The Spirit and Tiger of Bukhan Mountain with a Girl and Boy. 2000. Mixed Media (Stone Color, Gold Leaf, and Silver leaf) on traditional Korean paper, 39 X 78“. The painting is in the Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva meditation hall at Simgok- Am, Seoul, South Korea. In the picture plane, a girl and boy are worshipping the goddess of Mt. Bukhan. The sun and moon brighten the scene.
Simgog-Am is a Buddhist temple on Mt. Bukhan in Seoul, South Korea. The chief monk of Simgog-Am called me to commission an altarpiece for the Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva meditation hall.
He wanted me to portray the spirit of Bukhan Mountain. As soon as I arrived at the temple, he described the spirit: ”Every mountain in our country has a guardian spirit. Mt. Bukhan is no exception. Unlike other mountains' gods, there is a goddess in this mountain. Always carrying a brave tiger, the goddess has an extraordinary ability to bless those who pray for babies to conceive." He added, ”We want to help people who wish to have babies.“
Later, I learned that Korean Buddhism embraced the ancient shamanistic faith of the area, including the mountain gods.