Last weekend I went on a Temple Stay.
You stay at a temple... get it?
I went with
Adventure Korea, an organization that puts on all kinds of events for foreigners in Korea.
We left early Saturday morning.
Out first stop was to a rice farm. The grower showed us how to harvest rice by hand. Then he brought out his combine and let us drive it. Brave man.
After the rice farm, we made our way to Geumsana Temple in Jeollabuk-do.
I was interested in a chance to better understand Buddhist culture. I'm attracted to the peacefulness and meditation of the religion. And I also needed an escape from Seoul.
The temple grounds consist of living quarters, numerous temples a dinning hall and trails that lead into the surrounding mountains.
We wore traditional clothes during our 2-day stay.
Strutting it like a monk.
We had a small introduction, walked around the grounds, then had a simple dinner of tofu, rice and vegetables.
After dinner, we took part in hitting-of-the-gong ceremony (I can't remember the official name). It is performed every evening before prayer/meditation.
After prayer/meditation we made lotus lanterns.
We attached a wish/prayer to our lantern and had a ceremonial walk around the grounds with our lit lantern.
Later, we had tea and rice cakes.
After our tea and cakes were consumed, we were told of a 3:30 AM bowing ceremony we could take part in. Well, might as well.
So, we hit the hay at 9 that night and drearily awoke to the sound of our alarms at 3:30 in the morning.
We went to temple and had a meditation/prayer hour.
Then, around 4:30 AM we went to the hall and performed 180 bows.
I'll try to explain the Buddhist bow...
You begin by standing at the edge of your mat with your hands folded together, pointing to the sky.
In Buddhism, one hand represents Buddha and the other represents yourself. When both hands are together it means that you and Buddha are one in spirit.
So, you're at your mat with your hands together.
You bend your legs to aid your knees to the mat. Then, you bring your upper body to the mat and place your forehead onto the mat. You place your hands on either side of your head with palms facing down. Then, your turn your palms to face up, bring them above your ear then back down to the mat, facing down. Bring your upper body up from the mat, fold your hangs together again, then pop back up onto your toes (all while not using your hands for support).
That was one.
We did 180.
Each bow represents the 180 sins we have as humans.
While you do each bow you are supposed to clear your mind of negativity and feel the sins leave your body. I really tried to do this. But by 50 all I could feel was the pain in my thighs. Sigh...
I did all 180, though. Go me.
At 5:30 AM we had a ceremonial breakfast. The monks have a traditional way of eating breakfast, so that's what we did. While you eat you are not allowed to show your mouth. As a sign of respect, you must bring the bowl to your face in order to cover your mouth while eating.
Breakfast was a simple meal of rice, vegetables and soup.
After breakfast we had a couple hours of free time. I slept.
By late morning we were given 180 beads and a string. We were told to find a temple and for each bead we were to bow and say a prayer.
Another 180 bows. Nailed it.
After our bead meditation/prayer we had a Q&A session with the monk then, headed on home.
My Temple Stay experience was insightful.
There are aspects of Buddhism-the internalization, connectivity and simplicity- that I find really compelling and want to implement into my life.
Here is a brief explanation of Buddhism, for all those who want to know more:
One of the world's great religions, Buddhism began in India about 2500 years ago. It grew and spread, and today there are more than 350 million Buddhists, mainly in Asia. All Buddhists follow the teaching of Buddha, a name which means "Enlightened One". Buddha himself was born in 563 BCE. He was originally called Siddhartha Guatama,. He was a wealthy prince who became horrified at the suffering of the world. He left his wealth and family, and began to meditate. After three years he achieved enlightenment, or complete understanding, became a monk, and travelled extensively to pass his ideas on to others.
Buddhists believe that everyone is reborn after their old body has died. The quality of their new life depends on their karma. Karma is the total of all the good and bad deeds they did in the life they have just left. Buddhists aim to achieve absolute peace- a state they call nirvana. Buddha taught that nirvana could be achieved by following the Eightfold Path: rightness of views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, concentration, mindfulness, and effort.
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