Shortly after arriving in Korea, I knew I wanted to experience a Temple Stay. Luckily, a couple temples offer English programs for foreigners. After a little bit of research, I settled on Golgulsa Temple. It was 5 or so hours away, but being the only cave temple in Korea and housing the oldest Buddha carving in the country, I thought it just might be worth the bus ride.
When we got off the bus, we had to walk a ways to the temple grounds. Hiking along the country roads made me realize how strikingly beautiful the outskirts of town can be. Farmers planting rice, children playing chicken on a bridge, and various farm animals lounging in what little shade they could find.
I was a little nervous at first, walking up to the temple gate. I only knew that monks woke up before the sun did, and that they bowed a ridiculous amount of times everyday. Could I live up to this challenge? Would my knees give out mid bow? Will I say "shit" to a monk on accident? Will a lightning bolt strike me down half way through a buddhist chant because I'm not worthy? Is there any chocolate at a temple? My mind raced.
We were given keys to our own seperate rooms, no gender mixing obviously. We suited up in our monk pants and found our way to the archery field. We were greeted by a friendly junior-monk and shown the traditional form of Korean archery. It was a lot harder to bend the bow than I thought, but I actually managed to hit the target board a couple times. My aim was terrible, but my shooting was pretty good.
Next we headed to the temple to do some community work. Everyday, the monks do an hour or so of community work. Their living is self sustainable, so everyone is responsible for doing their part. We moved heavy tiles up a hill. The tiles are used for roofs and fences. Teamwork!
We had lots of time to explore the caves, see the Buddha, and wander the grounds. It was so peaceful that it almost made me crazy. I was hoping to get...you know...zen? But it didn't work out that way. I was too nervous I was going to do something criminal in front of a monk, like show a knee cap or something. So, we climbed around the rocks and took lots of pictures.
There were 2 dogs that wandered the temple freely. Apparently, the dogs are considered holy. They both go to the 4am chanting everyday, on their own. They seemed pretty chill. And hey, monks don't eat meat, so the temple is probably the safest place for them in the whole country.
We went to our evening chanting service. Men and women are seperated when chanting, eating, sleeping, pretty much everything. The way that the monks bow and the way that they chant is pretty amazing. It is enough to put you in a trance. Afterwards, we practiced meditation. I think it is almost impossible to clear my mind, but it was probably the most quiet room I've ever experienced even though it was filled with people.
After "finding myself" we practiced Sunmudo. It's a form of martial arts that was founded in Golgulsa. I felt like an idiot. Hopping around with my giant pants on, punching the air, and realizing these old men could lift their legs much higher than I could.
Eating at the temple was interesting. There is a no-waste policy, so everything you put on your plate must be eaten. I was scared of this at first, so I only took a little bit of food. After tasting all the vegetables, I was surprised by how delicious they were and got seconds. One traditional meal we got to experience is called Barugongyang. It is a complex system of eating food that permits no waste. After cleaning my bowl with water given by a monk, I had to drink the water that contained little bits of my food. So...picture eating dinner, washing your dishes, and drinking the water used to clean those dishes. Yeah...not appetizing, but in the end, there was absolutely no waste.
Lights out at the temple is 10pm and I was thankful for it. I was exhausted. However, the anticipation of the monks wake up call kept me on the edge of sleep all night. Thankfully B called and woke me up minutes before the monk came roaming the halls, banging on a wooden block and chanting loudly into our windows. I could only imagine waking up in the dark to those sounds. Don't want to wet the monk beds...
We climbed to the top temple room for morning chanting. It was beautiful. The temples are always awe inspiring. The details are intricate and my eyes are always busy studying the shrines and different offerings. We bowed a bunch and I let the chanting zone me out. The birds were chirping and the sun was rising at the top of our little mountain...this wasn't so bad.
There was an optional excursion to different sites around the town, but we decided to explore on our own instead. We pretty much got lost and enjoyed the scenery. We walked through a small farm village and took advantage of our camera.
Spending the night at the temple was a great experience that I highly recommend to other foreigners travelling through. It gave me a new appreciation for the Buddhist monks and the religious culture in general. Although I am not a Buddhist, I find that I can agree with the way that they value life and the gifts around us.
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. " - Buddha
When we got off the bus, we had to walk a ways to the temple grounds. Hiking along the country roads made me realize how strikingly beautiful the outskirts of town can be. Farmers planting rice, children playing chicken on a bridge, and various farm animals lounging in what little shade they could find.
I was a little nervous at first, walking up to the temple gate. I only knew that monks woke up before the sun did, and that they bowed a ridiculous amount of times everyday. Could I live up to this challenge? Would my knees give out mid bow? Will I say "shit" to a monk on accident? Will a lightning bolt strike me down half way through a buddhist chant because I'm not worthy? Is there any chocolate at a temple? My mind raced.
We were given keys to our own seperate rooms, no gender mixing obviously. We suited up in our monk pants and found our way to the archery field. We were greeted by a friendly junior-monk and shown the traditional form of Korean archery. It was a lot harder to bend the bow than I thought, but I actually managed to hit the target board a couple times. My aim was terrible, but my shooting was pretty good.
Next we headed to the temple to do some community work. Everyday, the monks do an hour or so of community work. Their living is self sustainable, so everyone is responsible for doing their part. We moved heavy tiles up a hill. The tiles are used for roofs and fences. Teamwork!
We had lots of time to explore the caves, see the Buddha, and wander the grounds. It was so peaceful that it almost made me crazy. I was hoping to get...you know...zen? But it didn't work out that way. I was too nervous I was going to do something criminal in front of a monk, like show a knee cap or something. So, we climbed around the rocks and took lots of pictures.
There were 2 dogs that wandered the temple freely. Apparently, the dogs are considered holy. They both go to the 4am chanting everyday, on their own. They seemed pretty chill. And hey, monks don't eat meat, so the temple is probably the safest place for them in the whole country.
We went to our evening chanting service. Men and women are seperated when chanting, eating, sleeping, pretty much everything. The way that the monks bow and the way that they chant is pretty amazing. It is enough to put you in a trance. Afterwards, we practiced meditation. I think it is almost impossible to clear my mind, but it was probably the most quiet room I've ever experienced even though it was filled with people.
After "finding myself" we practiced Sunmudo. It's a form of martial arts that was founded in Golgulsa. I felt like an idiot. Hopping around with my giant pants on, punching the air, and realizing these old men could lift their legs much higher than I could.
Eating at the temple was interesting. There is a no-waste policy, so everything you put on your plate must be eaten. I was scared of this at first, so I only took a little bit of food. After tasting all the vegetables, I was surprised by how delicious they were and got seconds. One traditional meal we got to experience is called Barugongyang. It is a complex system of eating food that permits no waste. After cleaning my bowl with water given by a monk, I had to drink the water that contained little bits of my food. So...picture eating dinner, washing your dishes, and drinking the water used to clean those dishes. Yeah...not appetizing, but in the end, there was absolutely no waste.
Lights out at the temple is 10pm and I was thankful for it. I was exhausted. However, the anticipation of the monks wake up call kept me on the edge of sleep all night. Thankfully B called and woke me up minutes before the monk came roaming the halls, banging on a wooden block and chanting loudly into our windows. I could only imagine waking up in the dark to those sounds. Don't want to wet the monk beds...
We climbed to the top temple room for morning chanting. It was beautiful. The temples are always awe inspiring. The details are intricate and my eyes are always busy studying the shrines and different offerings. We bowed a bunch and I let the chanting zone me out. The birds were chirping and the sun was rising at the top of our little mountain...this wasn't so bad.
There was an optional excursion to different sites around the town, but we decided to explore on our own instead. We pretty much got lost and enjoyed the scenery. We walked through a small farm village and took advantage of our camera.
Spending the night at the temple was a great experience that I highly recommend to other foreigners travelling through. It gave me a new appreciation for the Buddhist monks and the religious culture in general. Although I am not a Buddhist, I find that I can agree with the way that they value life and the gifts around us.
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him. " - Buddha
I couldn't agree more. - C
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