The Significance and design of the Korean Burial mound

[Grim Reaper 6]

@Sherapy Hello Everyone, I have been living in Korea since 2014 and during the Holidays I have always been a participant in how my wife's family Honors their dead father. Well during this ceremony first you do a ceremony at home, the next morning you go to the grave site and do a completely different ceremony, and during these visits to the grave site I began to wonder what the design of Korean Buddhists graves meant. Korean Graves have a mound surrounded by a berm, now this berm doesnt completely in circle the mound in the front of the grave the berm extends past the mound by approximately 4 feet. The opening at the front of Korean Buddhist graves will face one of two directions, North or West, and this opening in the berm is what designates the direction the grave is facing. 

Well I asked my relatives what the mound and the berm signified and they didn't know the answer. So the next time I went to our temple for some further education on the Dharma, I asked the Monk who has been teaching me. He told me there were two different explanations for the design of the Buddhist grave. First he explained that according to the teachings of the Korean Buddhist Tradition (  Tongbulayo or Interpenetrated Buddhism ) the Mound represented an egg and the berm represented the earth mothers womb. So when someone is buried they are returned to the earth in preparation for their future rebirth. The second explanation that originates from a different Buddhist Tradition suggests that the berm that surrounds the mound is the out stretched arms of Buddha and they are designed to welcome the dead into their next reality.

Only Buddhist graves are made this way in Korea, Christian graves in Korea are the same as Christian burials in the United States. The grave has no mound, or berm it is just flat like graves across the USA. The information I have supplied above came from my teacher, I have had no luck finding this subject online so I do dont have any links or articles that support what I have posted. However, my teacher is one of the most senior monks at the Temple my wife and I attend for contemplation and prayer, this gentleman is a little over 83 years old, and I have no reason to believe he would give me any information that wasn't completely accurate. 
 

 

[Will Due]

 

I'm gonna guess that it might have something to do with the ancient rituals involved in placating the supposed ghost of the deceased when it emerged, to leave the area of the grave in a certain direction away from home, that preceded the comparatively more recent rituals of Buddhism. The opening in the berm suggesting which way for the ghost to go.

Ghost Fear

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Will Do

[Grim Reaper 6]

16 minutes ago, Will Do said:

 

I'm gonna guess that it might have something to do with the ancient rituals involved in placating the supposed ghost of the deceased when it emerged, to leave the area of the grave in a certain direction away from home, that preceded the comparatively more recent rituals of Buddhism. The opening in the berm suggesting which way for the ghost to go.

 

 

 

Hey will, I hope all is well. You know Will, I have been practicing Buddhism for many years now and Buddhists don't believe in Ghosts! Reincarnation is a major part of the spiritual beliefs of Buddhists, and the burial practices I described are part of the Buddhist traditions going back many many hundreds of years, or possibly a thousand years. The description I gave in the OP, explains that the opening  is the representation of the opening of a women's womb. ( Earth Mothers Womb )

The meaning is simple actually, when we are born we come out of the womb, and when we die we are placed back into the womb of Mother Earth. The round shaped mound represents an egg within the womb, which is designed to signify rebirth or for Buddhists reincarnation. When a Buddhist dies the burial ritual is carried out by Buddhist Monks, if the family can afford it. After the burial, once a week for a period of 40 days members and friends of the deceased return to the grave and pray and give offerings. 

This part of the ritual is very important because it prepares the deceased for reincarnation, which according to Korean Buddhist tradition will occur approximately 40 days after the persons death. Then twice a year the deceased is given a ceremony by their their children as a way to honor the them. This occurs on the day the peoson died and during Chuseok which Is the Autumn Harvest Festiful which is held every year during the Autumn Lunar Equinox.

In South Korea calenders are based upon the Solar calendar as  used in the West, but they also include the Lunar Calendar days and the Lunar Calander is still used for many events in Korea. Such as birth days, which are always celebrated according to the Lunar calendar not the Solar calendar like they are in the Western world. 

Well will I hope this helps you understand, the Buddhist traditions of Birth, Death, and Rebirth.

[Piney]

I think the Kofuns and the Tombs and their Shaman-Keepers of Ryukyu have a common origin. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun 

https://www.ana.co.jp/en/gb/japan-travel-planner/miyazaki/0000005.html

Imperial Japan tried to erase Korean culture during the WWII Era to break all the connections but it's rather obvious that the Yayoi came from Korea. 

[Grim Reaper 6]

1 hour ago, Piney said:

I think the Kofuns and the Tombs and their Shaman-Keepers of Ryukyu have a common origin. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun

https://www.ana.co.jp/en/gb/japan-travel-planner/miyazaki/0000005.html

Imperial Japan tried to erase Korean culture during the WWII Era to break all the connections but it's rather obvious that the Yayoi came from Korea. 

The Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese have many common origins, both through genetics and cultures. in recent years through both genetic and lingual analyses it has been revealed that Han Chinese, Japanese and Korean populations have distinct genetic makeup and can be well distinguished based on either the genome wide data or a panel of ancestry informative markers (AIMs). Their genetic structure corresponds well to their geographical distributions, indicating geographical isolation played a critical role in driving population differentiation in East Asia. The most recent common ancestor of the three populations was dated back to 3000 ~ 3600 years ago. Our analyses also revealed substantial admixture within the three populations which occurred subsequent to initial splits, and distinct gene introgression from surrounding populations, of which the northern ancestral component is dominant. Genetic structure, divergence and admixture of Han Chinese, Japanese and Korean populations | Hereditas | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)

Even the base languages of the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese all started at the root. Buddhism and the Rise of Written Vernacular in East Asia. The Making of National Languages_0.pdf

 

[+Sherapy]

8 hours ago, Manwon Lender said:

@Sherapy Hello Everyone, I have been living in Korea since 2014 and during the Holidays I have always been a participant in how my wife's family Honors their dead father. Well during this ceremony first you do a ceremony at home, the next morning you go to the grave site and do a completely different ceremony, and during these visits to the grave site I began to wonder what the design of Korean Buddhists graves meant. Korean Graves have a mound surrounded by a berm, now this berm doesnt completely in circle the mound in the front of the grave the berm extends past the mound by approximately 4 feet. The opening at the front of Korean Buddhist graves will face one of two directions, North or West, and this opening in the berm is what designates the direction the grave is facing. 

Well I asked my relatives what the mound and the berm signified and they didn't know the answer. So the next time I went to our temple for some further education on the Dharma, I asked the Monk who has been teaching me. He told me there were two different explanations for the design of the Buddhist grave. First he explained that according to the teachings of the Korean Buddhist Tradition (  Tongbulayo or Interpenetrated Buddhism ) the Mound represented an egg and the berm represented the earth mothers womb. So when someone is buried they are returned to the earth in preparation for their future rebirth. The second explanation that originates from a different Buddhist Tradition suggests that the berm that surrounds the mound is the out stretched arms of Buddha and they are designed to welcome the dead into their next reality.

Only Buddhist graves are made this way in Korea, Christian graves in Korea are the same as Christian burials in the United States. The grave has no mound, or berm it is just flat like graves across the USA. The information I have supplied above came from my teacher, I have had no luck finding this subject online so I do dont have any links or articles that support what I have posted. However, my teacher is one of the most senior monks at the Temple my wife and I attend for contemplation and prayer, this gentleman is a little over 83 years old, and I have no reason to believe he would give me any information that wasn't completely accurate. 
 

 

Interesting, thank you for sharing. 

[Grim Reaper 6]

4 minutes ago, Sherapy said:

Interesting, thank you for sharing. 

Your welcome .I thought the concept may be interesting to you.

[+Hammerclaw]

Koreans traditionally buried the dead under mounds standing upright in coffins made from six planks of wood. These represent the four cardinal points on the compass plus a plank for heaven and the other for earth.  Wikipedia.

[XenoFish]

A pile of dirt for a corpse.

[+Sherapy]

2 minutes ago, Manwon Lender said:

Your welcome .I thought the concept may be interesting to you.

[Wistman]

A beautiful tradition Manwon.  Is there any marker naming the deceased?  Are family members buried near one another, traditionally?

[Grim Reaper 6]

2 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said:

Koreans traditionally buried the dead under mounds standing upright in coffins made from six planks of wood. These represent the four cardinal points on the compass plus a plank for heaven and the other for earth.  Wikipedia.

Thanks for adding that, it just goes to show you can learn something new everyday. I had no idea that the coffin was made or buried that way I have never been to a Korean Funeral . But, now a days it really becoming a mute point because the Government is currently  voting on making cremation mandatory.

Thanks Against for adding this information.

[Grim Reaper 6]

14 minutes ago, Wistman said:

A beautiful tradition Manwon.  Is there any marker naming the deceased?  Are family members buried near one another, traditionally?

Since the 1970s markers are traditionally used, they normally made from a Black Stone or Marble. They have public cemeteries, but maintain enough space for a family plot, unless the family member died together. However, for those who own their own land family plots are common place. 

Take Care my friend 

[+Hammerclaw]

8 hours ago, Xeno-Fish said:

A pile of dirt for a corpse.

Like most Asian and Amerindian cultures, the Koreans have a profound reverence for their ancestors.

[XenoFish]

8 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said:

Like most Asian and Amerindian cultures, the Koreans have a profound reverence for their ancestors.

Good for them.

[+Hammerclaw]

16 minutes ago, Xeno-Fish said:

Good for them.

Yes it is. Try not to resent it too much.

[XenoFish]

Just now, Hammerclaw said:

Yes it is. Try not to resent it too much.

No resentment at all. I think it's all for the living and it's pointless. Burn my corpse, throw me in a hole and forget about me. 

[+Hammerclaw]

5 minutes ago, Xeno-Fish said:

No resentment at all. I think it's all for the living and it's pointless. Burn my corpse, throw me in a hole and forget about me. 

Sounds good to me. All I want is to be cremated and my ashes spread in the Great Smoky Mountains. Mount Le Conte will make a great headstone. In any event, everything is for the living, everything--who else is there? 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Hammerclaw

[XenoFish]

If we're honest how many of us actually visit the graves of deceased loved ones? I don't. Eventually the memory of them will fade. Then be forgotten. No one will remember who any of us are as well. Time shall pass even further all that we did will be dust, ash, and rust. 

The only thing our ancestors did was offer a bit of dna to keep the species going. 

[rashore]

Ok, I've had to remove some commentary- folks, leave off with the poor attitudes and discussing each other please. Leave discussion to the OP topic. 

[Grim Reaper 6]

" Good Health is simply the slowest way a human being can die "

Author Unknown

A Buddhist Prayer for the Dead and Dying

 

Oh Buddhas and Bodhisattvas abiding in all directions,
Endowed with great compassion,
Endowed with foreknowledge,
Endowed with divine eye,
Endowed with love,
Affording protection to sentient beings,
Please come forth through the power of your great compassion,
Please accept these offerings, both actually presented and mentally created.

Oh Compassionate Ones, you who possess
The wisdom of understanding,
The love of compassion,
The power of doing divine deeds,
And of protecting in incomprehensible measure,
[He/she] is passing from this world to the next,
[He/she] is taking a great leap,
The light of this world has faded for [him/her],
[He/she] has entered solitude with their karmic forces,
[He/she] has gone into a vast silence,
[He/she] is borne away by the great ocean of birth and death ..…

Oh Compassionate Ones, protect [He/she] who is defenseless. Be to [him/her] like a mother and father.

Oh Compassionate Ones, let not the force of your compassion be weak, but aid them.

Let [He/she] not go into the miserable states of existence.

Forget not your ancient vows. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Manwon Lender

[Will Due]

 

“Your Buddha was much better than your Buddhism."

 

 

[Grim Reaper 6]

7 minutes ago, Will Do said:

 

“Your Buddha was much better than your Buddhism."

 

 

@Will Do

Will the difference between the Christian Organized Religion and the Buddhist Philosophy is very simple.

1) First Buddhists have no God, Buddha was a man, he was born and died. 

2) Buddhist accept all organized and philosophical spiritual beliefs.

3) The practice of Buddhism as a spiritual philosophy is a journey of self discovery and self control.

4) Buddhism is never forced on, or presented to others and will never be used as way to recruit initiate's. Only those who choose to follow the teaching of Buddha and ask questions concerning it will be given answers.

5) All that is celestial and universal is governed by the natural law of Karma, and after a individuals death Karma will affect the form and the time of the individuals reincarnated or rebirth.

6) Enlightenment - Nirvana is the ultimate goal all Buddhist try to achieve it is the reward that is given to end the cycle of misery that all suffer here on Earth.

7) Buddha's teachings are a path that is  open to all, no one who chooses to follow Buddha's teaching will ever be turned away. There is no crime or way of life that can not be atoned for. Through mental discipline, study, kindness, and love for your fellow beings all can achieve an enlightened way of life that will stop the endless cycle of pain( Reincarnations ) all are suffer.

8) The meaning of Nirvana or Enlightenment is the discovery of the true meaning of life and the unseen true purpose of human existence.

Peace Will

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Manwon Lender
Spelling corrections

[Will Due]

 

It's all good Manwon.

 

"That which the enlightened and reflective human imagination of spiritual teaching and leading wholeheartedly and unselfishly wants to do and be, becomes measurably creative in accordance with the degree of mortal dedication to the divine doing of the Father’s will."

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Will Do

[Grim Reaper 6]

7 hours ago, Will Do said:

 

It's all good Manwon.

 

"That which the enlightened and reflective human imagination of spiritual teaching and leading wholeheartedly and unselfishly wants to do and be, becomes measurably creative in accordance with the degree of mortal dedication to the divine doing of the Father’s will."

 

 

 

Will, I see the heart of a Buddhist beating in your chest, and I believe you also know it's true!

Peace Will