Temple Stay in Seoul

Life is the sum of experiences you have, not the things you buy. Same old-same old resorts, beaches and boats finally just shallow you out. What about the internal landscape. Can it compete with mountains and rivers and ice flows? Are you missing the balance? Well, if the answer is even a maybe, keep reading!

Templestay offers you the unique experience of living the life of a Buddhist monk for just a few days. One absolutely beautiful Buddhist temple in Seoul, the Jogyesa Temple, welcomes everyone, not just Buddhists or Buddhist practitioners, but folks like us with just a hint of a worry that as Patty Page said,"Is this all there is?". When you visit the Seoul's Jogyesa temple, a must do on the tourist route, check out the Templestay Information Center. It is easy to find the temple. Take Subway No. 1 Line and Exit No. 2 (Jonggak Station). It is located very close to the Insadong area, a very popular tourist destination for those interested in Korean traditional culture and crafts.

When you go to the Templestay Information Center, nip upstairs and try the authentic temple cuisine at the Balwoogongyang restaurant on the fifth floor. Ven. Daeahn, a monk who is studying for a master's degree in nutrition at Dongguk University, chooses the best ingredients and does not use artificial flavours. Aside from starting this restaurant, Daeahn sunim (monk) has also published books such as Dieting with Korean Temple Cuisine, Table Meditation, and A Year Around Menu with Korean Temple Cuisine. So even if you don't stay, you can take away something a bit unusual.

There are many activities you can do during a templestay. Foremost is learning about Buddhism and participating in traditional Buddhist practices. No one is interested in converting you to anything other than helping you look a bit better inside yourself. You can learn some traditional Korean Buddhist crafts such as making lotus lanterns, prayer beads, Buddhist painting and in some cases, Buddhist martial arts. You have a taste of what it is to live in silence with a community sharing its life and work. Beyond these, you can experience relaxation and going into your own inner self to re-sift the treasury of experience.

Just to give you an idea of what to expect.

First Day
14:00 Arrival/Orientation
16:00 Look around temple grounds
17:00 Dinner
18:00 Evening chanting services
19:00 Specialized programs/Free time
Specialized programs include Da-do (Tea Ceremony), Lotus Lantern Making, Tak-bon (Rubbed painting), Copying Sutra, or Seon
Martial Arts. These programs can differ from temple to temple.
21:00 Sleep

Second Day
4:00 Morning Chanting Services
5:00 Morning Walk in the Forest/Seon Meditation
6:00 Breakfast
7:00 Communal Work Period
8:00 Tea and Conversation with a Monk
9:00 Specialized Programs/Free Time
11:30 Lunch
13:00 Closing Ceremony

Templestay is not difficult at all. It is very relaxing and it only really requires communing with your own self and letting your thinking be your guide when you go about temple life. The monks are there to guide you and the information center will take care of orienting you prior to your stay. People in the temple are also very understanding of those who come for the first time and are not aware of what is expected. Just observe and become more mindful and remember that good manners are almost universal.

In most temples, you sleep 2 or 3 to a room with male and female separated. All the meals are vegetarian and you are expected to wake up at around 3:45 for the morning chant. Usually, lights are off by 9:30p.m. You will be given clothes like that of the monks so you become part of the community and not stand out. The dove grey is very relaxing too.

You will be given a tour of the temple on your first day and dinner and meditation are often announced by the bell or the wooden stick ( clacked together, not swatted on you). Usually, you will have tea with a monk, a walking meditation to a local shrine and some guided meditation with a monk as well. This could vary depending on the temple and its resources. Nothing is pushed. Conversion is not an objective in this path.

Here's a story from the book, "The Sound of Water, The Sound of Wind", by Zen Master Bopjong and translated by Brian Barry. Zen Master Bopjong told of a story he heard from his own teacher, Zen Master Hyobong. While still a very young monk, someone told him about a hermitage high up in the mountains. Very few people went to this place so the monks go up there in the summer to have their retreat. Before the snow falls, the monk would go down so as not to be trapped there in the winter. But before his departure, he would go down to the village to collect food offerings so he could replenish the food stock in the hermitage, getting it ready for the next occupant. Each time a monk goes up there, there are traces of occupancy but food looks like it has never been touched as each one silently replenishes the stock. It became a legend called Silent Promise.