The flight to Gwangju proved to be a good move, as on the flight the folks were browsing through the in-flight magazine and discovered that a temple-stay was to be our next venture. The helpful ladies at the Gwangju airport pointed us in the direction of Songgwang-sa, one of the oldest temples (i.e. monastery) in Korea and we headed there hoping for some enlightenment. After a whole afternoon of travelling by busses, we finally arrived after sunset at a small village consisting of a few small stores, a couple of restaurants, some homes and a small yeogwan. Staying at the yeogwan was looking pretty good to mommy at this point, but since it was a temple-stay that we came for, papa and myself convinced her that the 15 min. hike uphill through the dark with all
our luggage would be worth it.
It was indeed a pitch dark forest and we didn't really know the way, so when a young monk happened to come by we followed him hoping he would lead us there. We walked on - me with my tiny flashlight shinning the path while giving mommy encouragement of 'you can do it mommy... we're almost there....". Now, I've done
my share of camping - so I am aware of the dark outdoors but this was quite foreign to me. The unnerving sounds of the nightlife (and I don't mean monks partying): it was the rushing sound of water along with all kinds of chirping and whistling through the forest. Mommy was glad to have the monk with us. She said he was a real Godsend. I think he was more a Buddha-sent. When we arrived we entered a large dimly lit compound which were the living quarters of the monks. We were introduced to a nice young monk who spoke English and showed us to a small bare room. I was very tired and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the ondol mattress.
We were woken up at 3:00 am to the sound of low chanting and the beating of some kind of instrument. This was the call to the first praying ceremony of the day (when staying there we were obliged to follow their way of life even if it means getting up at some ungodly hour). Nevertheless, we were all very excited and after getting dressed we went outside. There was a slight fog that covered the grounds and an eerie silence - except for the lone monk chanting and walking the grounds on the wake up call. We could see the glow of the lights coming from the main temple hall as we walked towards it. Then we noticed monks appearing from all corners of the complex heading in silence to this hall. I have never seen such a temple at night! It was beautiful and I
stared at all the glittering gold and red colours and the 3 large golden Buddhas. We were met at the side entrance by a monk who set out a prayer cushion for each of us. There were already some monks there busy in their prayer ritual: chanting... bowing... kneeling... sitting.. standing... bowing.. etc. As the other monks filed in one by one, we heard the sound of a loud gong and then the drumming started... Behind us we could see a few monks at the massive hanging drum. They were taking turns with the rhythmic drumming: it was fantastic to see and hear. After the drumming came the chanting. This went on for about an hour. I figured I had seen enough so I started to get restless and walked out singing my own tunes. At this point mommy and myself left to go back to our room. Papa stayed a little while longer before joining us.
At 6 am we were called to breakfast - mummy and myself ignored the call but Papa feeling bad that the entire family would be a no-show answered the call. When we woke at 8 am Papa was back with tales of the breakfast porridge and of the interesting meeting with the head monk or abbot who had taken him to his private quarters to talk about his trips abroad. Mommy and myself walked down to the village and grabbed some rice and fried eggs. The forest was more appealing in the daylight and we took our time enjoying our walk along the gushing stream, stopping to explore the many trees, plants and small creatures along the way. Even the uphill climb was not that bad.
Temples are usually built high up in the mountains and within the natural settings of a forest (closer to nature). We arrived back to the temple just in time for their 11:30 lunch. It was held in a large hall with long tables. The meal, served buffet style, turned out to be better than I had expected. Soup, rice, egg pancakes and all sorts of vegetable dishes (Buddhist monks are vegetarians and usually eat very simple meals). There was watermelon slices and some kind of rice cakes as well. After lunch we were supposed to help with cleaning the dishes. This is done communally in the large kitchen. Teams of us would form a line to soap, scrub and rinse the mountains of dishes.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around the temple complex along with the some local tour groups and individuals coming to visit the site. Songgwangsa is open to the public and has been known as the "temple of priest". It has about 200 monks living here on a regular basis. We did not see that many as most were on 'vacation' visiting other temples in the country. So we only had the chance to witness the small skeleton staff. During the months of July and August the monastery is open to lay people like us wishing to experience the monks' way of life. Many foreigners also come here as students to learn the teachings of Buddha.
Within the monks' group, there is some kind of ranking. Novices, or monks just starting out, are draped in brown clothes - their job consists of doing all the menial things around the place, being servants for the upper level monks. This apprenticeship usually last about 10 months at which point they graduate to a 'monk in training' status. Then they wear the gray garments with brown collars. This stage lasts about 4 years during which time they study and perfect the art of meditation. The next stage is the full fledge monk wearing the complete grey outfit. The majority of monks remain in these mountainous areas absorbed in self discipline and meditation. Some do go down to the cities to spread their religion and others go into teaching and religious research at universities in and outside Korea.
It is so peaceful within these settings, that my folks decide to stay another another day. We got the chance to experience a real tea ceremony done by one of the monks. And they got a chance to speak with our friend the English speaking monk, Sija Haengja, who turned out to be very interesting. He lived and travelled in England for a year before coming here. Like the other monks he left his family, shaved his head, and gave up all material things to follow the teachings of Buddha. He still has 7 months to go as a novice and then 4 years to monkhood. After a dinner of leftovers, and attending the 7 pm chanting ceremony at the temple, we went to bed early. The next morning, Sept 2, we attended the early 3 am service once again before we bid farewell to our new friends. We then left the monastery with our hair intact and all our belongings stuffed into our backpacks!
After experiencing the traditional tea ceremony my folks just had to see a plantation of the famous Green Tea. So we caught a bus to the Boseong area - a major green tea farming region in Korea. The oceanic and continental climates alternate to provide an ideal climate for tea production. Tea needs the perfect level of humidity from mist in the mornings and the evenings. We are told that at this plantation 80 tons of green tea are cultivated each year. After the leaves are gathered they are steamed, dried and packaged for local consumption as well as for export. We walked amongst the rows and rows of green bushes on the steep slopes, before coming across a small stall selling green tea ice cream... It's different.. I like it ... but won't abandon chocolate as my favourite flavour just yet! At the bottom of the hill we returned to the restaurant where we left our luggage, and ate lunch there. A very unique lunch it was, as everything was flavoured with green tea - Galbi pork marinated with tea leaves and green coloured pancakes along with various other green things.
After lunch we hitched a ride and were fortunate to get a very nice couple in a very comfortable 4x4 who took us all the way to Daejeon. There we caught a 2-hour bus in the morning, back to Seoul to catch our Saturday am flight to Taiwan. It was good to be back in Seoul and to meet the young boy at the hotel once again. Mommy was able to develop her slides and send them to Toronto (earlier we had sent our first mini DV video tape as well). With Papa I went to visit another palace in Seoul and together we strolled through the very lively Insadong street, which is lined with arts and antique shops.
Click here to continue to page 2 of this last entry on South-Korea.