- Overview
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The book contains stories about the animals and plants, as well as the imaginary characters from legends that one can see at a temple.
- Book Intro
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There are many things for us to see and discover at a Buddhist temple. For example, animals like lions, dragons, elephants, and Kalavinka (an imaginary bird with sweet notes referred to in Buddhist sutras) derived from the Indian Buddhist texts and that reached the Korean temples by way of China; or tigers and goblins; and the “three gods” in the form of a grandmother, who are the guardians of childbirth, and are indigenous to Korean culture but incorporated into Buddhism. The four gracious plants—plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo—representing a gentleman scholar, are part of the Confucian influence, or the Taoist heavenly deities are also attention grabbers as well as the crab, grapes, rabbits, and turtles seen on the murals are from the Korean folklore paintings. Then there is the pig that is standing guard at the temple, protecting it from any hazards of fire. The book tells the tales of diverse animals and plants that are found at the temples, citing, at times, the Buddhist sutras, sometimes the traditional Korean culture, if not other religions. Since Buddhism reached Korea, after its origination in India by way of China, there are of course many stories having to do with the histories of different regions.
- About the Author
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oh Seungdae
The author, Noh Seungdae, was born in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1975, and studied under the Venerable Monk Gwangdeok for ten years until he left the monkhood. Although he had departed from the seeker’s path, he did not give up on his passion for the Korean cultural heritage that he discovered during his time as a monk. He studied under Jo Ja-yong, the director of Emile Museum, and worked for him for eighteen years until the director passed away. In 1993, he established a “Paramita Cultural Trek” which is still active to this day. From 2000 to 2007, he served as the principal of Insadong Culture School. With the graduates of the aforementioned school, who are now the members of “A Group That loves Insadong,” he leads cultural group tours throughout South Korea. He views this activity as his mission in life and is frequently on the road. He also contributes articles to magazines like People and Mountain, Monthly Buddhism, and Temple Stay, which have to do with Korean culture. He is the author of Learning about Korean Culture Through Rocks, by Muhan Publishing in 1999.
