Visiting Chilburam and Sinseonam in Namsan


1. Visiting Chilburam and Sinseonam in Gyeongju without plans
after being impressed by pictures of sightseeing postcards
It was a sightseeing postcard for the Gyeongju Namsan Institute to promote tourism that made me first climb Mt. Namsan in Gyeongju. I’ve seen countless postcards with photos of main cultural relics on Mt.Namsan, but there has been nothing more attractive to me than the postcard picturing gorgeous and mysterious Maaebosaryuhuijwasang in Sinseonam – it was burned in my mind as a must-see place.
Today’s final destination is Maaebosaryuhuijwasang in Sinseonam.
Reaching Namsallisamcheungseoktap via Seochulji from Tongiljeon, you meet a path leading up to Chilburam. You can advance more up to a trail entrance (by an orchard), but it’s a good idea to park here not to interrupt climbers on foot.
It’s not a long way and you don’t have to be in a hurry, so please walk slowly on the way refreshing yourself with the fresh water in the valley.
From Chilburam, the green and deeply resonant sound of Buddist monk’s prayer to Buddha and a moktak is heard.
After climbing for about an hour, a small
Chilburam has Samjonbul carved onto a huge southeast-facing rock surface before which a distinct tetrahedral rock stands with Yeorae statues on its each four face. A total of seven Buddhas including Samjonbul and Sabangbul (four positioned Buddha statues) gave the temple the name of Chilburam.
Putting our hands together as if in prayer and getting some rest in soft breezes refreshes our mind. The Scenery unfolding down the mountain is unspeakably beautiful, and the emergence of Tohamsan and the golden fields between pine trees is breathtaking. Upon further climbing, Sinseonam will be seen. Passing by Chilburam to the right leads to a trail from which the road is steep and narrow but there is no problem if you take a slow walk.
Climbing carefully along the rocky road for about ten minutes and turning around a cliff with room for only one person, you will see a Bodhisattvas statue carved on a skyward-rising rock looking like it is descending on a cloud. This is Maaebosaryuhuijwasang in Sinseonam ,the final destination for today.
On the cliff rock surface, the Sinseonam bodhisattva statue shrouded in mystery in a bo tree leaf-shaped canopy looks like it is sitting comfortably on a stool above the clouds with the right hand holding flowers and the left one posing in the nvitarka mudra, as if walking leisurely in the sky. Sitting before the statue and looking down, you feel like floating in the sky with Buddha because the world down there is covered with the green mists of the pine forests and the far-away peaks give us an illusion that they tower above the sky.
Grotesque rocks create a magnificent view with different images along the ridges of Gyeongju Mt. Namsan. I climbed up to Maaebosaryuhuijwasang of Sinseonam carefully as if going up a ladder of the heaven, from which a viewing of the sunrise over Tohamsan is possible. When I climbed down, I therefore made myself a promise to keep a wonderful picture of my own someday.
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