Happy Birthday Buddha!

Pajeon with seafood.

Today is a misty, rainy day.  On these kinds of days, Koreans eat pajeon (Korean style pancake). It is basically a mixture of flour, water, green onion and seafood. You can also order kimchijeon which has kimchi instead of onion/seafood (it's my favorite) or gamjajeon which is all potato.  They drink it with a traditional rice drink called makgoeli. We must just indulge in some tonight.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.  -Buddha 

Lanterns outside of a temple near our house.

 Yesterday was Buddha's birthday and we had the day off.  Over the past week, lanterns have appeared lining the streets, buildings, and walkways around our neighborhood like Christmas lights.  It's a wonderful time to visit a temple.  On his actual birthday, many temples give free vegetarian food to visitors and the temple is illuminated in color. And as most temples are set up in the mountains, the lanterns are even more beautiful when set against the lush greenery fringing the temple. Temples are going to be one of the things I miss most about Korea. The idea that a place of meditation and spiritual peace should be isolated in a beautiful forest or up on a mountain top just makes sense to me.  They're one of our favorite places to go on a weekend or when we just need a break from city life.  In celebration of Buddha's day, I made "Buddha burgers" (lentil burgers) and carrot cake (and despite Buddha's teachings against overindulgence, I thoroughly overindulged in the carrot cake).  Maybe this will be a new tradition to bring back to the states?

View of the beach from the top of the mountain.  

THE FOG comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

On the weekend prior to Buddha's birthday we went camping on Gujora Beach about 1.5 hours away from Busan.  We played games around a campfire, ate way too much Western food, did some yoga on the beach, climbed, and enjoyed the ocean and mountain views. It was nice to get away.  

While there, Aaron, our friend Jake, and I went on a motorcycle ride to the other side of the island.  It was eerily creeping with fog and silence.  The only noise you could hear was the lapping of the waves against some docks and abandoned fishing boats.  But, we did find some beautiful rice paddies and an enormous pile of clams that had been cleaned and strung onto strings.  We'd never seen anything like it.  Clearly Korea must ship these somewhere, but we're not quite sure where or why. 

THE FOG comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

Hooray for spring!

I remember reading this poem in my Comparative Literature class in college and thought I'd share it.  It's a beautiful spring day here in Korea--about 75 degrees, everything is blossoming in shades of green, and the yellow dust is gone! Enjoy.


Spring and all its flowers by Hafiz


Spring and all its flowers
now joyously break their vow of silence. 
It is time for celebration, not for lying low;
You too - weed out those roots of sadness from your heart.


The east wind arrives;
and in deep resonance, the flower
passionately rips open its garments, 
thrusting itself from itself.


The Way of Truth, learn from the clarity of water,
Learn freedom from the spreading grass.


Pay close attention to the artistry of the east wind, 
that wafts in pollen from afar, 
And ripples the beautiful tresses
of the fields of hyacinth flowers. 


From the privacy of the harem, the virgin bud slips out,
revealing herself under the morning star,
branding your heart and your faith
with beauty.


And frenzied bulbul flies madly out of the House of Sadness
to unite with the flowers;
its love-crazed cry like a thousand-trumpet blast.