On a beautiful Saturday morning in Korea, I made my way to Seoul to join Adventure Korea on another trip. Instead of the exhilaration of white water rafting and bungee jumping, this trip was time for me to free my mind and learn about something I've always been curious about. We arrived at Sudeoksa for our temple stay around 12:30pm and time to explore the temple before the program started. Sudeoksa, located in Chungcheongnam Province, is absolutely stunning. I felt one with nature immediately.
At 2pm, we had were given our temple clothing and met the nun that would be with us for the program (Sudeoksa is a predominantly female temple). Then we were given a bag with string and beads to make a necklace. We were shown how to bow properly and every time we bowed, we placed a bead on the string. We repeated this until we had performed 108 bows, and 108 beads were on the necklace. My legs were pretty sore the next day! Then we had a cafeteria style dinner- all vegetarian! The nun told us that Buddhists don't eat meat because when animals die, the pain and suffering they felt will carry on. If the meat is ingested, this negative energy will continue on to the consumer.
Next, we listened to some hypnotic chanting, drumming, and bowed in a 1,000 year old building.
That night we made lotus flower lanterns. The lotus flowers are significant in Buddhism because they grow from dirty, muddy water, yet they are very vibrant and beautiful. We put flashlights in our paper lanterns and walked around outside in the dark before meditating under the moonlight. We went to bed around 9:30pm to prepare for a 3am wake-up call.
At 3:30am we bowed in the 1,00 year old building again and I felt enveloped by the monks' chanting. Then we stretched, did breathing exercises, and meditated before the big ceremonial breakfast. This meal was very spiritual and interesting. We said some chants before eating, had to eat in silence, and the food had to be placed in certain bowls. We also had to eat every bit of food. We cleaned our bowls with only a few cups of water. The nun told us a story of the "Hungry Ghosts" with necks as thin as needles who can only eat the water we rinse our bowls with. So we must eat every bit so the water these ghosts drink will be clean.
After breakfast we hiked up Mt. Deoksoong and saw some amazing views of the city below. While hiking, we collected some fragrant leaves for the "Fallen Leaf Tea Ceremony."
Then it was time for lunch and to go home!
I can't emphasize enough what an eye opening experience this was. Buddhist traditions are truly unique and seem like something everyone should strive for. I recommend anyone and everyone to do a temple stay in Korea, and Adventure Korea was very organized and that made the trip much better. I feel so great and refreshed after this weekend. My only regret is that I didn't do a temple stay in Korean when I first arrived. I learned so much and I would have loved to bow at the other Buddhist temples I have visited in Korea.
Well, this was definitely a highlight to my two years in Korea. I will never forget this experience!
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