By Antonia Blumberg,
The Huffington Post Jul 18, 2014
Seoul, South Korea -- In case you needed any more reason to
believe that nuns are the coolest people (and this, this and this didn't
convince you) then look no further. South Korea has some amazing Buddhist nuns
ready to win your heart -- and they can rap like no one's business.
More than 300 nuns and
monks convened in a Seoul temple on Thursday to participate in a prayer
competition hosted by the Jogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist organization.
While most recited traditional prayers, several brave nuns took to the stage
with rap and hip hop performances.
A group of three nuns
performed a variation on the classic Heart Sutra, beating on traditional drums
and rapping their own lyrics: "Great wisdom, perfect wisdom. Buddha's
teachings that show you the way!"
One nun, Hye-Kang, told
AFP that the alternative performance was aimed at attracting a more youthful
following to Buddhism. "I wanted more young people to take an interest in
Buddhism and the message of its prayers," she said.
A senior member of the
Jogye Order and one of the judges of Thursday's event, Venerable Yin-Mook,
agreed with Hye-Kang's sentiments. "We wanted to let people, especially
young people and children, know Yumbul (Buddhist prayers) can be more
interesting and easier to practice than they think," he told AFP.
A prize of three million
won, or roughly $2,900, was at stake for Thursday's competition.
The rapping nuns of the
Jogye Order may have taken inspiration from an Italian nun rap group dubbed
'Sister Act' in the late 1990s. These Catholic nuns similarly used rap music to
bridge the misconceptions often projected upon them by people biased against
nuns. Group leader Sister Alessandra told The Guardian in 1999:
"It is true that we
are nuns but [rapping] is a more modern and different way of bringing the word
of the Lord to young people. It isn't often easy."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSqqAPC8MrM
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