[One Thousand Characters a Day] Morning Opened with The Analects <2>

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day Thousand Characters' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected according to daily and monthly themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, famous columns, and notable speeches. Today, Kim Hoonjong, an SBS radio PD, introduces ＜The Morning Opened by the Analects＞, a reinterpretation of classics, focusing on ＜The Secret to Approaching Happiness＞. The text contains 992 characters.

If you go to Seosan in Chungnam, there is a temple called Gaesimsa (開心寺). Just as the temple's name suggests, when you visit there, your heart opens and you feel at ease. Why is that? Looking around, the pillars and beams of the temple are all crooked. Unlike the pillars of other temples that stand straight, these are all twisted and bent.

Antoni Gaud? said that straight lines are human lines, and curves are divine lines. Following his words, he designed world-renowned architectural works such as Park G?ell, the Sagrada Fam?lia, and Casa Mil?, utilizing curves. Could the head monk and carpenter of Gaesimsa have had the same aesthetic sense as Gaud?? Of course, that is possible.

But my guess is different. Trees in Korea generally grow crooked. Unlike the coniferous forests in the Canadian Rockies, where trees grow straight and tall, Korean trees tend to bend. To get straight pillars or beams, you have to cut and trim much larger trees. To obtain large trees, it is natural to go deep into the mountains. If you want straight pillars, you must venture into remote mountain valleys, and naturally, you have to transport those heavy trees from there. It is impossible by human strength alone, so they must be loaded onto carts.

However, unlike flat roads, when transporting wood by carts pulled by cows or horses in the mountains, you have to cut down small trees on the mountain slopes to make a path. In short, to use straight pillars and beams, the carpenter’s labor increases several times over, and inevitably, the lives of small trees are lost without reason.

Could it be that the head monk of Gaesimsa paid attention to this point? From the Iljumun gate to the bell pavilion and the main hall, all the pillars and beams of the temple might have been made by thoroughly practicing 'non-possession,' breaking away from the perspective of 'possession' that insists all pillars and beams must be straight. If this assumption is correct, it means they boldly abandoned the ownership perspective that straight pillars would inspire awe among believers and establish the temple’s authority.

I suddenly wonder if Beopjeong ever visited Gaesimsa. If he had toured Gaesimsa, he would surely have been impressed by the spirit of non-possession embodied in the architecture.

- Kim Hoonjong, ＜The Morning Opened by the Analects＞, Hanbit Biz, 16,800 KRW