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    Bicheon – Flying Heavenly Deities: 비천

    Bicheon Introduction One of the more common figures you’ll see floating around Korean Buddhist temples and hermitages are Bicheon. These angelic figures can pretty much appear on any and all surfaces at a Korean Buddhist temple like a Brahma Bell, a pagoda, and in and around temple shrine halls. So what do these popular figures represent? And why do they appear at Korean Buddhist temples and hermitages? History of Bicheon These angelic figures first appeared in India. And they are known as Apsaras. In Sanskrit, the word “Apsaras” means “going in the waters” or “between the waters of the clouds.” Apsaras are feminine shape-shifting spirits of the waters or clouds.…