
Of course, there were the millions and millions of lotus lanterns hanging up. The white tags include people's prayers or blessings. Sadly, workmen were already taking down many of the lanterns. I wonder how many were originally hanging.
Since we drove and parked at the temple, we didn't enter through the main gates of the temple complex, but if we had, we would have been greeted by this beautiful walkway.
This small building was situated on a hill, overlooking the main entrance of the complex. One thing that constantly fascinates me about Asia is the juxtaposition of the traditional relics of the past with the modernity of a 21st century metropolis. Though we were surrounded by beautiful examples of traditional Korean architecture and the peace and tranquility that nature brings, all around us were skyscrapers and the noises of cars and buses clogging up the traffic-jammed city streets of Seoul. It's not unlike sitting deep within Central Park and having the bustle of New York City momentarily fade away. Somehow, it's very comforting to find places that make me forget that I live in city with 20 million other people. I take them where I can find them.
Inside this building, there were many people bowing over and over again to Buddha. It just looked exhausting to me, but then again, I'm creeping into that stage of pregnancy where sitting down and standing up are becoming more and more laborious.
I love old doors. I can't say why.
At the back of the temple complex is this massive statue of Buddha (and more lanterns!). David and I sat down here to rest and enjoy a little picnic lunch. I sure hope Buddha doesn't mind that we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Cheetos at his feet.
Can I just take a moment to express my joy over the arrival of Spring? I'm so glad it's here. Finally. It was a long, cold winter.
And Summer? Please don't hurry. It feels just fiiine right now. I don't need your heat or humidity or monsoon rains just yet.
Our last stop after walking around the whole complex was this building where they typically hold academic lectures and cultural courses but which was currently housing the absolutely breathtaking hand-made lanterns designed by the monks.
This lotus flower lantern was by far my favorite. Some were incredibly abstract and others were just a little silly (like the recreation of Dokdo). But all were simply amazing to see in person.
A Korean warrior and a drum.
A woman.
A sunrise.
And wings, which greeted us when we first walked into the room.It started to sprinkle just as we were leaving the temple, so we headed back home instead of venturing to Jogyesa (the other big Buddhist temple in Seoul) but I'm glad we got out and saw Bongeunsa while the lanterns were still there.
David and I keep saying we need to be more proactive about going out and seeing the sites of Korea. I hope now that spring is here, we'll make more of an effort, but next weekend we'll be taking a quick 4-day tour of Beijing that was organized by David's command. We thought it'd be nice to get in one more trip before the third trimester sets in and traveling is a no-no. Luckily the flight to Beijing is only two hours and the whole trip (meals, hotel, tours, and activities) have been arranged for us. I can't wait to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City! Expect a ridiculous number of photos when I return.
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