Feature
Erin Heath
Lantern festival on Buddha’s birthday in downtown Gwangju Jessica Solomatenko
What had he learned? The answer is to discard all of one’s desires. But discarding one’s desires is probably the hardest thing to do in our lives; one must eliminate the will for everything: family, food, love, sex, and dreams. In other words, people have to discard all of the things they have possessed, and spend their time solely to achieve mind control. Siddhartha did the same thing. As soon as he decided to become a monk and came out to the world, he left all the things he possessed – power, love, dreams, and even family.
attached with different shapes of paper. When the kit rotates, these shapes are shown as shadows inside the lantern. At night, these lanterns are burned all together and produce a wonderful scene that everybody enjoys. If you live in Gwangju, you might want to visit Jungsimsa or Wonhyosa in order to see these lanterns.
Offering at Mugaksa Temple
Many temples and monks teach people to control their feelings: joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, so that they don’t get excessive. People tend to compare a good situation with a bad situation, which results in feelings. Whenever there are bad days, there are good days. Whenever there are good days, there are also bad days. So you shouldn’t feel too strongly about one or the other. On May 10, Buddhists gathered from all over the world to nearby Buddhist temples. During the day, people prayed to Buddha and listened to the teachings of wise monks. On Buddha’s birthday, free food and tea is provided to all visitors, and lunch is often prepared with sanchae bibimbap. The ceilings and outside of the temples are full of diversely-colored lanterns. These lamps can be in a variety of shapes: watermelon, turtle, lotus, and others. Each lamp is written with people’s names to wish for peace and the well-being of everyone. Sometimes, people set a ship loaded with lanterns afloat along the river. In other places, people hang special lanterns called shadow lanterns (연등); these lanterns each have a rotating kit
By Laura Won Laura is a freshman student at Kwangju Foreign School in Yangson-dong
Gwangju Temples Jungsimsa in Mudeung Mountain
Add: 56 Unrim-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Tel: 062) 226-0107 Bus available: 9, 12, 35, 49, 51, 54, 76
Wonhyosa in Mudeung Mountain
Add: 846 Geumgok-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Tel: 062) 266-0326 Bus Available: 1187
Gwangju News June 2011
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