Our excursion to Naesosa Temple, a Buddhist residence in Byeonsan National Park, started with a visit to Chaeseokgang, a coastal park known for its unusual rock formations. We walked along the coast for a while and then explored the town - it primarily featured traditional seafood restaurants and hotels, but we also stumbled upon a mini-theme park with a few rides. The locals got a kick out of seeing the funny-looking waegukin (foreigners), and Jay enjoyed the chance to talk with people were so intrigued by us, even if it was just idle chatter as we were warming up next to a small firepit.
We then made our way into the mountains of Byeonsan National Park. We approached the temple through a path lined in (among others) pine trees, which smelled amazing. We then had a bit of time to explore the beautiful temple grounds before settling in.
After we'd had the chance to explore we were given clothes to wear - large pink-ish jackets and beige pants in the style of the monks outfits (we assume the lowest-ranking ones), but not the same colors as the traditional attire. Layering was not a problem, as these clothes were large enough to fit over whatever we were wearing (legging, jeans, 2 sweaters, a jacket). Once we were all dressed, we put away our bags and were told about the temple rules courtesy of a local translator : eat everything on our plates, clean our own dishes, bow if we cross paths with a monk, walk with your hands placed upon one another in front of you (not behind, and no pockets), and other "be respectful" things. We were taught how to properly bow in ceremonies (a full 9-step maneuver reminiscent of yoga salutations to the sun, but much simpler) and ate dinner. One of the rules was "silence while eating", so everyone was either awkwardly glancing at each other, or simply looking at the food and eating in silence. Afterwards, as we went outside to wash our dishes in the 3 buckets of cold water, we discussed our impressions - I found it peaceful and felt that the silence allowed me to concentrate more fully on my meal, but Jay states that it was how he imagined a first night in prison might be like. Silence seemed to have distressed the majority of our companions, one of which bursted out with "Oh my god, weren't you all just dying to talk in there?" once she'd cleared the dining hall's doorway.
We then attended an evening of devotional chanting (yebul) in the main hall. It was beautiful - an intricately carved wooden building with an amazingly detailed roof, paintings on the walls, a giant bell in one corner, and a giant platform in the center with 3 gold statues of Buddha - the primary Buddha and 2 bodhivistas of wisdom and compassion. These statues were backed by an incredible painting of Buddha, complimenting the others on the wall. We entered through the side door (as the main door is for the monks only), half-bowed to the Buddhas, and walked along the wall, behind the statues, to pick up cushions to sit on. We then continued around to the other side of the statues and sat in the main area, leaving space in the center for the monks (2-3) to enter and sit. Candles were lit, incense was burning, and it was beautiful.
A monk soon came in and made his way to the giant bell in the upper left corner of the room, where he kneeled and began singing, occasionally chiming the bell. Another monk came in and stopped before the statues. He sang as well and we mimicked his movements - many full bows and half bows and more full bows - and then we stood, praying, while the monks sang in harmony. The song was absolutely beautiful. They sang for perhaps 5-8 minutes, then we all bowed more and departed in silence.
We able to learn more about the bowing after we got back to our "dorm" - one of the monks came to explain some of the ideas of Buddhism and answer questions through the translator, himself a Buddhist-in-training. He/they explained that Buddha is not considered a god and the practice of bowing is not so much in reverence as it is an act of humbling ourselves. Additionally, Korean Buddhism has a strong emphasis on wishes (or prayer, perhaps), which is apparently not as emphasized in other strains of the philosophy. There is an idea that if you bow (fully, the whole 9-steps) 10,000 times, whatever wish you focus on will come true. When asked whether Buddha himself grants the wish, the monk replied that Buddha guides you through the process at first (as given form through the first 5,000 bows or so), but after that you are more empowered to help yourself and it is you yourself that provides the strength to fulfill your wish. The exact answers were not always clear, as our translator’s English was not perfect, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.
After the question and answer period, the monk led us in a short meditation before he left. We then made lotus lanterns before going to bed early in order to survive the 3:30 wake-up the next morning. After we woke up for the very pre-dawn yebul the next day, we were not as confused about the ceremony, but we were significantly more sleep deprived than we had been the night before. Regardless, it was still a beautiful and slightly haunting ceremony.
Next, we had another short meditation before a monastic meal ceremony for breakfast. We cleaned our dishes and had some free time for about an hour (I napped). Our next activity was to make prayer bead strands: 108 sandalwood beads, which we were to string into a necklace. Monks who do this must bow for every bead they place, concentrating on a wish they want fulfilled. However, as we were newbies and we didn’t have all day (our hike was scheduled to start in less than two hours), we were instructed to bow only once for every five beads. Maybe this means only one fifth of our wish comes true - I’m not sure about the specifics. I enjoyed the exercise, as the smell of the beads was wonderful and the room was very quiet. Jay, on the other hand, had a bunch of particularly difficult beads that had very small or only partially made holes in them. So, in an oh-so-Buddhist-fashion, he took a pocket knife out and spent most of his time jabbing the beads into submission until he learned to burn the string into a needle-like tip for easier threading.
When we had all finished our bows and beading, we left for the nearby national park to enjoy a stroll through the beautiful mountains and lakes. We got a few strange looks from other hikers, as we were still in our highly flattering monastic outfits, but the walk was nice and the sights were lovely. When we returned to the temple, we had a short lunch, packed, and cleaned out our rooms before heading back towards Seoul. It was a very interesting and lovely weekend and, although neither of us are willing to become monks any time soon, we enjoyed the experience.
