Beomosa 
October 29, 2002
Non-native speaker contribution. Pieces in this section may range from near standard English to some with non-standard features in grammar or style. In general the editor has not tried to amend such writing. Note that learning to write perfect grammar in another language is much more difficult than speaking well, and for most people is never quite mastered. We ask readers to enjoy the writing for its fresh viewpoints and insights.
by Zhang Linlan
 

We were on the shuttle bus to Beomosa, the bus drove slowly along the S-bends of the mountain road. On both sides of the road was heavy forest. The road is a 'one C way' road, and almost no people is walking on it. For a time I almost forgot we were going to Beomosa, it looked just like we were on the frontier in the tropical rain forest. Forty minutes later,we arrived at the entrance to Beomosa. Getting off the bus, I saw huge Pusan city below my eyes, we already were halfway up the mountain.

We walked towards the temple. At the side of the road there were standing so many huge monuments on the back of the stone tortoises. On the monuments are the traditional Chinese characters, recording somebody 's contribution to the Temple. This may remind the tourists not to forget their ancestor's devotion to the temple. Unfortunately, among contemporary Koreans very few can read the monuments writing, which only symbolizes the ancient and sacred culture.

Getting into the temple, we went up step by step, I found out it wasn't so splendid and glorious as I imagined. Before I came here,I had heard that it is the biggest temple in Pusan. I have been to many small temples in Pusan, whose decorations are so beautiful, not only inside but also outside looking like palaces, big and small temples surrounded by green trees, located on different mountains, expressing some ancient cultural atmosphere in the modernized city. But this temple really looks so poor, the wooden house isn't so wide inside, even slightly narrow, the decoration inside also quite ordinary. The wall is so short and there are many cracks in the woodwork, the wood colour isn't healthy and bright, actually it is quite pale,like the colour of a person's face who is going to die. Anyway,the wood looks like it is decaying little by little. I even suspect its safety, I am afraid it is going to fall down in the near future.

Even the temple is so poor. You can see so many reverend Buddhists going into the house. Most of them are middle-aged couples. The women dress quite modern, make-up heavily, the hair colour has been changed, and a small handbag on the arm, the man wearing suit and necktie. They are serious, no smile on their faces, as if something very important will happen soon.They walk humbly. After entering the individual temples, they say nothing to each other,just stand there and pray by themselves, and then they pray with their knees and hands and head touching the floor together. They are so reverend and respectful that I admire the poor temple at once. Maybe they are praying for safety for the family, the health of the old father or mother, or for their young son and daughter's success in their studying. There are different Bodhisattvas in the different houses. They pray at each one by one. The whole temple is quite big, and there are also quite a lot of people here, but you can't hear much noise. It is very calm here.

Coming out from the temple, I venerated it from the bottom of my heart, though I am not a Buddhist. Just in the ordinary temple, just in the ugly house, it has accepted people's praying for more than 1100 years. Under the blue sky, surrounded by the heavy green trees, it will continue to foster Buddhist's praying and tourists' visiting one generation after another.

Leaving Beomosa, my soul seems to adopt the baptism of the ancient temple too. I feel relaxed and quiet, and forget all the boring things that bothered me in daily life.

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