Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Buddhism and Its Cultures

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

In the Footsteps of Wonhyo

Posted on March 17, 2023March 17, 2023 by Dharma Documentaries
A journey across Korea in the footsteps of the best-loved Korean master, musing on Korean Buddhism along the way.

In the Footsteps of Wonhyo

Wonhyo is probably Korea’s best loved Buddhist saint, and someone who earned that title by the depth of his insight, and the compassionate way he returned to teach after attaining Enlightenment.

In the 13th century, together with another monk, Wonhyo set out on a journey, or a pilgrimage, that would take him from one coast to the other in the Silla kingdom of Korea. When he arrived at his destination he lived in a cave, and it was there that he had his breakthrough.

One night he found himself thirsty and picking up what he thought was a bowl, he scooped up some water and drank it. It was so sweet and refreshing. In the morning though, he found he had drunk muddy water from a human skull and was repulsed. Understanding that all things originate with mind he awakened.

A Canadian journalist, Tony MacGregor, who had been living in Korea for some time, came across Wonhyo’s story and decided to retrace his steps, in an attempt to understand what Wonhyo had understood. This film follows his journey as he explores Korean Buddhism and its meanings.

This is the first in a series of films from Korea with Buddhist themes, although the ones that follow are movies rather than documentaries, and explore their motifs with Korean Buddhism as the backdrop.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, try reloading the page; and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of screenshots click here

 

TAGS:
Dharma, Korea, Mahayana, Monastics, Zen

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/4iH

Donations

This site has taken more than fifteen years and 1,000s of hours to build, and has more than a thousand documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Women

Sponsorship

 hosting sponsored by exabytes.my 

Random Posts

  • Zanskar, A Winter of Happiness
  • The Ancient Path 4-5, Money and Dining
  • The Lost Buddhas of Bamiyan
  • A Young Shaman’s Quest Across Mongolia
  • Angkor Wat, Ancient Hydraulic City
  • The Journey of Xuanzang 1 & 2
  • Morin Khuur, the Mongolian Horse-Head Fiddle
  • Himalaya, a Path to the Sky
  • The Sacred Journey
  • Secrets of Shangri-La: Quest for Sacred Caves

Recent Posts

  • 1948, Creation & Catastrophe
  • Bhutan, Back to the Roots along with Matthieu Ricard
  • Walid Haddad, Jātaka, the Buddhas Past Birth-Stories, 02
  • Walid Haddad, Jātaka, the Buddhas Past Birth-Stories, 01
  • Karma Girl
  • Wang Erchuan, Thangka Collector
  • Mongolian Temple Architecture
  • Mongolian Applique
  • Mongolian Thangka
  • Painting in Time

Related Posts:

  • Great Minds 27, Wonhyo to King Sejong
  • Gyeong Ju, South Korea (Expoza)
  • Passage to Buddha (Hwaomkyung)
  • Mandala (Korean Film)
  • In the Footsteps of a Yogi
  • In the Footsteps of Great Tibetan Yogi Milarepa
  • Haeinsa, South Korea (Expoza)
  • Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan
  • Chongmyo, South Korea (Expoza)
  • Shikoku Pilgrimage (Sacred Journeys)
© 2025 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme