Daeseungsa | 대승사 | 大乘寺

There’s something interesting that occasionally happens where I’ll somehow hear about a temple and soon after happen to find my way there without really planning to. This was the case with Daeseungsa, a few weeks ago, as my friends are I were having a playful chat about best or strangest temple names. I mentioned the...

Korea’s “Top Seven” Temples

I’ve “borrowed” this list directly from Professor David A Mason, but it’s one that we’ve discussed and debated several times. Opinions begin to vary and become subjective once you extend the list, as there are dozens of temple that are equally deserving of even a few more spots on the list. These seven are definitively...

The Smile of Baekje

Rock-carved Buddha Triad in Yonghyeon-ri서산 용현리 마애여래삼존상瑞山 龍賢里 磨崖如來三尊像National Treasure The fun thing about moving to Seosan was that it was one of the few areas in Korea that I hadn’t explored. I’d been to Boryeong, an hour to the south, Suwon, an hour to the north, and Daejeon, an hour to the east, so...

sometimes, help is not helping

Last month, we had about 100 new students enroll into the program I teach, making things a bit hectic, compared to the past few months. Most of them are first graders, and have had little exposure to English, making teaching English quite a challenge. Actually, the language barrier is only a small part of it. A...

What do you have to do to be a Buddhist?

      -"What do you have to do to be a Buddhist?"       Someone asked me this a few days ago, and my immediate response was almost to reply, "Nothing!" but that wouldn't have really been true.       I think he was mostly asking about worship, looking at it from a Christian, must...