it is very true, @slowwalker, that things that are close to home and familiar are often taken for granted or overlooked.

You went to see a Buddhist statue and discovered instead a war memorial.

Korea is a small country that has sacrificed so much. When people talk about war, they list casualties, but when you stop to visit the places where killings occurred, you see only tragedy.

Buddha condemned killing or harming any living being but we haven't progressed far in the practice of mindfulness.

The loss of even one life should be a horror, let alone the loss of thousands.

I don't know if the majority of humanity will ever rise to the standard of respect for life, but I do know that hatred and prejudice distort peoples' minds and prevent them from seeing the truth.

As one poet said, human kind cannot bear very much reality.

A sad but profound meditation today, my friend.