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One of my favorite things to do in Korea is to visit Buddhist temples.

 

It can be scary, but don't worry.  These fearsome guys are here to protect the place from evil spirits.

 

 A Buddhist Temple in Chun Chon was a pleasure to visit.  The lotus lanterns contain names of departed family.  They even provided three of us with lanterns so we could participate in the Buddha parade that night.

One of my favorite stories is illustrated in a set of paintings found at several temples. The pictures shown here are from one of the temple buildings at Sorak-san near Sokcho.

 

The painting series starts with a monk looking for something.  He is shading his eyes to see better and is carrying a rope on his arm.
 

Here he can be seen pointing to some tracks on the ground and carrying his rope.

 

Next he sees the cow and is going after it.  The cow appears to be running away.

 

Now he has caught the cow and they are locked in some kind of a struggle.

 

The monk and the cow seem to have made peace with each other.  As he plays his flute, the cow changes color.

 

Here the cow has changed to a totally white color and they appear to be in perfect harmony with each other.

 

In the last picture in the series, he has let the cow go and he goes on his way alone.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions to the deeper meaning!

This picture isn't a part of the series but I like it.  A man and a cow are on the edge of a cliff overlooking a fog-filled valley.  The man is thinking his human thoughts and the cow... is thinking its cow thoughts...?  What do cows think about? 
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