On 17th February. I headed to Busan, the second-largest city in my home country. I arrived there at around 9 pm. I was starving, but no restaurants received any orders. So I got some instant food and a drink from a convenience store.
Since I had quite a busy plan for the next day, I immediately went to bed after the simple dinner.
The second day, I opened my eyes to the gentle sound of rain knocking on a window. It didn’t take long to realise my weather forecast app failed to predict.
My first place to visit was a seaside village with colourful houses on a slope of a mountain. However, because of the cloudy weather, I changed the plan to visit Beomeosa, the Buddhist temple. After more than an hour and a half of transportation, I finally stepped into the temple.
The concerning weather actually made the scenery fantastic. The fog was like an ocean, and so the temple seems like an island on it.
Entrances were made of three layers, and the first one has the most impressive outlook.
It has four pillars sustaining the weight of the roof. But as you can see in the picture, I had to lowly pass the gate. It was intended to make people have a humble attitude in advance of getting into the temple. Although I am not a Buddhist, I still love those pearls of wisdom found in traditional architectural features.
In the central garden, there was a third-story stone pagoda built in the Unified Silla period (826~836). From this unpretentious pagoda, I could kinda feel the ‘wish’ and ‘hope’ of many people throughout the thousands of years of history.
By going further into the temple, I found a few more shrines for budda statues. Among them, I found one reflected on a puddle.
It was so calm and relaxing to enjoy the traditional architecture. I also loved the sound of nature; birds twittering, the wind blowing in the trees, and a faint stream flowing. Uh…yes, there should be a stream near the temple.
So I followed the sound and finally reached a water brook. I never knew that there is such a stunning place in my country. I felt I was in a different world…like a ‘lost forest’ so to speak.
I got crossed the brook and found some artefacts on the other side. But of course, it wasn’t conspicuous, but rather mingled well with nature.
It assumed these are gravestones. Even though I was a traveller and am not believe in Buddhism, I kindly prayed for their rest in peace after taking this photo. Because they gifted me peace first. It was the least respect I could show to them.
This time, it was a great opportunity to refresh my mind and find rest by keeping myself away from the turbulent world. Doesn’t mean I hate or am tired of the world, but sometimes, it is good to grant some spare time.
After this, I set my next designation; Haedong Yonggunsa.
P.S. If you loved my journey, you can find more fancy pictures I’ve got from around the world on my Instagram account.
Instagram ID: kamera_yeowoo
