Going back in time-- Vaction to the ancient Silla Kingdom

In a rare move we had a "vacation"-- this weekend about 80% of our kids participated in a 5 day winter camp with our sister organization BR (Brain Respiration). Since so many kids were at the camp, BR English closed their doors for two days to get some R&R.

I spent a quiet weekend actually working and Sunday said goodbye to Anthony, an Earth Star that returned to Canada. We took him to a special "last meal" in Korea, which was more of a treat for the rest of us since it was all Western food--- Oh Silver Spoon, so gooood!

More amazing than the hospitality was all the sights.....A SILLA DRINKING GAME.....

From there Mo, Angela and I caught a train down to the SW part of the country to a city called Gyeong-ju (Ke-young-jew). Gyeong-ju, a gorgeous, heavily mountainous area situated about 30 min. drive from the East Sea, was the old capital of the ancient and revered Silla Kingdom. This era in Korea can be compared to the Kyoto in Japan. UNESCO has designated Gyeong-ju to be one of the world's 10 most important cultural cities-- mostly for its historical and cultural development of East Asia and the formation and consolidation of the Korean nation. The city, once known as "the City of Gold" is now littered with cultural and religious relics that date back to late BC and continue through the height of the Silla kingdom through 1000 AD. Now known as the "1,000 year dynasty", the Silla were instrumental in creating a Korean country.

During the first 6 centuries in Korea it was the time of the Three Kingdoms: the Beakje(south west Korea-- traders with China and known for being good merchants), the Goguryeo (now north Korea---heavy influence from China and Mongolia) and the Silla(the south east part of Korea-- known for its military strength and most "untouched" by China's influence). By 668 both of the Beakje and Goguryeo kingdoms were over run and the Silla unified the whole peninsula. During this time there was relative peace and a great, wealthy, well educated society come into being. Their advancements in science, technology and religion competed well with the advanced Tang Dynasty in China and influenced greatly the Japanese islands particularly for bringing Confucianism and Buddhism to the country. The city today is a testament to the grandeur of the once great kingdom and city (once 1 million strong). The unfortunate story (time and time again) for Korea is that the later invasions, occupation and wars by the Mongols, Japanese and of course the Americans much of the prized structures and symbols of wealth have been taken as spoils of war. Even the grand tombs have been pillaged by robbers. Even with all of these things the visit to this grand city showed the significant time of this place and its people.

The weekend took an interesting twist because the leader of our BR English center and her husband also were in Gyeong-ju for their vacation. In typical Korean fashion our party of three turned into a party of five and we spent the better part of the next two days being treated like princesses by our “mom and dad” wonjanims. Not only did they hook us up with a very SWEET hotel room, but shuttled us around in their car and happily gave us wonderful tours of the area offering history and only the finest meals. I ate one of the best meals I have had in Korea with them--- roasted duck in a vegetable stew--- it was amazing.

More amazing than the hospitality was all the sights. Here is a little run down of each place!

DAY ONE:

Bulguk-Sa (sa meaning temple):

As a testament to the newly founded religion, Buddhism, a grand temple was built on the highest peak of the Toham mountain range in now Gyeong-ju National Park. Built first in around 535 AD and then rebuilt several times this sight is one of the crowning jewels of the Silla Korea (it is even designated Historic Site #1 in case you were wondering). The temple is home to many amazing things, but most remarkable is the main prayer hall where a huge gold cast Buddha, which a mystery of how this 2.5m high statue was built in the upright position since gold is so soft. There Mo, Angela and I offered a donation and did some bow training and meditation. The energy there was indescribable and I could feel the ancient history of this grand place.

Seokguram Grotto

After bowing we hurried our way up the mountain in order to make “good time”. And despite the cold weather it was perfectly clear and you could see mountains for days. At the top we saw a huge bell. The Silla Kingdom was famous for their crafting of large bells. The trail led us up a paved path lined with colored lanterns along the side of the mountain. At the top the trail opened up to a pavilion on the side of the mountain where several temple-like buildings stood. Long stone staircase led us to the main grotto. There in the side of the mountain was a man made stone cave. The cave was built to fashion the religious cave temples in India and China. The inside, now covered by glass, lies some of the most remarkable stone carvings I have ever seen. In the antechamber lie two fierce looking “guard” sculptures (called inwang) that are there to stop any evil influence from entering. Facing each other on the sides of the passageway are four sacheonwang--- kings for each direction of heaven—they too keep the sanctum free from evil and always at peace. The inner chamber is a high circular domed room covered with sculptures and carvings. The main focus of the grotto is a gorgeous 3.5 meter high Buddha image. Made in pinkish white granite the sculpture seems to glow in the low lit room. The Buddha is sitting in a meditative pose on a lotus pedestal. The spot called indang (or 3^rd eye) shines brightly with some sort of crystal or diamond. This stone carving is considered one of the finest in Korea and arguably one of the best in all of Asia.

The grotto is just below the peak of the mountain and faces direct East, so it catches some of the first rays to hit Asia in the morning. It was positioned there to protect Korea from Japanese invasion. The myth holds that when the Japanese did finally invade this structure was protected from the pillaging because the bright light shown from the indang scared away the invaders. I was reminded of the myth of the German troops that had planned to blow up France's Notre Dame but the guy who what suppose to flick the switch didn’t have the heart to destroy something so beautiful. I wonder if the same happened here.

Being at these two places was quite possibly one of the most spiritual moments of my life. The heavy feeling of history and great spiritual energy there left me totally awed. Since no pictures could be taken here are some that I found online.

Anapji—Pleasure Garden

In the afternoon we found ourselves in Anapji or better known as the Pleasure Garden of the Silla Kings. This huge man made garden was constructed under the reign of King Munmu in 674. King Munmu was in reign during the unification of the Korean peninsula. A the center of the garden is a huge man made pond in the shape of Korea—so that the king could always survey his entire kingdom. Grand parties and games were played here—and while this was built during the height of the Silla kingdom it was ironically the same place 300 some years later that the Silla King was captured and the grand Silla kingdom fell to the Goryeo. Much of the old garden had been destroyed, but s few buildings had been restored and a model lay out of the old garden was placed at the center. Interestingly enough in the 1970s the pond was dredged and some 30,000 artifacts were found including a royal barge!

Cheom-seong-dae

Another highlight of the day was walking around Tumulus Park—home to countless King’s tombs. At the edge of the park is a very unique structure called Cheomsoengdae. In English it is known as “Star Observation Tower” is known as one of the oldest structures in all of Korea, it is thought to be the oldest astronomical observatories in all of East Asia. Built in 632 this structure demonstrates the mathematical skills of the Silla and their amazing advances in science. It was thought to be used to determine the movement of the stars, keep track of the lunar calendar, and even tell fortunes. Some religious figures in the country believe that it was also used to commune with the heavens.

The East Sea

By late afternoon “mom and dad” were anxious to take us to the East Sea. The three “kids” in the back of the car we were shuttled over the mountains just in time to catch a beautiful glimpse of the sea before sunset. Like little kids the five of us ran down to the water and put our hands in the East Sea. Just off shore was a small islet called Daewangam, or “Underwater tomb”. In the middle of the islet lies the gravesite of King Munmu. The King was put to rest here under his orders. It was his belief that in death he would turn into a dragon and then could protect all Koreans from Japanese invasion. Interestingly enough the dragon symbol is a peaceful creature that is associated with water and kingly power. King Munmu is a highly regarded Silla king and many people come to pray at this spot on the beach. The five of us actually had a short meditation time here and even did some push-ups to honor the king. It was a cool moment.

DAY 2:

Gyeong-ju Museum of History

The day started by being picked up by “mom and dad” to go to the famed Gyeong-ju Museum of History. There many of the thousands of artifacts dredged up from the Anapji pond were on display. Some of the most amazing things were the brilliant pottery and bronze work of the time as well as artifacts that clearly came from the far Indo-Prussian empires of the west showing the full range and scale that the Silla had contact with. I was taken aback by a 14-sided stone die that was dug up. On each of the sides was carved an order that usually involved drinking. A Silla DRINKING GAME! I got the biggest kick out if it. Here the things were common as things that you might see on similar treasures of today--- tickle your friends nose and don’t flinch, take 3 drinks, sing a song, punch your friend… all of them were quite humorous!

The other striking thing about the museum was it was also home to the Emille Bell. This bell is the largest in Korea and the most honored. The bell was cast in 771 in honor of the king, but when it was struck it did not ring. It was re commisioned and when first stuck it cracked. Finally the head priest in a dream saw that the fire spirit dragon need to be appeased—in order to do this a young girl of the year, month, day and hour of the dragon needed to be sacrificed. When this was completed the bell was said to ring loudly like a dragon’s roar, but with the background cry of child for its mother (“emille” in the language of the ancient Silla).

Mt. Nam San

After lunch we headed to the famed Mt. Nam Sam. This mountain was held in highest esteem by the Silla people and the main spiritual spot for the common people. On this huge and wide mountain many tombs, carvings and Buddha figures line the many trails. In retrospect I would have preferred to spend the whole two days hiking around this mountain---- it was that spectacular! It is said that there are some 450 points of historical and cultural interest on the mountain alone with 127 known temple sites, 87 Buddha figures and 71 stone pagodas. We started on a well traveled path that immediately took a strenuous turn up the mountain. We passed king’s tombs, a headless Buddha, 6 carved Buddha’s and then came to a beautifully carved Buddha on a pedestal. I really liked this Buddha because it was the first time I really was able to see up close the artistry of the statues. At the near top of the mountain we came across a huge 7 meter high Buddha facing the western slope of the mountain. The figure was carved out of the rock by about 4 inches and seemed to be sitting praying at the setting sun. We happened to be there as the sun was setting and it was a perfect end to the day and vacation. On the ledge we could see the whole valley of Gyeong-ju and really take in the fresh air of the mountains. It was a glorious place!

Coming down the mountain I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was to have seen all that I had saw over the last few days. I feel extremely blessed to have shared it with Angela and Mo and also to have had the blessed opportunity to travel with wonjanim and her husband. I joked that we were their children for those two days, but I cannot stress how much it really felt like that. I was shuttled back to memories of Ghana and how overly-hospitable people were. It was the same in this case too. They were so eager and excited to show us the highlights of their culture and history and of course the 3 of us were a captive audience. It was great!

As Gyeong-ju the place was amazing. It is place where I hope to travel often in order to appreciate more and more the amazing history of this country. If you ever find yourself in Korea please do yourself a favor and come here for a visit! It is just amazing!

Missing you in Korea!

Rose