A Visit to Buddha Mountain, Part 2: Buddha's Hat

Near the top of the mountain, before we got to the landmark we were there to see, there was another temple.

Here, you could buy rice, I think for making offerings. (Our Korean tour guide called them "donations.")

Another temple, farther up, with bags of rice on the altar:

Even before we reached the peak, the view was incredible. There were mountains as far as the eye could see. And some power lines.

Graffiti & scenery

Finally, we got to the top and to the landmark we were there to see: Gatbawi. This statue of Buddha was carved out of granite by a guy sometime in the 600's or 700's AD. It's said the statue can answer prayers or grant wishes. Some of Gatbawi's common visitors include people worried about their sick loved ones, parents praying for their kid to get into college, and pregnant women hoping to give birth to sons.

 

There was a big area in front of Gatbawi where the ground was almost covered by prayer mats and people.

Speakers on posts blared a chant that, for the fifteen minutes we could hear it, was the same word said over and over. I asked our tour guide what the word meant. "It's baby word," he said. "Only mother can understand." Then he laughed.

You know what's an annoying song to have stuck in your head? That one.

This all was a fascinating glimpse into another religion. I was in awe. It wasn't until we started down the other side of the mountain that I started thinking about how disturbing it all was. In John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

All those people on the mats bowing to a Buddha...spiritually, the walking dead. They didn't even know it. And who's going to tell them? How many would believe?

It's sobering. Scary. Heartbreaking. All those people.