Temples in caves , buddhas on rocks and the Goddess of 1000 hands

Yesterday Korea celebrated Hangeul Day . A national commemorative day marking the invention of the KOrean alphabet that was developed by King Sejong. I took full advantage of my day off and had a wonderful day with my co teacher exploring the many hidden treasures of Gyeongju. Two of them being Golgulsa temple and Ki Rim Sa temple.

Golgulsa Temple
Golgulsa Temple also , known as the Stone Buddha temple is famous for being the only temple in Korea to have been built in a cave as well as being famous for its beautiful large buddha sculpture . Gyeongju once again taking the prize for "the one and only" The temple was built out of solid rock in the 6th century and still stands strong today. It is used as a prayer sanctuary and is considered the birth place of all spiritual culture.
It is believed that the most famous monk to have ever lived in Korea reached enlightenment at Golgulsa. Although I didnt reach enlightenment yesterday it is easy to understand how the monk reached enlightenment at such a place . Nothing but the sound of leaves russling in the trees , birds tweeting and the sound of the flowing river.

Today Gulgulsa is famous for their martial arts school and after what I witnessed yesterday its easy to understand why hundreds of foreigners flock here every year in order to have this experience. We were lucky enough to witness a martial arts performance yesterday whilst we were there. I have never seen someone use their body as  effectively as I witnessed  yesterday. He was like a piece of prestik that you could stretch and manipulate into anything you pleased. The discipline , the concentration and flexibity that was portrayed yesterday was something that I struggle to even comprehend.

My flexibility was seriously put to the test when we had to climb up on rocks and through small cave like holes in order to see the famous Buddha that has been sculptured into the rocks. We finally made it to the top and as I sat there gazing at this overwhelming stone structure I sat their wondering how such a sculpture came to be . How did they get up here with all the necessary tools. How did they manage to sculpture something so perfectly into the rock? How did they manage to keep it symmetrical? All these questions went through my mind and are questions which will probably never be answered.

So often we we admire something so great and extraoridnary without thinking about the challenges that had to be overcome in order for the present generation to witness it and enjoy it. I know I have been a culprit of such an attitude in the past. But livng in Gyeongju , the museum without walls , the city which holds the largest cultural heritage in Korea . It is hard for one not to think about the challenges that had to be overcome in order for that 9 story Pagoda to have been built , or the temple in the cave , or the construcion of the Giant stone buddha statue , Seokuram.

Ki Rim Sa
We then moved onto Ki Rim Sa Temple which was founded in 643 AD. Unlike most temples in Korea , Ki Rim Sa is made from wood giving it that beautiful rustic traditional look. This temple holds many treasures and many stories. My favourite part of this temple was seeing the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy or more commonly known as the Goddess with 1000 hands. I have seen many Buddhist statues over the last 7 months and all have intrigued me , however the one that I saw yesterday had something incredibly special about it . Perhaps it was because she was a female or perhaps it was the intricate details on the statues and the one thousand golden hands. It really was a beautiful sight.

Despite the giant signs that said no pictures and the ajuma who was giving me death stares there was no chance that I wasnt going to get a picture of this beautiful Goddess. My poor co teacher must have been so embarrassed being seen with a crazy waygook running around trying to take a photo . Eventually I managed to get one. Happy La. The next two shrines that I went into were even more mesmerizing. 3000 little jade buddhas staring at me... yes 3000. It was a beautiful sight. All I could think about was the amazing creations I could make with that beautiful jade stone. However , being surrounded by buddhas and being a believer in karma I figured that its probably not the best idea to attempt to take any.

The last temple consisted of 500 small wooden buddhas each one beautifully painted . Im unsure of what they represent although their official name ( 500 buddha's disciples ) suggests that they are the followers or guardians of buddha.
All in all it was an amazing day filled with Buddhas of all shapes and sizes