Everyone was in a festive mood this Sunday morning: there was no work foreseen for the Council of the Congregation, and there was radiant sunshine, despite the fact that the weather forecast had predicted rain.
We left the house immediately after Morning Prayer in the company of the local community and of two aspiring Assumptionists. Four visits were planned: the Buddhist Temple of Song Gwang, the fortified village of Nagan, the National Cemetery where are buried some of the victims of the democratic insurrection of May 1980, and, toward the end of the day, the Oblate Sisters for a celebration of the Eucharist to which the Lay Assumptionists were invited.
The road leading to the Temple of Song Gwang is lined with cherry
trees, forsythia, and magnolia trees in bloom. The fresh colors were
already inviting us to become serene, even before we entered the temple
precincts.
Democracy Memorial of Kwangju
One of the three most important temples of Zen Buddhism in
Korea, San Gwang has a history dating back to the 11th century of our
era. This branch of Buddhism stresses two priorities: community and
meditation. It receives strangers who want to initiate themselves to
the methods of meditation practiced in Korea. This monastery can also
glorify itself for having furnished 16 “national priests” (the highest
level attainable by a monk) and numerous grand masters of meditation.
Comprising approximately fifty buildings and numerous hermitages, the
monastery is inhabited by about one hundred monks and is one of the
largest in the country.
Three people received us. It was the hour of prayer. At times, we
were not able to follow the explanations, partly because they were
given in rather poor English, and partly because of our insufficient
knowledge of Buddhism. Beauty, grandeur, wonderment, questioning…
At the end of our visit, we ate in the refectory with several monks and
other guests. It was a vegetarian meal with unaccustomed flavors…
The fortified village of Nagan
After our meal at the temple, we left for the fortified village of
Nagan, an ancient village with thatched rice-straw roofs for the
ordinary people and with more richly designed and decorated buildings
for the well-to-do and the officials of the village. The agglomeration
is surrounded by a wall from which we could view the well-preserved
ancient village. There were a lot of people, and business is booming
given the influx of tourists.
The May 18, 1980 National Cemetery in Kwangju
Oppressed for a long time by a dictatorial military regime, the city of
Kwangju rebelled in the spring of 1980, at a time when the regime was
becoming more oppressive. Everything began in the universities: the
student revolt led to a popular insurrection. Fighting, cries and
tears, blood and dead bodies. At the outset, the numerous victims were
hastily buried amid confusion and panic. In 1993, a democratic regime
was put in place and created a cemetery to which the remains of the
ardent defenders of democracy were transferred. Kwangju became a
symbol of the fight for democracy.
Lucas Chuffart
Sharing of the Eucharist and of brotherhood
The sky became overcast was we drove toward the Oblates. Fr. Joseph
Baïk Ho, the first Korean priest in the congregation, presided the
Eucharist surrounded by the founders of the Assumptionist mission in
Korea, Frans Desmet and Leo Brassard, along with Lucas Chuffart, Fr.
Joseph’s former master of novices.
The gospel of the disciples of Emmaus found its logical conclusion in a
meal shared with the Sisters and the Lay Assumptionists. Our visit was
enhanced by classical and popular traditional dances. The day ended
with an outpouring of joy and jubilation and with beneficial rain that
did a world of good to the parched land.
