Pyochungsa Shrine ; The Harmony and The Friction between The Kingdom and Buddhism

in #travel6 years ago

The one of the most special place in Daeheung-sa temple was Pyochungsa which is the shrine for the great monk Seosan who had fought against Japanese Army during Japanese invasion 1592 - 1597.

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Season was the monk though, he had organized the monk army with breaking the most important principle in Buddhism “Never Kill Living Things”.

During the war against the Japanese Army, it was reported more than 30,000 monks were killed in action.
After finishing the war, King SeonJo in Choson dynasty suggested Season the government post though, he refused any suggestions from the King.

Seosan could not receive any suggestions from the government, because he as the monk broke the most important principle as a Buddhist monk. In this reason, all of the monks refused the prize or the rewards from the government.

So King SeonJo ordered to set up the stone monument on which the distinguished services were carved and ordered to build the shrine for the monk Seosan after he died.
The name of the shrine was Pyochungsa which meant “Showing Royalty Shrine”

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In the shrine there was the portrait of the monk Season and other monks who had fought with Season.
They were the monk Generals.

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In that era, even though King’s presentation was very honorable, they could not build the shrine in the center of the temple. So the shrine was located in the right corner of the temple.

For the kingdom this temple was very proud of, but for the monks the shrine was not only honorable but also the saddest thing.

I was thinking the harmony and the friction between the citizen’s duty and the religious principle in this shrine.

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@slowwalker,
This area looks very neat! It's wonderful and these artworks of Seosan looks great too! It's nice to see the history of war heroes of Korea! But that monk did not fight for his benefits!

Cheers~

The great monk Seosan had done his duty to defend Koreans from the occupying Japanese and it is a heroic thing to do because he set aside the religious principle of Buddhism which is to not kill living things. It is just right to give him some honor by making a shrine for him along with his fellow Monks. @slowwalker

A stunning photo essay on the great monk Seosan, Slowwalker.

I also felt a great sadness reading about his struggle. It's something I personally struggle with - I also believe in respect for life and wish I could be a vegan and eat only plant food. Fortunately, I don't have to go to war or fight against other humans as he did. I also extend the principle of respect for life to include being respectful of others' feelings, but also find myself struggling there. I grew up as a fighter and I can be aggressive. There's always a tension between acknowledging a truth and living it. Perhaps that's why I find great solace in writing - I can create a world over which I can exercise some control.

Thank you for inspiring me today, my friend.

Estoy tan maravillado por ese hermoso arte que tengo muchos deseos de ir a visitarlos, así sea en sueños...
Sinceramente considero que eres muy afortunado por poder ir a visitar cada lugar, me encata que compartas tus experiencias con nosotros, casi podemos sentir lo que sientes, y ver lo que tu ves... Casi sentimos el dolor de tu rodilla jaja
wow. Me encanta leerte.
I'm so amazed by this beautiful art that I have such a great desire to visit them, even if it's in my dreams...
I sincerely consider you very lucky to be able to visit each place, I love that you share your experiences with us, we can almost feel what you feel, and see what you see... We almost felt the pain of your knee jaja
wow. I love reading to you.
Again...
THANK YOU!

That is good culture i love it, i love art of china becausa chinna have much old art

Neat bit of history on the blockchain. The struggle between state and religion is not a new thing I see!

I wish my people had this type of culture/history to enjoy/learn. Thank you for sharing.

Sencillamente espectacular ese santuario y muy bien merecido para el monje Seosan @slowwalker

I am resteeming. I think that others have already expressed how awesome this piece is. :)

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