On Monday, the people of Korea get a national holiday. No work. No school. No rush hour traffic and packed subways as people scramble to their offices. Just a nice long weekend as the weather turns beautiful. Sun. Mountains. And iced-coffee. And it’s all for Buddha’s Birthday – or more literally “Bucheonim osin nal” meaning "the day when the Buddha came."
During my time here I’ve come to understand how Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism differ from the monotheisms back home. With things like Christianity and Islam, there’s a god. And you believe in that god. People of course have varying degrees of belief and this waxes and wanes during their life. But ultimately, someone’s association with the religion is defined by their belief. It creates a dichotomy. You either believe or you don’t. You can’t really be a Christian and a Muslim because that would be to believe in two different stories and your belief in one would go some way to discredit your belief in the other (generally, of course).
But East Asian worldviews are more like a philosophy than a religion. They function as a path – a course of action rather than a series of commandments to be adhered to. They are social, earthly, and pragmatic rather than transcendental and divine. They help you get through the life you are living right now rather than promise angels and virgins in the next.
So when you see Korean people at Buddhist temples, it doesn’t mean they are all devout believers of Buddhism. Many just go there because it looks nice. Because it’s a public holiday. Because you can take nice photos. Reflect on the past. Slow down. Forget capitalism and politics for a few hours. Spend time with your kids. It’s the same way that people go to art museums and exhibitions. The people there are generally not devout Monet-ists or Van Gogh-ians. They just want to try something aesthetic and cultural that day because they think it will be good for them. That’s how Buddhism works here. It’s a tool you use to navigate daily life.
Another way it differs from monotheisms is that it doesn’t really suggest that there are celestial and eternal beings coming to give us guidance. Buddhism’s teachings do not come from the sky, from a burning bush, or from a prophet who had the good fortune to one day be visited by the most powerful being in the universe. Buddhist teachings come from us: they come from people like you and me.
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a prince. Shielded from the outside world by his father, he spent his youth surrounded by privilege, unaware of human suffering. Confronted by the realities of aging, sickness, and death at age 29, he abandoned his royal life to find an escape from suffering. After years of extreme asceticism failed, he discovered the "Middle Way" and achieved Nirvana (enlightenment) beneath a Bodhi tree, becoming the Buddha. His name means the “awakened one” – he is a human who through deep reflection and meditation learned how to best navigate this existence. According to early Buddhist texts, when people met him after his enlightenment, they were often struck by his peace and would ask him, "Are you a god? A wizard? An angel?"
He simply replied: "No. I am awake."
The Buddha did not claim to be a god, a prophet, or a savior. He viewed himself as a physician for the mind, offering a practical framework for individuals to wake up to reality and find peace through their own effort.
That was a huge revelation to me. From the outside Buddhism seemed so spiritual. So full of temples and incense. The idea of ghosts and genies, of magic, and all other orientalist tropes filled my mind with mystery. And then I realized none of that really existed in Buddhism. It was all about me, my mind, and dealing with mental health.
I mean that’s pretty damn modern. It is probably why so many young people are drawn to it these days. Not only does it not proselytize, it seeks to help them with the thing they are struggling with most.
Source: Korea Times News
