The Korea Herald
Ascetic monks practicing meditation with paintbrushes will make their way out of the Korean countryside to participate in a show at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, devoted to Korean Buddhist art, from Dec. 2 to Dec. 30.
Among the pieces that will travel to the museum, which has a world-renowned collection of Asian art, will be "Mugujeonggwangdaedaranigyeong," one of Korea's most famous and oldest Buddhist scriptures and illustrations from the sacred text. "Sacheonwangsang," paintings of four heavenly kings will also be shown.
Ven. Dongwoo, a monk at Hyangun Grotto in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, and Ven. Jaewoo, a biguni or Buddhist nun, from Yuriwon Temple in Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province, will be participating in the show.
Ven. Jaewoo is still at work on her image of the four heavenly kings, which she started last year. The painting measures 2.4 meters in width and 3.6 meters in height and depicts the guardians of the four directions, and protectors of Buddhist law and humankind. These figures are often seen on the gates to Buddhist temples.
Ven. Dongwoo will be showing three illustrations of the ancient Korean Buddhist scriptures. A mixture of gold powder and glue made from deer antlers was carefully applied with a thin brush to make the finely detailed images. The illustrations were done in order to help viewers more easily interpret the dense Buddhist scriptures.
Following the show's closing, the works will become a part of the museum's permanent collection.
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