At the Shrine of 1,000 Helping Hands, we look to bring more joy to this world and all the realms through a practice based in semi-traditional mugyo. We preserve and pass down many of the traditional ways, while making adaptations as needed for the changing times that bring about unique needs. Our willingness to adapt more than hyper-traditional lineages, while maintaining more of the original traditions than a neo-traditional lineage is what makes us semi-traditional.

The name of the shrine came about through months of prayer and intentional thought. In Korean hangul the shrine is written 천아동 신당 and is primarily written in hanja/Sino-Korean as 天兒童神堂. The secondary hanja is 千兒童神堂. Though spelled differently in hanja, these two hanja versions of the shrine name are pronounced the same and written the same in hangul, and serve to express a double meaning. The primary name means “Shrine of the Celestial Children” while the secondary name means “Shrine of the 1,000 Children.” Fitting titles for a shrine whose tiny and powerful child gods bring so much joy, blessings and protection to the people they help.

In English, Shrine of 1,000 Helping Hands serves as a translation of the shrine’s Korean name and its reference to the many child gods present in the pantheon. It also makes reference to the 1,000 arms of Guan Shi Yin that compassionately come to the aid of many. Known as Guanyin to most, this beloved bodhisattva resides at the Shrine of 1,000 Helping Hands as well, alongside many of the other gods in the Baby Mudang’s pantheon who make it possible for many to be helped.