Sansin Shrine

[Treveler]
Being here now, you are among those who are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy all the hidden beauties of the temple, because this Sansin Shrine is located at its remotest part. Let’s go in and see what’s inside.

Ah, there is no Buddhist image in this room. There is instead a portrait of an old man suspended above the altar. What does it mean, you may wonder? Well, it means that Sansin Shrine was devoted not to a Buddha or a Buddhist saint but to a mountain deity. The old man in the portrait represents the kind of mountain spirit worshipped by the Korean people since even before the arrival of Buddhism in Korea.

How, then, did they come to honor this native deity at a Buddhist sanctuary? Early Buddhists in Korea realized that they, as the worshippers of a foreign religion, would need to establish a harmonious relationship with the Korean native religion in their efforts to spread Buddhist teachings more effectively. They accepted shrines for Korean native gods and goddesses as part of the Buddhist institution. It helped Buddhism to become firmly rooted in the hearts of the Korean people.

Now you may start to understand the identity of the old man in the portrait. What about the tiger, then, which seems to be snuggled up in the old man’s arms like a pet? It has a funny face that makes it look more like a household cat. There were many tigers in the Korean mountains in the past, and the Korean people regarded the animal as an incarnation of the mountain god. That explains why it always appears with the old man in portraits of the mountain god. The tiger in Korea has never been portrayed or regarded as a ferocious killer beast but as a friendly guardian who protects us from evil.