On-line Interview on "the Inkwell"
-- May/June 2002 --
Page Four
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Inkwell.vue topic #150: David Mason: Spirit of the Mountains
-- continued --
#64: Elisabeth Wickett (wickett) Thu 23 May 2002
I was so sorry, David, to read of your dismissal from your teaching post, because of your
dissemination of your knowledge about San-Shin.
So, if children aren't told San-Shin bedtime stories and students aren't taught their native religious
traditions, how does this rich tradition get passed on? Among traditional, country people, I
understand that it's embedded in their lives. But what about educated, professional, urban, even
Christian Koreans? Does your interest in promoting tourism derive from a desire to perpetuate
these traditions? If so, what safeguards do you envision to support the spiritual dimension and
prevent the practices from becoming spectacle or sterile?
Any speculation on why Protestant Christianity has such a strong and rigid influence on Koreans
at the expense of their own rich heritage?
#67: Gerry Feeney (gerry) Thu 23 May 2002
I'm reminded of a time when I accompanied my Korean friend, Mr. Lee, and two Korean friends of his.
The two young men were brothers visiting here and we all went to their mother's house. Their
grandmother was there, also. The two hadn't seen their grandmother in several years. When we
came into the house, the grandmother sat on the floor and arranged herself in a pose, as if for a
photo. Then the two brothers *and* Mr. Lee (who was no relation of theirs) ceremoniously
prostrated themselves before the grandmother. Lee explained to me, in his very limited English,
that it was just "Korean custom." But I noted with interest that the two brothers and their mother
were Christian. I interpreted this to mean that perhaps some/many Korean Christians have retained
or assimilated certain Neo-Confucianist practices together with Christianity. Is that correct?
#68: Gerry Feeney (gerry) Thu 23 May 2002
Oh, I forgot to thank you, David, for explaining Confucianism and Neo-Confucianist.
Notice how I used the term above - almost like I know what I'm talking about. ;-)
#69: Jim Fisher (fishjim) Thu 23 May 2002
>#61: No, i've never seen anything like that. Pung-su & ji-ki
> theories used for [mineral prospecting], sure. San-shin
> heavily used by ginseng-hunters, tiger hunters and etc,
> sure. But not San-shin for the things you mention.
Thanks David, sorry if that seemed to come out of left field --
geology is just a fascination of mine (though I'm no academic).
With this in mind, is there any chance you can provide a quick overview of the geology of Korea's
mountains? Having never been to Korea it would help me visualize some of the terrain -- don't need
anything fancy or scientific, just curious if the mountainous terrain is primarily sedimentary or
volcanic (I saw the mention in#26 of the great volcano in North Korea, so am guessing this is was a
main component of the mountain-building forces), whether there's any major faults there, etc.
Given the discussion in posts#18 and#26 about the tendency towards idealization of mountains in
San-shin paintings, rather than towards naturalistic studies of particular peaks, I realize that these
considerations are not really preoccupations of San-shin -- but I'm still curious! When it comes to
mountains my spiritual imagination tends to move around underground ;)
#70: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Thu 23 May 2002
>Are these rituals really "worship" or just paying due respect
This reminds me of an anecdote I heard about a scene in Japan where there were a whole bunch of
Japanese in a crowd waiting for the Emperor to give a public address. Before the address began
everyone in the crowd placed their hands in gassho position (i.e., palms together). Someone asked
one of them later what it was they were doing when they put their hands together --- praying?
To what or whom? The person answered that he had no idea.
#71: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Thu 23 May 2002
Yeah, i think that palms-together position is just "respect", maybe "reverence"... doesn't come
up to worship. Very common in Korean Buddhism, lay people even do it for each other.
#72: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Thu 23 May 2002
>#64 of 70: Elisabeth Wickett (wickett) Thu 23 May
> I was so sorry, David, to read of your dismissal from your
> teaching post, because of your dissemination of your knowledge
> about San-Shin.
Thanks; yeah, it was weird, and a life-wrecking blow at the time.
But then i ended up with this cool new job with the government...
So all's well that ends well.
> So, if children aren't told San-Shin bedtime stories and students
> aren't taught their native religious traditions, how does this
> rich tradition get passed on?
In many cases, it just isn't. But it is in enough of the population that it's not dying,
just evolving under pressure.
> Among traditional, country people, I understand that it's
> embedded in their lives.
Not nearly as much as before. Few Koreans below elderly age live in a "village" anymore, and few
villages have folk-deity shrines in use (but all the bigger ones have churches in the middle).
> what about educated, professional, urban, even Christian Koreans?
In my book there's a photo of a man teaching his little kids to bow to the Mountain-spirit; I have a
dozen of those. It is being passed on, but only by a fraction of families. Some Koreans develop a
strong interest in their cultural traditions for the first time around college-age.
> Does your interest in promoting tourism derive from a desire
> to perpetuate these traditions?
Yes, sure. I am an advocate as well as a researcher, and i *do* believe that properly managed
tourism can preserve religious/cultural traditions threatened by the modernism wave. It can bring
money and attention to things that might not otherwise survive. And for the tourists, it's lots more
interesting & fulfilling than just laying on a beach, shopping or hangin' in a nightclub...
> If so, what safeguards do you envision to support the spiritual
> dimension and prevent the practices from becoming spectacle or sterile?
Good question, one that we wrestle with all the time here at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
General rules are hard to make, each particular situation needs to be handled on its own terms,
according to the exact conditions there and the attitudes of the practitioners involved.
It's important to actually GO there and talk with them a long time on their turf, and not have
bureaucrats sitting in downtown offices making all the decisions about giving tourists access
to temples and shrines off in the remote mountains.
We are dealing with these issues heavily now in designing our new
"Temple Stay" program -- Korea's Zen Buddhists are still quite
serious about what they do and have never welcomed foreign tourists
until just now. I'm a leader in putting this together, and am trying
to have it done right. See: http://www.templestaykorea.net
For my views on a remote place that only grudgingly admits tourists and only on their own terms:
http://www.san-shin.org/3sages1.html
"Unconventional-Wisdom Mountains Azure-Crane Village 3-Sages Palace -- Korea's Daoist Utopia"
#73: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Thu 23 May 2002
> Any speculation on why Protestant Christianity has such a
> strong and rigid influence on Koreans at the expense of
> their own rich heritage?
Yes. The type of Protestantism that was imported here 1885-1925 was the very conservative,
intolerant, fundamentalist sort. The same guys who got alcohol banned in the USA by 1920 and tried
to outlaw dancing and other religions in local areas. The very opposite of the Unitarians, I mean.
Koreans are very conservative people themselves, tending to narrow-mindedness (from being "the
Hermit Kingdom" for hundreds of years). So they took to this enthusiastically.
And, when they import a religion, they tend to keep it in the original style in which they got it (this
may be a shamanist psychology). No reforms, no heterodoxy tolerated, grandpa's old-time orthodox
beliefs "are good enough for me".
This is pretty cool, for an amateur cultural-anthropologist like me -- Korean Buddhism is much closer
to the forms of the Tang & Sung Dynasties than anything seen in China or Japan, the Real Stuff of
the Zen Patriarchs. Their Neo-Confucian practices are real early-Ming-Dynasty style, none of the late-
Ming or Ching reforms adopted; i've seen Chinese scholars get blown away watching a big Korean
ceremony "why, it hasn't been done that way in China in 500 years!!".
This affects all San-shin stuff, too. So it has its good side in terms of preservation, but in the
Protestant Christianity case it is causing significant social problems in what is supposed to be
a pluralistic tolerant modern-thinking society.
#74: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Thu 23 May 2002
That Temple-Stay program seems to have good potential for the future of Buddhist-oriented tourism
to Korea. Right now 31 temples nationwide are open to overnight stays by visitors, at quite a
reasonable price, during the World Cup month (now-June). We hope to keep it going on a smaller
scale after the WC, if there's no big problem (i have nightmares of drunken European Soccer-
hooligans burning a big monastery down).
Many of the participating temples are located in stunning mountain scenery, with a fresh clean
stream running thru or next to, pine trees below the granite crags, etc. Just to BE there is a beautiful
pleasure, never mind all the spiritual & historical crap. Bilingual monks and lay-people volunteers
provide translation, guidance and explanations, very kindly.
There's a good article in the paper just today, about us introducing this program by taking a gaggle of
Ambassadors-to-Seoul for a 24-hr stay at Directly Pointing Temple, one of the oldest, in the center
of Korea at the foot of an 1111-meter mountain. This was 2 weeks ago. It went very well, and we
were blessed with perfect spring weather. I was along as monitor & guide, with my wife.
See: http://english.joins.com/Article.asp?aid=20020523234718&sid=600
My boss Mrs. Dho is featured in the 2nd article down.
Unfortunately this online version contains no photos; the paper has 8 good ones.
#75: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Fri 24 May 2002
Direct Pointing Temple! Quite a nice name. Ah, the Tang Dynasty, the height of Chinese culture (in
my Zen-biased opinion)! Although there are those who say that since Japan imported Chinese
culture during the Tang Dynasty, it also preserves a lot of Tang Dynasty flavor that was lost in China
after the Shaolin Zen temples were ravaged and suppressed (especially during the Qing Dynasty).
Do many Korean Zen temples accept foreign students? I have recently read a book by the Zen
Master Seung Sahn, and was quite impressed. I know he has quite a few students in the West
these days.
It occurs to me that there is a difference between state sponsored religion and religion that must
live in the shadows of suppression. When I visited Kyoto recently I went to many temples that are
open to the public, and it was impressive to see them all, the great structures, all of the tourists.
It was moving to think that for a time the government (Tokugawas) actually supported Zen in a big
way. Later, though, it occurred to me that one drawback of this is that Zen became something more
like a career for many people, something that parents passed on to children, rather than something
done out of conviction. It is both a blessing and a curse to have the sanction of the government or
the powers that be.
I wonder how you feel the lack of government support that both Buddhism and shamanism affected
them, for better and for worse?
#76: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Fri 24 May 2002
> #67 of 75: Gerry Feeney (gerry) Thu 23 May
> ... When we came into the house, the grandmother sat on the floor
> and arranged herself in a pose, as if for a photo. Then the two
>brothers *and* Mr Lee (who was no relation of theirs) ceremoniously
> prostrated themselves before the grandmother. Lee explained to
> me, in his very limited English, that it was just "Korean custom."
> But I noted with interest that the two brothers and their mother
> were Christian. I interpreted this to mean that perhaps some/many
> Korean Christians have retained or assimilated certain Neo-
>Confucianist practices together with Christianity. Is that correct?
Yes it is. After 500 years of Neo-Confucianism as the official state & social ideology -- but it's not
exactly a religion, so can't just be wholesale-rejected in favor of a *new* religion (except the
most radical cults like Jehovah's Witness). So many of the practices like prostrations to parents/
grandparents are just deeply ingrained and not considered religious-linked. It's just "what we do" --
like maybe shaking hands and opening a door for a lady is for us western sorts. Or better example,
even tho i haven't been a Christian or even a theist all my life, i say things like "oh my GOD" and
"God only knows" "Thank God!" and etc...
#78: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Fri 24 May 2002
>#69 of 76: Jim Fisher (fishjim) Thu 23 May
> With this in mind, is there any chance you can provide a quick
> overview of the geology of Korea's mountains?
Well i'm no expert, but a whole lot of it is granite -- which is an excellent material for construction and
carving statues, it lasts forever in all weather, a great natural blessing -- so, most everything that
remains in Korea from before 1600 is made of either granite or metal.
There's a little marble & jade, some soft coal, a bit of copper and iron, some limestone (which has
left a few beautiful stalactite caves, and is used for cement), plenty of sand on the west coast.
No oil, sadly.
Look at the 3 photos on http://www.san-shin.org/zen2.html
A whole lotta this upthrust naked granite around. Really beautiful -- the gigantic peak in that top
photo looms right over northeastern downtown Seoul -- and easy to see why people have always
worshipped these mountains, considered them manifesting spirits, etc. They are mighty-looking!
In general, Korea looks a whole lot like Vermont & New Hampshire, if you've ever been there.
In 1990 or so a friend took me for a drive in the mountains of southern/central NH, and I kept
exclaiming Hey, this looks just like "home"...
BTW, the preceding page there http://www.san-shin.org/zen.html has a whole lot to do with some
things we are discussing, and i'd recommend that everybody give it a glance...
#79: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Fri 24 May 2002
>...just curious if the mountainous terrain is primarily sedimentary
> or volcanic (I saw the mention in#26 of the great volcano in
> North Korea, so am guessing this is was a main component of the
> mountain-building forces),
Only two volcanoes on/near the whole Korean Peninsula -- and at the extreme north and south ends,
book-ending Korea in a neat "holy" way. They're both quite extinct, both have lakes in their craters
that are considered sacred {like Crater Lake in Oregon}.
The 2700-meter White Head Mountain (there are light-color rocks & usually snow at its peak above
the tree-line) on the border between Korea & Manchuria is the highest peak in Korea. Its crater-lake
is huge, ice-cold, has no fish and is amazingly deep -- like 500 meters or more! It is considered the
holy "Father Mountain" of all Korea, and the "Grand White Range" runs south from it all along the
East Coast of the peninsula.
The Pyeongyang gov makes heavy use of it in their nationalist and leader-cult propaganda -- they
even claim that current dictator Kim Jong-il was born on it, when it's a matter of historical record that
he was born in southern Siberia (Russia). Many Koreans now believe that National Founder-King
Dan-gun was born there, tho this is quite improbable (but they WANT it to be so). Many North
Koreans make pilgrimages there (or used to, when they weren't starving). South Koreans have
been able to make pilgrimages there from the Chinese side (which is a Chinese National Park) for 9
years; the adventurous do but it's expensive and a long trip, only "open" July-August every year.
I've never done it yet, but someday...
As far as i know, there are no volcanoes further east than this in NE Asia; White Head is the isolated
last outpost of the "Ring of Fire".
The 1950-meter Halla-san extinct volcano forms Cheju Island, Korea's biggest island, off the SW of
the peninsula. It's the highest peak in South Korea. It's crater-lake is just a stagnant pond. Cheju is
the "Hawaii of Korea", lotsa honeymoons, golf, conventions & fests. I climbed Halla-san once, great
scenery. Locally very sacred of course, but less so nationally, except for that "bookend" effect.
> whether there's any major faults in the country, etc.
No. It's funny, that Korea is right next to the famous Pacific "Ring of Fire" but has no active
volcanoes or even any earthquakes above about 3 or 4 Richter -- i've never "felt" one. Japan just to
the south & east is famous for earthquakes, and just to the north and west of Korea is the Tangshan
area of China where, for example, a great quake killed 200,000 people in 1976. But Korea in between
-- nada. Few typhoons (Japan) and no tornadoes (China), either. Many Koreans (and at least one
American) think that this reflects the judgment of the spirits on the relative moral worth of nations ;-)
#80: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 25 May 2002
> #38 of 79: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Tue 21 May '02
> ... I have long been an enthusiastic fan of Bateson's work, and I
> was intrigued by your references to him. Can you give more details
> on how you might feel San-shin relates to Bateson's concepts?
Well, i've been thinking about this, and I just can't figure out how to answer this without typing 1000
lines. Without some background, many people here wouldn't know what we were talking about.
So let's try this: could you, Mitsu, in your role as interviewer#1, post a brief summary of Bateson's
thought relating to religion, like as explained by Mary Catherine Bateson in her _About Bateson_
essay, and then I will bounce off of that to say how I think it relates to, informs my understanding of,
Mountain-spirits. OK? Or, if you can post a web-URL that will give us enough background and
conceptual material to work with, that'll be fine...
#81: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 25 May 2002
>#75 of 80: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Fri 24 May '02
> Direct Pointing Temple! Quite a nice name.
Yes. As I wrote for their brochure:
The name Jik-ji is composed of two Chinese characters that if translated literally into English mean
“pointing directly”. This name echoes the Zen-Buddhist teaching "by directly pointing to your human
mind, see your original nature and attain Buddhahood". This refers to the teachings of the Seon
[Meditation] Sect that everyone can become a Buddha (“awakened”) if through sincere practice they
discover and manifest the pure mind with which everyone is born (in other words, their Buddha-
nature), outside of any study of scriptures. Another story explaining this name is the legend that [the
missionary-monk from Manchuria] Master Ado, after establishing Dori-sa Temple near what is now
Gumi City, raised his hand and pointed directly west at a far-off mountain saying “there is a good site
for another temple”.
> Ah, the Tang Dynasty, the height of Chinese culture (in my Zen-
> biased opinion)!
I quite agree. The early Tang Dynasty (600-750) and the Northern Sung (1000-1150) were the days of
genius inspiration & creation, China at its best. The Southern Sung (1150-1276) and the early Ming
(1350-1500) was when it all came together in splendid maturity. In museums, like the great one now
in Shanghai, I love those periods the best. Tang - Sung painting and pottery are both so superb, so
much better than the decadent over-elaborated stuff that came after. Those years 600-1250 are also
when Korean religious genius and artisan-ship were at their very best...
#83: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 25 May 2002
>#75 of 80: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Fri 24 May '02
> Do many Korean Zen temples accept foreign students?
These days several do. In the 1980's the first and only temple to do so was Song-gwang-sa
in South Cholla Province, under the great Meditation Master Ku-san [Nine Mountains].
Then came Seung-sahn...
Just last fall, Korean Buddhism was ROCKED when a senior foreign Zen-Buddhist monk -- a white
guy who graduated from Harvard -- was appointed ABBOTT of a small temple in North Gyeongsang
Province. Oh, the times they are a-changin'... :-)
> I have recently read a book by the Zen Master Seung Sahn, and was
> quite impressed. I know he has quite a few students in the West these days.
Yup, he's the real deal. Headquartered in Hwagye-sa Temple in north -eastern Seoul for the past
20 years, he now has centers & disciples all over Europe America Canada. He has been very
successful in modernizing the social model of Zen Buddhism to fit the late 20th-Century West.
I have met several of his disciples who are quite sincerely devoted to him personally and to his
teachings. I have never met him, and now it looks like I may never have the chance -- he is said to
be quite elderly and ailing. When he moves on to nirvana, it is likely to be a major social/religious
event here, like when National Patriarch Seong-cheol passed on in 1995.
> It occurs to me that there is a difference between state sponsored
>religion and religion that must live in the shadows of suppression.
Yeah, it makes a huge difference. It's great when the government does support a spiritual
movement -- but then it sucks.
> When I visited Kyoto recently I went to many temples that are open
> to the public, and it was impressive to see them all, the great
> structures, all of the tourists. It was moving to think that for
> a time the government (Tokugawas) actually supported Zen in a big
> way. Later, though, it occurred to me that one drawback of this
> is that Zen became something more like a career for many people,
> something that parents passed on to children, rather than
> something done out of conviction.
Yes, that's the huge problem with Japanese Buddhism, than the major reason why it was violently
rejected in Korea after 1945. It's still carried on here in the Taego Sect, where monks get married and
pass on "the job" and the temple properties to their sons, but that only remains as about 5% of
Korean Buddhism. The rest are celibate orders.
> It is both a blessing and a curse to have the sanction of the
> government or the powers that be. I wonder how you feel the lack
> of government support that both Buddhism and shamanism affected
> them, for better and for worse?
Well, it cuts both ways -- when the government supports a religion, you get the great grand
monuments that last and are loved for 1000 years or more, like the spectacular stone-carved cave-
temple Buddhas and cast-metal Buddhas of India China Korea Japan Cambodia Thailand etc -- or the
Christian treasures in Italy. That's pretty cool... But government support is corruptive, and leads
into materialism, decadence and power-struggles.
But the government not supporting, and even government opposition, is purifying -- only those who
are really sincere in serious about these beliefs stay with it. The Neo-Confucian Joseon-Dynasty 500
years of oppression in Korea was GOOD for Buddhism, cleaning out the previous 800 years of
comfort, politics & indulgence, and leading to the great Masters that appeared in the 20th Century.
So I think it goes in a yin-yang cycle, and both sides of the cycle are necessary and healthy, in turn.
For some photos and description of newly-rising local-government support of Mountain-worship
here in Korea, look at: http://www.san-shin.org/seongmo2.html
http://www.san-shin.org/dongak1.html
#84: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 25 May 2002
Hey, 7 posts in a row by me! Do i get a prize...?
BTW, if any of you who have read this book have written a review or want to, go to Amazon.com or
B&N and post your review there... it would help me out. Trying to get some buzz going outside Korea,
but don't know how (without a big ad budget, which isn't happenin').
#85: Gerry Feeney (gerry) Sat 25 May 2002
Wow! Very impressive posting marathon there, David!
#86: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sat 25 May 2002
well, i think i got caught-up. Even tho it's lovely weather here this weekend, i'm spending it mostly
indoors trying to get caught up with *everything* -- in a few day a close friend will be visiting
us for two weeks, and on Friday the World Cup opens here in Seoul -- things are gonna get cray-zee
in my office and all around! Biggest event here since the 88 Olympics, or maybe since the K War.
But we'll keep this conversation going, right on thru. Keep on with your ideas and questions...
#87: Pseud Impaired (mitsu) Sat 25 May 2002
Yes, since we're on opposite sides of the world (i.e., most of us posting questions versus you in
Korea) it is inevitable that the conversation will have this "catching up" quality to it.
I will take you up on the Bateson thing when I have some time to think of how to best summarize his
work in a couple of paragraphs (an impossibility, of course, but I'll try).
One of the nice things about the Internet, however, is that it is possible to post links to his work for
people who want to go into more depth. That still doesn't eliminate our responsibility, however,
since many people won't follow the link.
I noticed you mentioned a lot about other religions and their levels of tolerance towards shamanism,
but I wonder what level of tolerance the shamans have for the other religions? I.e., are there
"purist" shamans who resent/dislike the Buddhist appropriation of shamanistic symbols and/or
practices? Or do the shamans feel this is sensible and normal?
#88: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sun 26 May 2002
There are plenty of web-sites about Gregory My Guru, i'm delighted to find;
i hope i'll have the time to go thru some of them someday. For example:
http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/environmental_studies/bateson.html
But i don't yet know where anyone tackles the implications of his ideas for religion / God / gods...
> I wonder what level of tolerance the shamans have for the other religions?
I can't speak for them, in any universal way, but in theory it seems impossible for them to be
"intolerant", as they acknowledge infinite gods & spirits inhabiting this world and the "spirit realm",
incl all Buddhas & Daoist deities & etc. I've never seen one make use of a Christian icon / spirit. I
wouldn't know what the collective opinion of Korean Shamans is towards religions who say that what
they do is "false" and "evil" -- beyond just "Stay outta my face!" That'd be a good subject for
somebody's MA thesis...
> I.e., are there "purist" shamans who resent/dislike the Buddhist
> appropriation of shamanistic symbols and/or practices?
I have never heard of such a thing.
It'd be kinda dumb, as Korean Shamans have appropriated so many Buddhist symbols / motifs.
> Or do the shamans feel this is sensible and normal?
I suppose they do. Religious cross-fertilization is their game,
so long as it conforms to their direct experience.
#89: Dave Waite (dwaite) Sun 26 May 2002
Hello David,
I'm so sorry that I'm coming to the part so late. I have read a couple of your books and have always
enjoyed the way they were laid out and the visuals are always first rate. To be honest, I'm not sure if
you have mentioned this or not and it always struck me as an interesting topic. You have mentioned
in your book some Christianity influences in some of the temples and worships. Would you care to
elaborate some on this topic?
#90: Gerry Feeney (gerry) Sun 26 May 2002
I have a question related to yet another anecdote regarding my Korean friend. His mother and aunt
came here a few years ago for a visit, and I gave them a tour of the SF Bay Area. Lee's mother, who
is some kind of official at her local Buddhist temple in Masan, was wearing a *huge*, gold swastika
ring. (You should've seen the strange looks people were giving her when we went to lunch at a
restaurant in Marin County.)
Of course, many people don't realize that the swastika is an ancient Indian symbol, and that even the
word, swastika, is Sanskrit, not German. The Nazis adopted and inverted (perverted) the symbol for
their own purposes.
Anyway, it suggests a link to India, whence came Buddhism itself (though I thought it came to Korea
by way of China, rather than directly). Also, I think the swastika predates Buddhism and is something
more Indian, per se, than Buddhist. I didn't find a swastika in any of the images in your book. How
common or uncommon is the swastika in Korea? Are there any other obvious Indian influences in
Korean imagery or Korean religious practices? Is there any hint in San-shin practices or imagery of
something which might have been imported from the Himalayas?
#91: Linda Castellani (castle) Sun 26 May 2002
E-mail from Lauren Deutsch: Dear David ... I've enjoyed reading your book and considering the
issue of place and spirit quite seriously.
Recently, I was reminded (I should have known, but haven't gotten that far), that when Koreans
emigrated (no matter what the circumstance) to Japan, it is likely that shamans were among them.
In particular, those who went to Fukui-ken (south of Kanazawa / Noto Peninsula and North of Kyoto)
found that Hakusan (White Mountain) particularly appealing. Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Soto
Lineage of Zen Buddhism, I was told by this senior practitioner, was so enamoured of this mountain
that he placed Eiheiji, his famous monastery, so as to have a clear view of this mountain.
What have you learned about San-shin in "exile" or "on the road" or "transplanted"? I know that
during the recent kut in Los Angeles on the 10th anniversary of the LA Riots, officiated by Kim
Kumhwa Manshin, one of the shamans in the troupe was saying that the spirits had to be told where
they were: they = shamans or they = spirits? I have a sense it was both ... they (shamans) had invited
them (spirits) to show up in a predominantly Hispanic family public park.
Any thoughts?
Lauren W. Deutsch
Director, Pacific Rim Arts
#92: David A. Mason (mntnwolf) Sun 26 May 2002
>#89 of 91: Dave Waite (dwaite) Sun 26 May '02
> Hello David, I'm so sory that I'm coming to the part so late.
No prob; glad you're here!
> I have read a couple of your books and have always enjoyed the
> way they were laid out and the visuals are always first rate.
Thanks! we try...
> ... You have mentioned in your book some Chrisianity influences
> in some of the temples and worships. Would you care to elaborate
> some on this topic?
Well, so far there's no visible relationship/exchange between Korean Mountain-worship and
Christianity, tho i keep watching and expecting for it to pop up.
Due to their modern rivalry, tho, Korean Buddhism has adopted some reforms to catch up with the
Christians, better-late-than-never. The most important is increased "community services" helping
common people with their real-life problems instead of *only* offering spiritual teachings. This
includes Day-care-centers/ kindergartens, hospitals/ hospices, senior homes & teen centers &
college-campus groups, and places where housewives (and unemployed men) can get daytime
education, counseling and healthy hobbies.
There are also striking changes adopted from Christians in the form of Buddhist worship -- texts
chanted in Korean characters instead of classical Chinese, for example. The most amazing thing,
that came up after 1990, is Buddhist *Choirs* -- 10-20 laywomen with identical Korean dresses,
singing what sound like Christian hymns but with Buddhist-oriented words. Koreans love to sing
more than most, so this was a natural development. Still, it's weird to see it at a solemn Zen temple...