The one of the most special place in Daeheung-sa temple was Pyochungsa which is the shrine for the great monk Seosan who had fought against Japanese Army during Japanese invasion 1592 - 1597.
Season was the monk though, he had organized the monk army with breaking the most important principle in Buddhism “Never Kill Living Things”.
During the war against the Japanese Army, it was reported more than 30,000 monks were killed in action.
After finishing the war, King SeonJo in Choson dynasty suggested Season the government post though, he refused any suggestions from the King.
Seosan could not receive any suggestions from the government, because he as the monk broke the most important principle as a Buddhist monk. In this reason, all of the monks refused the prize or the rewards from the government.
So King SeonJo ordered to set up the stone monument on which the distinguished services were carved and ordered to build the shrine for the monk Seosan after he died.
The name of the shrine was Pyochungsa which meant “Showing Royalty Shrine”
In the shrine there was the portrait of the monk Season and other monks who had fought with Season.
They were the monk Generals.
In that era, even though King’s presentation was very honorable, they could not build the shrine in the center of the temple. So the shrine was located in the right corner of the temple.
For the kingdom this temple was very proud of, but for the monks the shrine was not only honorable but also the saddest thing.
I was thinking the harmony and the friction between the citizen’s duty and the religious principle in this shrine.
@slowwalker,
This area looks very neat! It's wonderful and these artworks of Seosan looks great too! It's nice to see the history of war heroes of Korea! But that monk did not fight for his benefits!
Cheers~
The great monk Seosan had done his duty to defend Koreans from the occupying Japanese and it is a heroic thing to do because he set aside the religious principle of Buddhism which is to not kill living things. It is just right to give him some honor by making a shrine for him along with his fellow Monks. @slowwalker
A stunning photo essay on the great monk Seosan, Slowwalker.
I also felt a great sadness reading about his struggle. It's something I personally struggle with - I also believe in respect for life and wish I could be a vegan and eat only plant food. Fortunately, I don't have to go to war or fight against other humans as he did. I also extend the principle of respect for life to include being respectful of others' feelings, but also find myself struggling there. I grew up as a fighter and I can be aggressive. There's always a tension between acknowledging a truth and living it. Perhaps that's why I find great solace in writing - I can create a world over which I can exercise some control.
Thank you for inspiring me today, my friend.
Sinceramente considero que eres muy afortunado por poder ir a visitar cada lugar, me encata que compartas tus experiencias con nosotros, casi podemos sentir lo que sientes, y ver lo que tu ves... Casi sentimos el dolor de tu rodilla jaja
wow. Me encanta leerte.
I sincerely consider you very lucky to be able to visit each place, I love that you share your experiences with us, we can almost feel what you feel, and see what you see... We almost felt the pain of your knee jaja
wow. I love reading to you.
That is good culture i love it, i love art of china becausa chinna have much old art
Neat bit of history on the blockchain. The struggle between state and religion is not a new thing I see!
I wish my people had this type of culture/history to enjoy/learn. Thank you for sharing.
a very unique temple, I salute you, the value of history always knows it.
Sencillamente espectacular ese santuario y muy bien merecido para el monje Seosan @slowwalker
나라를 지키기 위해
계율도 깨고 목숨을 바쳐 싸운 승려들의 고귀한 한 정신을 엿볼수 있네요
수많은 승려들이 목숨까지 잃었네요
I am resteeming. I think that others have already expressed how awesome this piece is. :)
A very subtle moment that made me plunge into thought. It is very difficult for me to imagine how difficult it was for a deeply believing Season to violate the main principle of his faith. It seems to me that with his mind he understood perfectly well that he was doing the right thing, because he was defending his people. Valuable deaths of others, he saved many lives of his countrymen. But, his soul ached because he "violated" the principles in which he saw the meaning of his life.
This is what I love about travel blogs, we learn and see thing we didn’t even imagine it exist. It has full of surprises. Thanks for sharing and do visit me sometimes in my blog, I am in Abu Dhabi and I love traveling and I have places to share to you for us to enjoy.
Shared on twitter promoting good quality content on #Steemit. Stephen
#Promo-Steem #steemtalent #JoinSteemit #Steemit
Pyochungsa Shrine ; The Harmony and The Friction between The Kingdom and Buddhism. #steemtalent #JoinSteemit #Steemit @Steemit
#Travel #Photography #Photographer #Blogger #Blog #Korea #Korean #Daeheungsa #Temple
허허 슬로우워커님 다녀오셨던 절들 찾아가서 스파이샷을 찍어봐야 할까봅니다. 이리 좋은곳만 골라다니시니..사찰 홍보대사를 해야 하는것 아니십니까? ㅋㅋ 태고종 총무원장님과 친분이 있는데..
아! 여긴 조계종이군요 ㅎㅎ
Cool to see. Seems like Korea has some awesome culture! A lot of people said that Korea was just a lot of clubs and eateries especially in Seoul but nice to hear there's some deep rooted culture too. Can't wait to visit.
interesting. thanks for sharing. voted!
I also have a story about the Buddhist temple today:
https://steemit.com/architecturalphotography/@kuklamasha/wat-phra-kaew-temple-of-the-emerald-buddha-and-grand-palace-in-bangkok
What the monks did, which was to defend Korea from the invasion, I think it's a great act, although it goes against their religion maybe that's why the temple was also very sad for them.
아름다운 사진! @slowwalker I would love to draw one of your photos one of these days. 😊