In the interests of centralizing all of my blogs so far, here is something I posted on Facebook long ago describing an experience I had soon after I came to Korea.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Today was an amazing day. Erik, Lena, and I went to Beomeosa Buddhist temple today, located in the mountains just north of Busan. The temple itself is amazing. There are tons of shrines and pagodas covered in intricate woodwork and paintings including wooden dragons and beautiful colors. There are three gateways into the temple, one of which houses the four temple guardians, which are huge intricately painted statues of angry looking men holding things like swords, fire, and a guitar. The scenery and the temple itself are amazing – so beautiful and serene. There are ancient stone statues everywhere, and people praying in all of the shrines.
Monks dot the landscape, praying, walking around, or talking with visitors. They typically wear (from what I saw) a simple but beautiful gray shirt and pants, unless lecturing, when they drape a (yet again simple but beautiful) red cloth around them. Of course, they all have shaved heads, and what seems to be a dignified yet friendly disposition.
After being shown around the temple by a volunteer tour guide, we continued on our hike up the mountain. After hiking for about ten minutes, we came across a temple nestled in the woods, and decided to take a look. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly monk named (Venerable) Sung Ta, and began to talk with him. He told us that he was a Buddhist monk and artist, and that he would like to give us one of his paintings. He then led us across the temple yard, down an ancient stone stairway, and over to his home. He lived in a modest room in a rock building built into the side of the mountain. Inside was an area with a mat for meditating, his area with a bed mat and blankets for sleeping on the floor, a desk area for painting, and an area with two small floor tables for dining. The desk area was littered with paper and charcoal for his paintings, and the dining area was scattered with teapots and potted plants.
He sat us down for tea and talked to us about the health benefits of green tea and the mountain spring water he made it with, then proceeded to make and pour the tea, and show us how to drink in properly (holding it first with the right hand, and supporting it with the left hand, drinking with small slow sips). He explained that the tea is taken three cups in a row, while quieting the mind and meditating. Meanwhile he insisted on giving us numerous snacks like sweet wafer pastries and peanuts while we drank what had to be the best green tea I’ve ever had. He told us a bit about Buddhism, and even taught us how to meditate Buddhist-style, banging bamboo sticks and all. After a surprise cup of coffee, and more sweets, he proceeded to paint us each a picture of the Buddha to carry with us for luck.
After exchanging contact information, he led us into the shrine and taught us how to enter correctly, along with the required bows for entering a shrine of the Buddha. (One small bow, and three head-to-floor bows with palms facing upward, followed by another small bow). After letting us light incense in the shrine for our families, he took us up a winding stone staircase to a small stone shrine built against the mountain. Inside were numerous statues of the Buddha, burning candles, and a pool of natural spring water pouring right out of the mountain. Sung Ta told us this was a Dragon Shrine, and that the water was very good for our health, and offered us a drink from the pool. Then he led us back down to the main shrine, and invited us to a meeting for the newest temple members that was about to start.
At the meeting, we sat on pillows on the floor, followed along with the bows of the temple members (normal practitioners of Buddhism – men, women, and children), and listened to them chant in Korean while gazing up at the intricate wood carvings that covered the walls, and the three large golden statues of Buddha and two of his disciples. After about twenty minutes of chanting and a short stint of meditation, Sung Ta appeared himself, introduced us to the worshippers, and gave a sermon (in Korean). Apparently, the main theme was that if bad things happen to you in this life, it is because of bad things that you did in your previous life. If you have a good life, it is because you were good in your previous life. Next, another man (the girl sitting next to me kindly translated the gist of his message) spoke about things that a Buddhist should strive for, such as enlightenment, mercy on all creatures, being a good person and doing the right thing, and coming back to a pure and simple state of mind (the Buddha nature).
After the meeting, Sung Ta treated us and two other foreigners wandering around the temple to some watermelon, after which we thanked him for his hospitality and said our goodbyes. He said he would never forget us, and that we were welcome to come and visit whenever we wanted. We parted ways with the monk and continued our hike up the mountain, somewhat dazed and raving about the unique experience we’d just had.
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