Buddhist paintings, folk paintings, sculptures, ancient documents, etc.
With precious and meaningful cultural assets from each Asian country.
Illuminating the great figures in our culture we never knew existed.

From readers who are curious about the stories of mysterious beings
Even art enthusiasts who love cultural assets and traditional art
A collection of humanities and arts resources for anyone interested in the legacy of imagination.

Yaksha, also called yaksha in Sanskrit, is often used as a general term for superhuman or demonic beings rather than referring to a specific god.
This phenomenon can be seen not only in Yaksha, but also in many gods in early Indian and Buddhist culture.
India is often called 'the land of a thousand faces'.
India is a complex country with many cultures combined, with diverse races and religions.
Therefore, in addition to Yaksha, many Buddhist gods overlap with gods of other religions.

--- p.17

The changed history of Geumgang takes root in our country.
The earliest example is the stone pagoda of Bunhwangsa Temple, built around 634 during the reign of Queen Seondeok, and is the oldest Buddhist pagoda of Silla.
The Vajrapani of the Bunhwangsa Temple's stone pagoda stands at the entrance to the sarira chamber, the place where the Buddha's relics are enshrined.
Geumgang Yeoksa, in a martial arts stance with fluttering clothes, stands tall on a rock and steadfastly guards the shrine, preventing anyone from approaching.

--- p.58

Why did our ancestors portray the Vajrapani, the guardian deity of temples, in such a comical and adorable way? Late Joseon Buddhist art exhibits changes not only in the folk paintings and giant hanging Buddhist paintings on temple murals, but also in the Vajrapani.
With the country devastated by two wars, the tyranny of the yangban class overflowing with corruption, and even a puppet king who was ignorant of the ways of the world and only raised taxes, the people who lived through the difficult late Joseon Dynasty must have felt hellish pain at every moment.
For this reason, temples have incorporated humorous and friendly images into numerous Buddhist icons, such as the Vajrapani, the boy, and the deity.

--- p.70

The scales Asura holds are a warning message to prevent living beings from committing sins, but they also contain the meaning of Asura himself reflecting on his sins.
It is a pledge by Asura, who was a demon and a symbol of evil, to take refuge in Buddha and reflect on his own sins.

--- p.90

As in Indian mythology, Garuda is considered the king of all birds in the world.
In the 『Decision-Making-Vajrapani Sutra』, we find a record of the Buddha saying to his disciple, “What do you think? Can birds like eagles and doves withstand the power of Garuda?” This means that Garuda is the greatest of all birds.
Garuda, who was thus acknowledged by the Buddha, joined the Eightfold Path as a member of the Buddha's teachings and protectors.
In the scriptures, Garuda is always depicted as staying closest to the Buddha, and depending on the situation, he is depicted as chanting sutras or standing quietly with his hands clasped together.

--- p.106

Until 10 years ago, the Grim Reaper was an unpopular figure, wearing a black robe with a hat, a pale face, and dark circles under his eyes that reached down to his chin.
But did you know that the origins of this grim reaper are less than 40 years old? The grim reaper we recognize today first appeared in the 1970s on the TV show "Hometown of Legends," and was created based on shamanistic images produced in modern and contemporary times.
So, who is the true grim reaper of our culture, and what does he look like? Its origin lies in the grim reaper of Buddhism.

--- p.137

Here, the predecessor of King Yeomra appears, a god called Yama or Ima.
The Rig Veda describes Yama as the son of Vivasvan, the sun god, and the first to discover the path to death. He commands four-eyed dogs to observe and judge humans.
As if to support this, the Pali scripture called 『Majjima Nikaya』 describes a scene where Yama interrogates the five sins and the appearance of hell, and the 『Mahavastu』 and 『Saddharmapundarika』, compiled around the 3rd century BC, also refer to Yama as the king or ruler of hell.

--- p.153

What is noteworthy in the Hyeonwangdo is the objects depicted around it.
The painting of the King of Kings features a variety of objects, including a folding screen, a table, scriptures, glasses, and writing instruments. It is a free-spirited composition with strong elements of folk painting, such as books and letters that were popular in the late Joseon Dynasty.
Several phrases are found on the artifacts, and elements related to Buddhism as well as folk beliefs can be seen.

--- p.171

In art, the old man of Mercury is depicted with symbols of longevity such as a white deer, a crane, and a bat that brings good fortune. This can be said to be an element that further enhances the power of the old man of Mercury, who symbolizes longevity and happiness.
The story of the old man Mercury is a mixture of the grotesque and the comical.
Why did people create such stories? Perhaps they wanted to introduce the Mercury Old Man to many people? A bright, positive energy that governs longevity and happiness.

--- p.195

Fuxi is the god who first invented the net and taught humans how to hunt and fish.
These two practices, along with agriculture, are very important survival strategies for humans, so here we can see Fuxi's love for humanity.
Another name for Fuxi, Taihu, means 'the boundless, vast sky' and shows the appearance of a sage king with good virtue and character.

--- p.228

So, what role does Yeo-wa play? As a creator deity, Yeo-wa creates and nurtures all things, and in times of crisis, she also appears as a savior.
Among these, the first thing Yeo-wa did was to create humans.
There is a story like this in several ancient records, including 『Taiping Yulan』 and 『Pungsok Tongyi』.

--- p.234

The term ‘byeoksa(邪)’ means to block or repel evil elements such as ghosts, curses, and plagues, and is a similar concept to exorcism.
However, while exorcism has a direct and strong nature, such as eliminating or driving away ghosts, wall-cracking has a strong indirect and preventative nature, that is, it is a preemptive defense through a medium.
Therefore, the ritual of exorcism is carried out in a way to block out ghosts or epidemics in advance by using mediums imbued with magical powers, such as paintings, sculptures, and talismans depicting the gods, as well as natural objects and places.

--- p.250

In India, there is a god called Matsya.
Matsya, which means fish in Sanskrit, has the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish, and is the first avatar of Vishnu, the supreme god in charge of preservation and maintenance in Hindu mythology.
Here, avatar refers to the incarnation of Vishnu that changed his form to save humanity whenever it was in danger.
Matsya is the first avatar of Vishnu.

--- p.298

The first example of a mermaid in Korean art is Buddhist art, the Sumidan (須彌壇), installed inside a Buddhist temple to enshrine the Buddha.
Here, Sumeru is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word Sumeru, and refers to Mount Sumeru, which stands tall at the center of the world, that is, the summit of the Buddha land where the Buddha lives.
Sumeru, where the Buddha resides, is a utopia itself, and is thus depicted as a magnificent world engraved with all sorts of auspicious patterns symbolizing happiness.

--- p.313