Temple Stay

*video of our temple stay (click here) or go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmOjnA4aak&feature=youtu.be


Last weekend I went on a Temple Stay tour.  A week before, there was a flyer in my Korean class that was passed around advertising a temple stay tour free for foreigners.  I am a HUGE sucker for free things, so I and a few of my classmates signed up.  It turned out there was limited space, so by some stroke of luck me and one other classmates (from Malaysia) got to go.

(fam tour means free apparently...)

We left from the Hana Tour office early Saturday morning at 7.  The only person I knew on the tour was my classmate, Edwin.  There were other students from Sogang's Korean Language School, but as we are in different classes and different levels, I hadn't met any of them.  There were also Korean language students from Korea University and Konkuk University.  In total, there were 19 foreigners and 10 Koreans, all staff, I think.  For some reason, they had down on their list that I was from Russia?... lol! There were students from the US, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Malaysia, France, Sweden and China.  The bus ride was about 2 hours to the temple, but we made a few stops along the way to see other sites.

We first stopped at ChoJung, which is famous for its natural sparking water.  We all tried some straight out of the fountain and wandered around a bit.  Then we had lunch - they served us bulgogi (korean style bbq beef) because once at the temple, there would be no more meat.  After lunch we made one more stop at some famous bakery that was featured in a Korean drama "Bread, Love, and Dreams" (제빵왕 김탁구).   I'd never heard of it before, but... it was cool anyhow.  The town is full of handpainted murals, which was fun to see ^^

my classmate, Edwin

After the bread shop, we headed to the Sudeoksa Temple (수덕사) near the town of Yaesan.  We got there, checked in  and received a set of clothes to put on.  Since it was cold, most people kept their normal clothes on and wore the temple stays overtop.  

entrance to the temple

A woman gave us a tour of the temple and explained the basics.  We also met the monk that was going to be with us on and off for our two day stay.  He was really nice!!!  
Since we were basically guinea pigs for Hana Tour, they had a video camera man and two others taking photos, almost constantly.  It really wasn't too annoying though. And they posted them on facebook afterwards, so I got some sweet pictures out of it~ 
Almost all of the participants were Korean langague students but our levels ranged from 1-6.  So, there was also an interpreter who interpreted most things into English.   


There are three times that buddhist monks (all? I don't know, but at least Korean Buddhist monks) believe there should be absolutely no talking: eating/meal time, while in the bathroom, and while praying.  
The monk (스님) taught us how to ring the dharma bell.  This bell is struck 28 times in the morning and 33 times in the evening.  There is also a big drum, a gong, and a large wooden fish that is played during this time by the monks as well.  I was in the morning group, so I got to ring the bell 5 times at 3 am!!! 

the bell I run at 3 am~

Our first evening, after dinner, we watched the monks play the drums, gong and wooden fish, and then those who were in the evening group went to hit the dharma bell and those who were in the morning group went straight into one of the temples for chanting and prayer.  

Monk teaching us how to ring the bell

Afterwards, we did 108 prostrations, aka 108 bows and made our own prayer bead necklaces.  So, for each bow we did, we were to add one bead.  It was actually less difficult than I initially thought.  I'd say only the last 10 bows or so seemed a bit taxing~  It was really cool to come out with a tangible object though!  

We were supposed to have lights out around 9, when the monks do, but we were a bit behind schedule, so I think it was more like 9:30 or 10~  All the Sogang girls (7 in total) shared a room and the floor was so hot I couldn't fall asleep!!!... Koreans generally sleep on the floor and the heating system is all in the floor (called ondol).   


Anyhow, getting up at 3 in the morning wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to bed. I was out ringing the bell by 3:15~  After the belling, we went and joined the others in the 703 year old temple for chanting and prayer (we just followed the actions and obviously did not participate in the chanting^^)  The temple we were in was 703 years old!!!  It was a really neat experience - the place was lit by candles and there were murals of buddha all around the room.  

foreigners~

monks~

After the service ended and we went outside, we found that it had snowed about an inch or so and everything was covered in pristine untouched snow~  We then walked in a circle around a stone structure three times.  The meaning or significance was lost to me... But it was cool to see the stars so clearly~  

After chanting, we did meditation (that was probably around 4 am...)  I couldn't tell if I was super super relaxed or half asleep...  Here is a picture of the monk fixing my posture~ haha!

We had a traditional buddhist breakfast.  The monks are strictly vegetarian and do not believe in wasting.  We spent nearly an hour learning the steps to the meal before we actually served and ate.  We each received 4 bowls stacked with a set of chopsticks and a spoon, grey linen cloth, and white towel.  We weren't supposed to make any noise, so when taking your bowls out, you need to grab them by your thumbs and lift them out.  Since you can't talk, when you have enough, instead of saying stop or something, you wiggle your bowl.  In addition, the eating process includes cleaning your bowl with a radish, which you later eat and rinsing your bow and drinking the water!

  

cleaning my dishes after the meal

cleaning his bowl with the radish

not supposed to see your mouth when eating, so you stick your face into the bowl

I somehow got to sit right next the monk, which was a bit nerve racking... But the food was delicious!  The monks clean their bowls so well, I don't know if they ever actually wash them. I doubt it.  

Later, we got a chance to try some traditional style temple painting.  I was really really impressed by how well everyones turned out.  We ate roasted sweet potatoes for a snack and then had a wrap up session.  

we put in a $10 donation and got a roof tile to decorate - they use these when the roof needs repairing

monk in front of the 703 year temple waving goodbye to us

On our way back to Seoul, we stopped at some spa, which is where one of the scenes from "Secret Garden" a really popular drama was filmed. Of course, I haven't seen it...  But in any case it was cool.  We went to the 목욕탕 aka public bath house aka no clothes. lol! It was really fun and relaxing though.  There was a hot tub of "coffee water" and "green tea" water etc.  


The weekend was a really cool experience. I feel I really got to stretch my mind a bit and got a completely new experience.  During our stay at the temple, I really felt that all of what the monks did was with purpose.  I think if I try to put more purpose into all of my actions and think before I do, I could be way more productive. ^^