Daewung-Jeon in Gaeam-sa Temple and The Sculpture of The Animal in Imagination
Daewung-Jeon in Gaeam-sa temple looked not so special at a first glance.
Its location was excellent. It seemed that it sat at the center of this mountain.
This location gave me the feeling of the balance.
Strangely enough, the physical balance always present us the harmony of the mind.
But its size was not so impressive.
I was curious why people told Daewung-Jeon in Gaeam-sa was one of the best relics among Buddhist Building in this area.
At that time one monk came to me and we talked each other.
He introduce himself. He became the monk when he was an elementary school pupil.
So he had lived his all life as the monk.
I didn’t ask why and how he became a monk.
The process of being a monk must be interesting, but I couldn’t ask him about his story.
Sometimes it’s better leaving true story behind, because it sometimes presents us the imaginations.
He introduced me the point of looking Dawoung-Jeon.
At first, he pointed out the strange faces beneath the leaves of Daewung-Jeon.
He explained those faces of Dokaebi which was the mysterious being in the imagination.
But this face was not unique in this temple. I had already looked the similar faces in other temples.
It was not clear to identify what the face looked like, because it was covered by the front board.
It looked like the same face. I photographied this face in Ssanggae-sa temple in Nonsan city
The next thing, he introduced me was the sculptures of the dragon and the white tiger.
The dragon sculpture was general in other temples, too. But interesting was the white tiger.
The white tiger was a symbol of the local religion, Shamanism of the Mountain god, of Korea.
It was strange for me why they made the symbol of the local shamanism on the Buddhist building.
In my opinion it seemed like the Haetae, also the animal in the imagination which protect from the fire.
When we reminded the reason of reconstructing this building, it seemed clear that the sculpture was not a white tiger but a Haetae.
In next posting, let’s enter into the inside of Daewung-Jeon.
Once again those are beautiful temples @slowwalker because of the intricate sculptured wood designs of the temple pillars and supporting structures. The images also teaches the people about the symbolism of the dragon, the white tiger and the Haetae.
Thank you for comment
lovely temples.
@slowwalker
Nice photo...i like it
It seems to be a modern building in a classical cultural heritage. However, watching is also very beautiful.
I have always wondered how some boys become monks at such a young age. Is it a calling? A comfort zone, one they have known and are comfortable in? Parents?
I always wonder.
The temple is beautiful, even if it has so many of the same sculptures and faces as you have seen. I love the colors and it is very peaceful. I look forard to seeing the inside of it tomorrow!
Have a wonderful Wednesday! Tip!
I heard that was their parents' decision.
Some great monks forecasted that being a monk is the only way for a young boy, if not he could've died as the result of the fortune or the karma.
So their parents sent their child to the temple to save their child
The ultimate sacrifice, in so many ways, but one that will bless them in the end. Thank you so much.
@slowwalker, You every days fascinating me through showing Korea's remarkable architecture. Daewung-Jeon in Gaeam-sa Temple seriously showing balance to everyone.
Yep...completely agree with you. I like their roof and window pattern style. The strange faces under the leaves of Daewung-Jeon really scary and mysterious looks indeed. Absolutely brilliant photo clicks again. Triple gem bless you and see ya.
Thank you so much
you imagine that korea was won the world cup? God that great the culture of korea and Asiatic love all of them. Greetings and my regards.
Hahaha
It's great that every day you show us the wonderful culture of your country, each site you visit has its history which in my opinion is very interesting.
The curiosity to know how it was that a child decided to become a monk I would have loved to know, what was the reason that led to such a decision, perhaps later you can ask another monk ... and so we found out everything.
Greetings and goodnight @slowwalker 🤗
Yes, I'd like to know the reason why parents sent their child to the temple so earlier
We are curious to know but thinking about it, it must be rude to ask that, it is as if we said that their parents were bad for making that decision to send their child so small.
Why did you stopped. Now I am curious to see it inside. Lol
Nice photography