Monk offers shelter for would-be suiciders
In Jigaiya’s temple there is a wooden Buddha, which he carved himself, with no eyes, nose or mouth. The statue, made out of an old tree root, only has two ears. /Courtesy of JigaiyaBy Park Jin-haiMonk JigaiyaBy most standards, Woo Jae-seok, in his late 60s, is quirky in every way. The former member of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Council and National Assembly candidate, and a self-made millionaire, abruptly decided to quit his political career. In 2004, despite the opposition of his wife and two children, Woo shaved his head, deserted his name and became a monk called “Jigaiya,” meaning a beggar asking for God’s blessings. He took all his possessions and built a temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, in 2006. “While I was preparing for the National Assembly election, I happened to hear the news that there is a suicide taking place every 45 minutes in Korea. It struck me hard like thunder,” said the monk. “Then I thought that saving lives _ if it is even one life _ would be worthier than doing a politics.”Then he made the temple, named
Jan 30, 2018
