Happy Birthday, my Buddha!

Today, May 15, 2024 (Lunar Calendar Date of April 8), is the 2568th Buddha's birthday.

We went to TongDoSa (통도사) to celebrate his birthday. This temple has his sari. For this reason, this temple is also designated as and called BoolBoSaaChaal (불보사찰). 

There are BeopBoSaaChaal (법보사찰), which is HaeInSa (해인사), and Seung Bo SaaChaal (승보사찰), which is SongGwangSa (송광사).

These three temples represent the three elements of Buddhism: Buddha- the Teacher, Buddhism - His Teaching, and Buddhists - His students (Buddhist monks and nuns), and, to a larger extent, every Buddhist.

A waiting line to get to the main dining hall; lunch is provided by the temple for free. Everyone is served with a bowl of bibimbap (비빕밥) and a bowl of cold seaweed soup (미역냉채국). A very good and tasty lunch indeed.

We paid our tribute by circling the Sari Stupa (사리탑). This was our third time at the temple, but our very first and only time to visit the Buddha's Sari. No photo-taking is allowed near the Sari Stupa.