Hongbeopsa is located in the suburbs of Busan, near the heart of the city. It is a practicing ground amidst everyday life, which guides the body and soul of busy and exhausted city dwellers into the Buddha’s embrace. The temple aspires to be a center for ‘Buddhism for Everyday Life’ (Saenghwal Bulgyo).
Unlike traditional mountain temples, Hongbeopsa is a farming temple, founded on spacious farmland covering about 15,000 pyeong (more than 12 acres) in 2003, by remodeling part of an existing farmhouse into a temple. It lies in the foothills of Cheolmasan Mountain, behind Geumjeongsan Mountain.
If you drive along the farm road following the bank of the clear river, you will see Hongbeopsa, which is also Sinchang Farm, in a cozy location with Geumjeongsan in front and Cheolmasan behind. This is the fruit born by two people’s joint efforts; Ha Domyeonghwa Bosal (female lay devotee) who made a vow to devote herself to the revitalization of Buddhism, and the Venerable Simsan Sunim who made a vow to build a center of Buddhism for everyday life where practice, culture, and education are all combined.
If you walk along the water lily path where about 150 different kinds of water lilies are flowering, you will come to the tidy Main Buddha Hall. It enshrines the statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Gwanseum Bosal), and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Jijang Bosal). The Buddha’s eternal wisdom and reward of virtue are gently transmitted in the light of lotus lanterns decorated in pastel colors. Next to this hall stands the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Hall (Gwaneumjeon), which is used for dharma meetings of primary school children and other cultural activities. Sometimes, the zelkova tree forest in the garden becomes an outdoor dharma hall for lectures on faith and practice, and the large lawn becomes a field for cultural activities and wild merrymaking.
On the one hand, Hongbeopsa helps people understand Buddhist culture by offering various programs, such as public lectures and field trips to explore cultural remains, for the development of Korean traditional culture. On the other hand, it is putting forth a great effort into teaching foreigners, with the motto, “The world is one.” It also practices compassion for the neighbors by helping the elderly who live alone and children who are taking care of their families.
Every year to celebrate the Buddha’s Birthday, children are temporarily ordained as monks at this temple. It plants the seeds of the Buddha nature in these children, and inspires the faith mind in adults. Hongbeopsa is striving for the everyday practice of Buddhism, as well as the modernization and globalization of Buddhism. Its great vow for spreading the dharma, together with the practice of lay Buddhists, will certainly contribute to the beginning of a new age in global Buddhism.
