선암사에 부처님 오신날 봉축 대법회

In addition to going to 삼광사 on Buddha's birthday, I also went to see the celebration at SeonAm temple (선암사), a smaller temple located not far from my home.

There too, the temple yard was decorated with prayer lanterns.  People came to the temple to pray, and to cheerfully wish each other well on the occasion of this important religious day.  Many wished me a good day, sometimes in Korean, sometimes in English.

Lanterns in the temple yard, at 선암사.

People greeting each other under the prayer lanterns, at 선암사.

Going to pray, on Buddha's birthday.

At 선암사, the celebration was hosted by ladies dressed in similar traditional Korean dresses of purple colour.

Hostesses wearing purple coloured traditional Korean dresses.

Some of the visitors at the temple constructed little mounds with small stones, placing them at various locations on the temple grounds.  I don't understand the significance of these piles of stone, but I think they are interesting...

A pile of stones, constructed by a visitor to 선암사.

Another pile of stones, with prayer lanterns in the background.

Last year, I had come to 선암사 at night on Buddha's birthday.  At that time, the prayer lanterns were all lit, and they shone beautifully under the night sky.

Illuminated prayer lanterns in the light of the setting sun, at 선암사.

The open gate of 선암사, last year, on the night of Buddha's birthday.

This year, I tried to visit 선암사 in the evening, on the day after Buddha's birthday, hoping to see the illuminated prayer lanterns on that day.  But when I got to 선암사, the temple gate was closed and the lanterns did not appear to be illuminated...

The closed gate at 선암사, on the night after Buddha's birthday.

In my opinion, the celebration of Buddha's birthday at 선암사 seemed subdued this year, in comparison to last year.  Last year, there was heavy traffic on the road to the temple during the entire day.  This year there seemed to be far fewer people visiting the temple...

Because it is a temple of the Jogye order of Buddhism, I wondered if the attendance of the celebration of Buddha's birthday at 선암사 was reduced as a result of the scandal that emerged, concerning the Jogye order, a few weeks ago.  On May 10, 2012, it was reported in the news that monks of the Jogye order were caught on film allegedly smoking, drinking, and gambling.  Drinking, smoking and gambling is prohibited by the code of conduct of Buddhist monks, and therefore this news was quite scandalous.  But most serious was the amount of money that the monks allegedly gambled.  One article reported that the amounts gambled were in the tens of millions of won, which corresponds to tens of thousands of dollars.  It was soon after reported that a power struggle is currently taking place within the Jogye order, with different monks vying for control of the organization.  The Jogye order is the largest order of Buddhist monks in Korea, and is therefore quite influential.  As a result, the leadership of the order is powerful, and has access to substantial financial and political resources.  This tale of religious and political intrigue, reminiscent of those that sometimes grip the Vatican, even made the news in Québec on Buddha's birthday...