One of our last and most memorable experiences traveling in South Korea was visiting gorgeous Haeinsa (Hay – in – saw, 해인사, 海印寺: Temple of the Ocean Mudra). It was made even more magnificent, spiritual, and beautiful by inclement weather including fog cloaked mountains, misty temple rooflines, and scattered showers. Haeinsa is an active center of Buddhist prayer, practice, and research, and houses the Tripitaka Koreana. For you historian-types: the world’s most comprehensive, intact, and oldest collection of The Buddhist Canon. These scriptures were re-carved onto wooden printing blocks from 1236 to 1251 to replace the original wooden blocks burned during the Mongol Invasion (1232). The source material for these copies was printed copies on paper made from the original wood blocks that dated to 1087. They are carved in hanja script – chinese characters used for Korean language/pronunciation.
Film and Camera:
Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
