The entrance to Beomeo Temple in Busan, April 3, 2015 / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington By Dale Quarrington Not only are Korean Buddhist temples filled with beautiful buildings and Buddhist artistry, they are also filled with rich religious histories, legends and myths. A wonderful example of this specific sort of legacy can be found at Beomeo Temple on the northeastern foothills of Busan's Mount Geumjeong (801.5 meters).
Beomeo Temple was first established in 678 by the famed monk Uisang-daesa (625-702). In English, Beomeo means “Nirvana Fish.” The name of the temple relates to the mountain on which Beomeo Temple is situated, as Geumjeong means “Golden Well” in English.
This comes from a myth that a golden fish descended from the heavens on a five-colored cloud and played in a well atop Mount Geumjeong. It’s believed that this golden well never dries up. Artwork illustrates the myth of Mount Geumjeong at Gukcheong Temple in Busan, Aug.
1, 2012 / Courtesy of Dale Quarrington As for a legend about Beomeo Temple, for which there are several, there once lived a great monk named Nangbaek during the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. During this time, Korean Buddhism started to decline as a result of Joseon's anti-Buddhist policies. In those days, temples were often burdened with numerous governmental tasks.
Specifically, Beomeo Temple was burdened with 36 of these tasks, which left very little time for the monks to study. Nangbaek was saddened by this situation, so he decided to av.