산방산 Mountain with a Cave

 

In my last post I questioned the abundance of wind on Jeju island... I no longer do. Typhoon like winds have blown in from the south bringing cooler temperatures and a little rain. It is no longer beach weather, but we went to the beach and watched the waves crash against the black volcanic rocks. The wind threatened to blow me down! 

I was anxious to see a bit of Jeju, and we started at the pretty coastal village of Sagye, or 사계리. Along with its dramatic coastline, Sanbangsan mountain towers above with a Buddhist temple carved into the side of the sheer rock. First we had to navigate signs to find parking. The spaces nearest to the temple entrance were full, and private. Luckily we saw a sign for public parking lower down and Jon expertly backed into a narrow space. This seems to be a characteristic of Jeju parking, just enough space for the car and none left over for opening the doors. 

Legend has it that this stone mountain was at one time the top of Hallasan, the main volcano that makes up the island. During a fit of fury, the Halla spirit ripped the mountain's peak off, and threw it. It landed on the coast, forming a new mountain call Sanbangsan, without a crater at its summit. However, geological posters at the site illustrate that in fact it is made of thick sticky lava being forced up and cooling, similar to toothpaste being squeezed out of a tube.

The large golden statue of Buddha was clearly visible from the road, and we started up the stairs towards it, past small shops selling bags of rice. These were clearing labeled in English as offerings. You could purchase water or candles for ￦10,000, or an annual wish lantern at ￦50,000.  A much cheaper option was to buy a golden wish leaf, write on your desire/prayer, and pin it up on the fence going up the

Path of Wish Fulfillment. Climbing this path, which was actually a steep stairway, we came across other wish makers ringing a large bell three times in order to help the wish come true.  

The path leads up the side of the mountain to a cave which is a holy place for the female deity of the mountain.  The water that drips from the ceiling of the cave is said to be the goddess's tears as she mourns the loss of her love. Another sign reminds us that this is a good place to pray for family and even for giving birth to a great commander. The climb took us through a thick growth of bamboo and hackberry trees, with beautiful butterflies so big I thought at first they were bats. There are various lookout spots where we could look down the coast and out to the waves smashing into the various small rocky islands. 

Several other elements of the temple had to be explained to me: like how the golden prayer wheels were purely ornamental and should not be spun; or how the 500 squat stone statues were actually all saints, named and carved with characteristic traits; and the hundreds of miniature mint-green statues were placed by worshippers to achiever spiritual merit points.  No explanation was really needed in order to appreciate the lovely setting: plants, statues and colorful painted walls and roof eaves. I recognized the Chinese zodiac animals in more that one display.  I started to use my Google lens to translate and found the message: "May everyday be a good day." This and all the fun statues of cute smiling Buddhas did give a light hearted to the place.  Watch this to see what I mean.

A statue of a golden warrior turned out to be a monk who is in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most doctorates (126), most books written (1042), and most calligraphy sheets (512,000). I know this because his plaque was translated into English. On the whole, not everything was written in Korean, but some was Japanese, and some Chinese.  In our introduction to Korean culture classes we had learned that the left-facing swastika is a Buddhist symbol, and sure enough, I found one emblazoned on a rock.  The Korean here translated to the teaching on karma: "If you want to know your past, look at what you are receiving now; if you want to know your future, look at what you are doing now."  I will need to meditate on that one for a while.