Korea's Buddhist art on display
A visitor looks at “Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,” a 13th century wooden Buddhist statue, during a press preview of the National Museum of Korea’s Buddhist art exhibition, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeulBy Baek Byung-yeul With more than 1,600 years of history, Buddhism has been a major influence in Korea.Through the ages, many Buddhists have believed that they can accomplish their wishes -- prosperity for their country, peace in their mundane present life and re-birth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Buddhists’ paradise).To give shape to their wishes, Buddhists patronize Buddhist projects such as constructing a temple, producing a stone pagoda, enshrining Buddhist statues and painting inside temples.On Buddha’s Birthday, which falls on Monday, the National Museum of Korea (NMK) is giving visitors an opportunity to see various kinds of Buddhist artworks.“In Buddhism, there has been great emphasis on implementing good deeds to help disseminate what Buddha taught,” Shin So-yeon, a curator of the exhibition, said at the
May 24, 2015