A Day Full of Adventure
A few days after Heather & Kevin returned from the States, since Kevin had to work, Heather & her kids, the Walkers, and I went on a long drive for a hike to a waterfall. When we were almost at our destination, we came across a large golden cow on the side of the road. I was thinking maybe it is associated with the golden calf, but I don't know! In all my research, I couldn't find any definitive answers.
Hikes in Korea are pretty cool because the paths are well maintained, which is probably due to the entrance fees required for the hikes. For a while, we were on a paved/wooden path. Once we were really on the hike, it turned into a dirt path. We tried really hard to be careful along the way, but one of the Walker girls tripped and hurt her knee. Thank goodness Brianne was prepared with every cute band-aid imaginable. They were so cute, Monster required a band-aid or two for himself even though he was just fine. I wouldn't mine having one too!
The hike was full of surprises. Underneath the first bridge we crossed, there were statues of dragons! These were really cool to check out. In some research, I found that in Korea, dragons are considered to be benevolent beings related to water. It's no wonder there would be dragons by a bridge! This bad boy was massive. I think there used to be more dragons with this bridge, but only a few survive. What I think makes this dragon so cool is that while its face is very present to the viewer, its long body twists and turns down to the bed of the river below. It's incredible what people could do hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago! I wish I could find out more information about these dragons and this bridge because it was just so cool.
A few of the dragons, we think, used to act like the equivalent of European gargoyles, at least the rain spout part. Since not many survive, the few that do are protected by a covering which is see through in order for viewers to sneak a peek, like Monster!
Another really neat spectacle on the way to the waterfall was this incredible Buddhist temple. Obviously, Buddhism is different from Catholicism, which I was surrounded by in Italy so I'm incredibly grateful for my Non-Western (all art except America & Europe up to the time of colonization) course I took before leaving for Europe. It gave me a lot of insight on art out of the beaten path; the class also prepared and educated me for what I was about to see in this temple.
Here's some background on Buddhism:
So a mother had a dream that an elephant came out of her side, which insinuates the idea of immaculate conception. She went to her parents' house but along the way, she went into labor. When the child, a prince in Nepal, was born, around 536 BCE, he could walk immediately and the footsteps he left behind were in the shape of lotus flowers. The mother took him to a soothesayer who said he was very special and may give salvation to all. The child, Siddhartha Gautama, was raised in isolation because his mother didn't want him to ever see anyone sick, dead, dying, or aging. At the age of 29, he left the palace and saw and old man, diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic (someone who devoutly practices self-discipline; often, this may be physical such as fasting). This led to what is known as The Great Departure. SG renounced his wealth and title in order to seek enlightenment.
The term "Buddha" means "enlightened." Within Buddhism, they believe in Dharma, which translates to "cosmic law and order;" this includes the "wheel" law. The Wheel Law is symbolic with great, revolutionary change which results in universal consequences. The change is brought to pass by a significant human being. The wheel also is symbolic of the cycle of life.
Another important aspect of Buddhism is the concept of the Middle way, which essentially is the need for moderation in all things.
The Four Truths of Buddhism are: 1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha). 2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudaya), which is desire or expectations. 3. The truth of the cessation (ending) of suffering (Nirodha). 4. The gtruth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga).
One of the most important beliefs of Buddhism is the concept of Nirvana, or release. The Noble Eight-fold Path details how this may come to pass. The Noble Eight-Fold Path explains the cycle of rebirth. It notes what is helpful versus what is not helpful--NOT what's good versus what's bad.
Wisdom:
1. Right view: actions and beliefs have consequences, and thus, death is not the end.
2. Right resolve/intention: the sacrifice of all and adopting the life of religion.
Ethical Conduct:
3. Right speech: no lying, no gossip, no being rude.
4. Right conduct/action: don't kill, don't hurt, don't steal, no sexual acts, no material desires.
5. Right livelihood: beg to feed, only possess what is necessary to stay alive.
Concentration
6. Right effort: preventing the arising of unwholesome states and generating wholesome states.
7. Right mindfulness: awareness of the impermanence of body, feeling, and mind.
8. Right concentration: concentration of the mind, mindfulness.
When one essentially lives an exceptionally good life of service, mindfulness, and kindness, they may be released from the cycle of rebirth and reach Nirvana. It's a very strict expectation, but I guess it's necessary if you don't want to be stuck in the cycle of rebirth.
Something that is important is that SD is only a Buddha; he might have been the first, but there were others after him. The Buddha is not a deity; he was a man who saw the world as it really was.
So what's the difference between a Buddha and a Bodhisattva? A Bodhisattva is an Enlightened one who stays in the cycle of rebirth to teach others.
With SD's ministry, he went to Sarnath and had his first sermon which covered Dharma (ya know, life is suffering [LIFE IS PAIN--ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS SELLING SOMETHING]).
In early Buddhism, there was Thereavadan, or the way of the Elders, which establishes a tradition. It focused on wisdom, meditation, and a personal path to enlightenment. A major hallmark to early Buddhism, is the fact that it was aniconic, which means that they would not have images of the Buddha in art; instead of showing the Buddha in art, he was referenced by symbols, such as lotus flowers.
Within Asian architecture, I saw a lot of styles that are similar across the board. One of these is the use of fly eaves; I'm pretty sure in my class the teacher called them spirit corners. Supposedly it was used to ward off evil spirits; it's possible it was just used as a way to manage the rain fall.
This is the gate one must pass through before getting to the temple.
One of my favorite things to notice in all the religious buildings we went to was the ceilings. Just look at that! The colors were so bright, it was difficult to see clearly.
Inside the gate was this ceiling.
In addition to the ceiling, the gate housed the Four Heavenly Kings. This particular one had similar symbolism to the Catholicism. The pope would often be depicted holding a mini cathedral/church as an offering to God. I wonder if this is the same!
So within Buddhist iconography, everything about the image of the Buddha is symbolic. At the top of his head, is a little umbrella, which represents inherent nobility. Around his head there is a halo. The hair turned into a bun (usnisha) represents a second brain. The hair often includes a tuft of white hair. The left shoulder is typically covered, usually with a symbolic gesture/mudra. the Buddha is typically unadorned and wearing a simple robe.
It was really cool to see a similar image of the Buddha compared to the ones I learned about in class.
Something that is really important to note within Buddhism is the use of what westerners consider "the swastika." This symbol is much, much older and the direction is reversed. It's a character that means "good fortune." It's so sad that something that was nice was changed into something many consider evil.
I'm always surprised by what the kids point out; maybe it's because of the distance it is from the ground to their eyeballs, but they always quickly point out what they see on the trail. This cool mushroom is a result of their observations.
There were lots of caterpillars on this hike; one of the adults pointed out this little guy crawling on a branch above our heads.
Monster found this hairy little guy. I'm glad he pointed it out otherwise I might have stepped on him!
Shortly after pointing out the caterpillar, he climbed into Heather's backpack and fell asleep FAST.
Something I learned about, at least within Chinese art, is owners will have a stamp which signifies their ownership so that when they acquire a new painting, they will have their stamp directly on it. There are rules of course, such as, don't stamp directly onto the what is being painted. Here's an example of that! Another rule of Chinese art, and I don't know how similar it is to Korean painting, is there are the three main forms of art: watercolor, calligraphy, and poetry; a good work of art must have all three. Maybe this is also an example of that.
On our way back, we also saw a little cemetery for a few notable monks. The little monuments made for them are called stupas.
When we got back to the car, we drove straight over to a rail park! Rail parks are such a big deal in Korea; you pedal like a bike in a little car and you see some incredible sights. Monster rode with one of his friends and the two Walker adults, Big Sis rode with M&M and her friend, and Little A and her friend rode with me and Heather. We tried really hard to get to the front of the line so we wouldn't have any other people in front of us that we didn't know but we just weren't fast enough. The people in front of us were so slow! We wanted to be able to drive fast but we still had a good time. I'll never forget the girls ramming into us!
Before we made it to the hike, we had to take a stop by this cute sign! But on the way to the sign, Heather got tangled up in some weeds which tore up her ankle. Thank goodness Big Sis and M&M were prepared with the first aid kits they had for Girl's Camp. The band-aid didn't quite stick to Heather, but it's the thought that counts.
On our little hike to the suspension bridge, there were some cute sculptures referencing the Olympics. Even though this location didn't host any events, Korea is pretty proud of it.
We found out that the stairs up to the Suspension Bridge had markers which showed how many stairs in total one would have to climb and how many one has already done. It was kind of a bummer at the beginning but the more we worked, the more exciting the numbers were!
This bug is big and gross. I am consistently surprised by the bugs that exist in other countries and how big they are.
When we got to the top, we were at 100% which was so exciting! All we had left was to go across the bridge and climb the same amount of stairs back down.
This is a sign that you'd see before going onto that creepy pathway and it almost looks like it's a sign that says "No grand pianos on this thing!" It's probably just asking people not to walk on it if their hiking shoes have spikes. Speaking of hiking shoes with spikes, I cannot believe how many women in heels we saw climbing up to the Suspension Bridge. One woman's heel was bleeding! That is so different compared to what I'm used to seeing in the states: tennis shoes all the way!
Hikes in Korea are pretty cool because the paths are well maintained, which is probably due to the entrance fees required for the hikes. For a while, we were on a paved/wooden path. Once we were really on the hike, it turned into a dirt path. We tried really hard to be careful along the way, but one of the Walker girls tripped and hurt her knee. Thank goodness Brianne was prepared with every cute band-aid imaginable. They were so cute, Monster required a band-aid or two for himself even though he was just fine. I wouldn't mine having one too!
The hike was full of surprises. Underneath the first bridge we crossed, there were statues of dragons! These were really cool to check out. In some research, I found that in Korea, dragons are considered to be benevolent beings related to water. It's no wonder there would be dragons by a bridge! This bad boy was massive. I think there used to be more dragons with this bridge, but only a few survive. What I think makes this dragon so cool is that while its face is very present to the viewer, its long body twists and turns down to the bed of the river below. It's incredible what people could do hundreds, maybe even thousands of years ago! I wish I could find out more information about these dragons and this bridge because it was just so cool.
A few of the dragons, we think, used to act like the equivalent of European gargoyles, at least the rain spout part. Since not many survive, the few that do are protected by a covering which is see through in order for viewers to sneak a peek, like Monster!
Another really neat spectacle on the way to the waterfall was this incredible Buddhist temple. Obviously, Buddhism is different from Catholicism, which I was surrounded by in Italy so I'm incredibly grateful for my Non-Western (all art except America & Europe up to the time of colonization) course I took before leaving for Europe. It gave me a lot of insight on art out of the beaten path; the class also prepared and educated me for what I was about to see in this temple.
Here's some background on Buddhism:
So a mother had a dream that an elephant came out of her side, which insinuates the idea of immaculate conception. She went to her parents' house but along the way, she went into labor. When the child, a prince in Nepal, was born, around 536 BCE, he could walk immediately and the footsteps he left behind were in the shape of lotus flowers. The mother took him to a soothesayer who said he was very special and may give salvation to all. The child, Siddhartha Gautama, was raised in isolation because his mother didn't want him to ever see anyone sick, dead, dying, or aging. At the age of 29, he left the palace and saw and old man, diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic (someone who devoutly practices self-discipline; often, this may be physical such as fasting). This led to what is known as The Great Departure. SG renounced his wealth and title in order to seek enlightenment.
The term "Buddha" means "enlightened." Within Buddhism, they believe in Dharma, which translates to "cosmic law and order;" this includes the "wheel" law. The Wheel Law is symbolic with great, revolutionary change which results in universal consequences. The change is brought to pass by a significant human being. The wheel also is symbolic of the cycle of life.
Another important aspect of Buddhism is the concept of the Middle way, which essentially is the need for moderation in all things.
The Four Truths of Buddhism are: 1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha). 2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudaya), which is desire or expectations. 3. The truth of the cessation (ending) of suffering (Nirodha). 4. The gtruth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga).
One of the most important beliefs of Buddhism is the concept of Nirvana, or release. The Noble Eight-fold Path details how this may come to pass. The Noble Eight-Fold Path explains the cycle of rebirth. It notes what is helpful versus what is not helpful--NOT what's good versus what's bad.
Wisdom:
1. Right view: actions and beliefs have consequences, and thus, death is not the end.
2. Right resolve/intention: the sacrifice of all and adopting the life of religion.
Ethical Conduct:
3. Right speech: no lying, no gossip, no being rude.
4. Right conduct/action: don't kill, don't hurt, don't steal, no sexual acts, no material desires.
5. Right livelihood: beg to feed, only possess what is necessary to stay alive.
Concentration
6. Right effort: preventing the arising of unwholesome states and generating wholesome states.
7. Right mindfulness: awareness of the impermanence of body, feeling, and mind.
8. Right concentration: concentration of the mind, mindfulness.
When one essentially lives an exceptionally good life of service, mindfulness, and kindness, they may be released from the cycle of rebirth and reach Nirvana. It's a very strict expectation, but I guess it's necessary if you don't want to be stuck in the cycle of rebirth.
Something that is important is that SD is only a Buddha; he might have been the first, but there were others after him. The Buddha is not a deity; he was a man who saw the world as it really was.
So what's the difference between a Buddha and a Bodhisattva? A Bodhisattva is an Enlightened one who stays in the cycle of rebirth to teach others.
With SD's ministry, he went to Sarnath and had his first sermon which covered Dharma (ya know, life is suffering [LIFE IS PAIN--ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS SELLING SOMETHING]).
In early Buddhism, there was Thereavadan, or the way of the Elders, which establishes a tradition. It focused on wisdom, meditation, and a personal path to enlightenment. A major hallmark to early Buddhism, is the fact that it was aniconic, which means that they would not have images of the Buddha in art; instead of showing the Buddha in art, he was referenced by symbols, such as lotus flowers.
Within Asian architecture, I saw a lot of styles that are similar across the board. One of these is the use of fly eaves; I'm pretty sure in my class the teacher called them spirit corners. Supposedly it was used to ward off evil spirits; it's possible it was just used as a way to manage the rain fall.
This is the gate one must pass through before getting to the temple.
One of my favorite things to notice in all the religious buildings we went to was the ceilings. Just look at that! The colors were so bright, it was difficult to see clearly.
Inside the gate was this ceiling.
In addition to the ceiling, the gate housed the Four Heavenly Kings. This particular one had similar symbolism to the Catholicism. The pope would often be depicted holding a mini cathedral/church as an offering to God. I wonder if this is the same!
The Four Heavenly Kings were pretty spooky; one of them even was smashing a dwarf. I'm pretty sure that within Buddhism, dwarfs were bad, but I haven't found any scholarship to back up that claim.
So within Buddhist iconography, everything about the image of the Buddha is symbolic. At the top of his head, is a little umbrella, which represents inherent nobility. Around his head there is a halo. The hair turned into a bun (usnisha) represents a second brain. The hair often includes a tuft of white hair. The left shoulder is typically covered, usually with a symbolic gesture/mudra. the Buddha is typically unadorned and wearing a simple robe.
It was really cool to see a similar image of the Buddha compared to the ones I learned about in class.
Something that is really important to note within Buddhism is the use of what westerners consider "the swastika." This symbol is much, much older and the direction is reversed. It's a character that means "good fortune." It's so sad that something that was nice was changed into something many consider evil.
Big Sis and M&M were quick to tell me that stacking stones was a very Korean thing to do. I recognized these as cairns for hiking trails which typically represent that the hiker was going the right way, but maybe they're just Korean habits.
The kids were pretty disappointed by the waterfall; I guess they are the true connoisseurs of waterfalls due to the thousands of hikes they've had the pleasure of going on. I liked the slow waterfall because it allowed us to see all of the little tadpoles in the water and it was quiet enough that we were able to talk over lunch here! Something that I felt was really special was one of the young Walker girls was still hungry or forgot her lunch or something and her dad immediately offered up his own sandwich to feed his daughter. That is so incredible to me; I think about it a lot. What a good guy!
I'm always surprised by what the kids point out; maybe it's because of the distance it is from the ground to their eyeballs, but they always quickly point out what they see on the trail. This cool mushroom is a result of their observations.
There were lots of caterpillars on this hike; one of the adults pointed out this little guy crawling on a branch above our heads.
Monster found this hairy little guy. I'm glad he pointed it out otherwise I might have stepped on him!
Shortly after pointing out the caterpillar, he climbed into Heather's backpack and fell asleep FAST.
We took a different path down to the car and came across this cool painting of the area.
Something I learned about, at least within Chinese art, is owners will have a stamp which signifies their ownership so that when they acquire a new painting, they will have their stamp directly on it. There are rules of course, such as, don't stamp directly onto the what is being painted. Here's an example of that! Another rule of Chinese art, and I don't know how similar it is to Korean painting, is there are the three main forms of art: watercolor, calligraphy, and poetry; a good work of art must have all three. Maybe this is also an example of that.
On our way back, we also saw a little cemetery for a few notable monks. The little monuments made for them are called stupas.
When we got back to the car, we drove straight over to a rail park! Rail parks are such a big deal in Korea; you pedal like a bike in a little car and you see some incredible sights. Monster rode with one of his friends and the two Walker adults, Big Sis rode with M&M and her friend, and Little A and her friend rode with me and Heather. We tried really hard to get to the front of the line so we wouldn't have any other people in front of us that we didn't know but we just weren't fast enough. The people in front of us were so slow! We wanted to be able to drive fast but we still had a good time. I'll never forget the girls ramming into us!
One of the things we saw on the rail bikes was the Suspension Bridge. Heather's family had kind of done it already but they're always ready for an adventure. The Walkers offered to take Little A and Monster home so we could quickly climb to the bridge and get back in time for the older girls to go to mutual.
Before we made it to the hike, we had to take a stop by this cute sign! But on the way to the sign, Heather got tangled up in some weeds which tore up her ankle. Thank goodness Big Sis and M&M were prepared with the first aid kits they had for Girl's Camp. The band-aid didn't quite stick to Heather, but it's the thought that counts.
On our little hike to the suspension bridge, there were some cute sculptures referencing the Olympics. Even though this location didn't host any events, Korea is pretty proud of it.
We found out that the stairs up to the Suspension Bridge had markers which showed how many stairs in total one would have to climb and how many one has already done. It was kind of a bummer at the beginning but the more we worked, the more exciting the numbers were!
This bug is big and gross. I am consistently surprised by the bugs that exist in other countries and how big they are.
When we got to the top, we were at 100% which was so exciting! All we had left was to go across the bridge and climb the same amount of stairs back down.
There was a pathway off the way of the Suspension Bridge which made it look like you were just floating and it was pretty scary. Big Sis and M&M were ready to get off before they even got on. I'm glad they joined us for a picture. Looking back, it was scarier than it seemed!
This is a sign that you'd see before going onto that creepy pathway and it almost looks like it's a sign that says "No grand pianos on this thing!" It's probably just asking people not to walk on it if their hiking shoes have spikes. Speaking of hiking shoes with spikes, I cannot believe how many women in heels we saw climbing up to the Suspension Bridge. One woman's heel was bleeding! That is so different compared to what I'm used to seeing in the states: tennis shoes all the way!
There wasn't any place to get water on the way up to the Suspension Bridge so we quickly grabbed some when we got back down. When we were back in the car, I didn't realize my water bottle lid wasn't on all the way and half of my 40oz water bottle spilled into my lap. I felt so bad for basically dumping an entire ocean in Heather's car. It was still going to be about an hour or more of a drive back home but at least I didn't feel too warm for the rest of the day! It was the craziest day, filled to the brim with adventures.
Comments
Post a Comment