Anachronism

Today marks the second time this week that I climbed into the Palgongsan Mountain Range to visit Gatbawi, or the Stone Hat Buddha. In spite of an hour and a half bus ride to the trailhead, I went solo on Tuesday and then climbed it again this morning with Matty, another teacher from Avalon. The Palgongsan Range stretches across a number of peaks for dozens of miles north of Daegu, and Gatbawi is located about 2,700 feet up on the easternmost accessible peak.

The pictures may make it look isolated, but it is impossible to go hiking in Korea and not have the company of at least a hundred other people along the way. There are a lot of people, and it is not a large peninsula. I remarked to Matty that the population of Daegu was about half of New York City, so the city itself was a little more breathing room than I was used to. He noted that the population of Daegu is more than all of Scotland combined. Perspective is key, truly.

I was lucky enough to make it there too early in the morning for the real crowds...

These photos may look nice now, but I suspect by the end of my year here, you will all be very tired of looking at pictures of temples.

I honestly don't quite know what my expectations were before coming out here, but nothing could have prepared me for the outright anachronism of mountain temples in Korea. Of course there is electricity and paved roads leading to many of them -- I am not that naive, but it's strange, standing on the summit, when you have this behind you:

And then in front of you, awash in the sound of Buddhist chanting coming from the mountain PA system, next to eight vending machines and a gift shop, are dozens of Korean hikers -- many of them devout Buddhists -- in their brightly colored, top of the line, the best that money can buy hiking clothes, with their cellphones and trekking poles in one hand and their Buddhist prayer beads in another.

In spite of all that, it is still a very peaceful place and an enjoyable hike. Perhaps Buddhists have just become too good at meditating and so the world is self-correcting by throwing as many distractions as possible at them. As I gazed out over the valley, the combination of the electric chanting, the invigorating smell of the mountain air and the pine forest, and the wind on my face brought me not a little bit of peace...and just as I was about to attain nirvana...someone on the temple grounds turned on a leafblower! Oh well, almost had it. Maybe next time. I will certainly be going back often.

The Gatbawi Buddha is allegedly supposed to bring you good health, but as Matty pointed out, it's probably the hour long, 2000 ft ascent that plays the major role in that. I will leave you with a shot of shot of the man himself: