Along with the Mountain Gods / 산신과 함께
This afternoon, I hiked up Bukhansan, taking the hard route to Baegundae: 2,744 feet up. Setting off around 3 p.m., I encountered only about 15 people the entire time I was on the mountain. I passed three temples and made sure to stop at each, pausing to admire the scenery and greet the monks. My favorite was Amita Temple (formerly Deokam Temple), which is said to have once housed Monk Wonhyo during the Silla Dynasty. Veering off the main trail and crossing a small bridge onto a path lined with magnolia trees, I came across three people walking barefoot toward the temple. They told me it was their way of connecting with the earth and finding inner balance. I’d actually quite like to spend more time there, under the big standing Amitābha Buddha and beside the pond. The final ascent to the peak was tricky in my running shoes; pulling myself up with ropes. At the summit, an old man sitting under the Korean flag greeted me with a warm smile. As I looked out across the city from the highest point, it started to rain. The timing was genuinely uncanny: not two or three minutes before or after I arrived, but exactly as I reached the top. It felt like a greeting. I embraced it. Content. Happy to be wet. Eventually, I made my way down, had some 콩국수 and 부추전, and felt genuinely satisfied with my mountain work today.
#bukhansan #buddhism #mountains #korea #산신
We traveled to the medieval city of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Surrounded by rolling green hills and walls built in the 13th century, the past was ever visible, silenced only by the beauty of the present.
Mozzafiato! 🤌🤌 🇮🇹
