A Buddhist monk has drawn international attention after South Korea won landmark Olympic snowboard medals, capping decades of his support for young athletes in a sport long unpopular at home.
Venerable Hosan, head monk of Bongsunsa Temple and himself a rider, launched a youth competition more than 20 years ago whose alumni bagged three Olympic snowboard medals this month in Italy — including South Korea’s first-ever gold in the sport.
All three medalists, Choi Ga-on, Kim Sang-kyum and Yu Seung-eun, are “Dharma Kids,” having competed at the Dharma Snowboard Competition which the monk founded, his temple confirmed.
Photo: AP
“Venerable Hosan is obviously over the moon. He’s been praying for the athletes,” Bongsunsa Temple deputy manager Lee Kyung-min said.
“At the same time, he feels a little uneasy that only the medal winners are getting the spotlight” and not other athletes who competed, he added.
Venerable Hosan declined to speak to Agence France-Presse, citing his duties and pre-arranged prayer schedule.
The monk, in his 60s, was first introduced to the sport in 1995, when he was invited by a ski resort to pray for its safety.
He spoke to young riders there, who told him they loved snowboarding for the freedom it gave them — unlike skiing, they could move in any direction, on the snow and in the air — which he saw as reflecting Buddhism’s ideal of true freedom.
After learning that many young athletes were struggling to cover training costs — some were forced to take part-time jobs — Venerable Hosan launched the competition which gave prize money, and later his Buddhist colleagues offered their support.
Snowboarding has long failed to gain popularity in South Korea, but he pressed ahead with the competition, which eventually became a key platform for aspiring snowboarders.
Lee Sang-ho, who won South Korea’s first Olympic snowboarding medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, also competed in the monk’s event — adding to a line of “Dharma Kids.”
“For the Buddhist community, it is deeply moving for us to see people we witnessed as kids become national team members and even win Olympic medals,” Lee Kyung-min said. “It’s meaningful that our faith has stood by children chasing dreams that can be hard to realize in our society.”
He said medalists Kim and Yu often spend time with the monk at the temple when they are not training, engaging in Buddhist practices such as meditation and 108 prostrations.
“There is a Buddhist saying that the lotus blooms from the mud,” Lee said. “In a sport once seen as unpopular and overlooked, it feels as if a lotus has truly blossomed.”
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