My First Temple Stay

The first thing they give you is a pair of shoes and pants/vest. 

A Temple Stay is a cultural-experience program designed to help people understand Korean Buddhism better. Temple stays offer various kinds of practicing methods such as ceremonial service involving chanting, Zen sitting/walking meditation, tea ceremony, lotus lantern craft, 108 prostrations, communal Buddhist meal service and communal work.  Participants like me can find their 'true self' amongst the harmony of nature while staying at a temple. This is a very popular weekend experience among both local Koreans and tourists. There are sixteen temples throughout the country that have English speaking monks/nuns and/or translators. Korean Buddhism has been practiced here for more than fifteen hundred year years. I chose a temple at the base of a mountain just 20 minutes outside of downtown Seoul. They usually take about 25 participants for a 24 hour period on weekends. There was just one male in our group (from Jordan) and about 22 women (half Korean/half European/Asian), I was the only American. It was a wonderful experience and I have already planned my next temple stay in Busan.  I will take the bullet train to the second largest city on the coast and go to Beomeosa Temple which is located at the edge of Mt. Geumjeongsan, a famous mountain in Busan. It was constructed About 1,300 years ago. That is my plan for Thanksgiving.

The bell and drum. That's what I was hearing at 4am for morning wake-up!

The sound reverberates for a few minutes when you ring this bell.

Accommodations on bottom, temple on top.

This is where the women slept.

That's my backpack and comforter. The radiant floor heat keeps us warm.

These stone steps lead to a  hidden temple in a cave.

Inside the cave.

You'll see lots of Buddhas here of course.

View from a temple looking into Seoul.

Beautiful landscape set at the base of a mountain.

So peaceful, nature surrounds and inspires.

The schedule and on the right side notice the Wifi password! There really is internet everywhere in Korea.
Meditate and communicate!

Nice, clean bathrooms and showers.

This is the outdoor cooking area.

A delicious broth is in the pot and we add noodles and veggies.
More photos on the next page.