Spiral motifs, eternal lifecycles and Buddha

Weathered temple door
The motif of circle, of yin and yang, spirals, beginning and end in eternal repeated cycles are somehow very reassuring to me in an age where everything seems to have a cold, hard expiry date. Although I couldn't really lay claim to calling myself a practicing Buddhist, the underlying philosophy of Eastern Buddhism is very consoling for someone brought up on a steady diet of Christian notions such as sin, guilt and redemption.
I was at my local dentist just last week, bracing against the pain and the realization that the dentist's assistant was trying most vehemently to get me to reconvert back to Christianity. I guess the wads of cotton in my mouth were a convenient time for her to launch into her spiel because I could hardly come up with a counterargument under those conditions. I certainly got an ear full, and paid for the privilege!
Fascinating to think that a once profoundly Buddhist nation of people could within thirty or fourty years switch to Christianity, to the extent that around 35% of Koreans are now practicing Christians. Seoul's nightscape is alive with the neon glow of church crosses, while the remote Buddhist temples hidden away in the mountain retreats barely rate a mention in public life.