Buddha sitting pretty

At the base of the mountain, a massive sitting Buddha. He watches out all day on the temple at his toes and Cheonan city sprawling out below. Candles drop wax on the cement as we climb the steps past the plaques of the dead.

Duck into the forest and you’ll find the path the monks follow up hill. Spring brought yellow bud blossoms, to be replaced by fruit with the heat. Stacks of stones reach towards the tree-tops on both sides of the path.

Just before the land goes flat it breaks out into rock face. There three gods look out at the clearing, their likeness etched into the stone. Climb the steps up into the cracks and you’ll find a cubby-cave with a prayer mat, which the monks visit for their vigils.

The path keeps going some seven kilometers, but that story is still to tell.