KOREATOWN : Temples Celebrate Buddha’s Birthday

With paper lotus lanterns illuminating the path from spiritual darkness to enlightenment, Korean Buddhists in Los Angeles last week celebrated their most important holiday--Buddha’s birthday.

“Buddha’s teachings help us to deal with the problems of living in the practical world and can free us from the agony caused by trying to satisfy unnecessary desires,” said Abbott Do Ahn Kim, head of the Kwan Um Sa Temple at 4265 W. 3rd St. and the Federation of Korean Buddhist Temples in Southern California.

The federation of 22 temples, most in and around Koreatown, serves about 28,000 Korean Buddhists, Kim said. Buddhists of other ethnic backgrounds also have temples in the Los Angeles area.

This year marks the 2,537th anniversary of the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the religion’s founder who came to be known as the Buddha, or enlightened one. The date of the holiday varies according to the lunar calendar; this year it fell on Friday.

Buddhism spread from India to China and was first introduced to the Korean peninsula in A.D. 372. Over the next three centuries, Buddhism became a central cultural force uniting the rival kingdoms of the peninsula. While Buddhism remains a vital force in South Korea, it is less so among Koreans and Korean-Americans in this country, Kim said.

About 20% of the South Korean population is Buddhist, compared to only 3% of Koreans and Korean-Americans in Los Angeles, according to a study conducted by Eui-Young Yu, a sociology professor at Cal State Los Angeles. Many Korean Buddhists convert to Christianity after they emigrate to the United States.

“Buddhism has only recently begun to make the migration from Korea to the United States,” said Kim, who established his temple here in 1974 and now has about 670 members. “Christian churches have been here to help immigrants with their adjustment process, so people tend to accept Christianity as their religion.”

Last week, Kwan Um Sa members hung pink paper lanterns from the temple’s ceiling and placed lights in the shape of miniature Buddhas in front of large gilded bronze statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha and two bodhisttvas. The religion recognizes many Buddhas--a title applied to one who embodies divine wisdom and virtue--and bodhisttvas, a potential Buddha who serves others in need.

Inside the temple, monks were heard chanting a sutra, a scriptural narrative based on the teachings of Buddhism, while they methodically beat a mokt’ak , a hollow wooden block shaped like a fish.

“If you observe a fish, its eyes are always open, even when resting,” Kim said. “Hitting the mokt’ak stimulates people to keep their eyes and mind open.”

Meditation is a fundamental element of Buddhism, Kim said. If done properly, meditation clears the mind, improves health and paves the path to enlightenment.

Service is also encouraged. As part of last week’s celebration, members of the temple gathered food and clothing for distribution to the poor who live in and around Skid Row, Kim said.

Although Los Angeles’ Korean Buddhist temples have until now focused primarily on the Korean community, Buddhism’s message of tolerance, critical inquiry and understanding could be a valuable addition in efforts to ease tensions among various groups within the city, Kim said.