Korea – Land of the Morning Calm – and Contrasts
It’s amazing what one can find once off the beaten path. While riding my bike this morning out to Seonbawi, my dog and I stopped at a small temple on the hill overlooking the rock. We stopped to pet their dog, Bokshilli, who lives tethered by a short chain to a box near the front entrance. It was there that I saw this small piece of high technology tucked away in the corner near the smaller temple.
A skylife satellite TV dish is mounted on a temple wall
I thought being Buddhist meant you eschewed all of the earthly pleasures, which TVs and satellite dishes surely would fall under. Maybe they use it to watch BTV, but I had visions of grey-clad monks gathered round a small TV set laughing uproariously over the Cartoon Network. Whatever. Contrasts like this continue to amaze and amuse me, despite the years I’ve been here.
On the river front side of the temple is Seonbawi; a testament to the country’s slogan, Land of the Morning Calm.
Seonbawi - Standing Rock - in a mirror-smooth bend in the Taewha River