So i had been anticipating this part of the journey even before taking off from Seattle. I think in some way everyone seeks enlightenment, especially in these “interesting” economic times, and for many of us in our late twenty-somethings. Ive yet to find “my map” or “pathway” on how to reach enlightenment. Aside from what mom and dad, school and 90% of you out there have told me about going to college, getting a good job, getting married, having children, and saving for retirement, i dont see a ton of spiritual counseling or guidance in this life. I dont see my purpose in this world as to do precisely what everyone else is doing, to merely take up space, or suck up resources or energy from this world without giving back (thats my inner hippie speaking). So many of us seek the meaning to life..to no end often. People have always told me to follow my heart. I think as much as i wanted to do that, society and expectations never let me really really invest in the things that my heart were drawn to. In recent years (more so in recent months even) people have continued to drill this into my head. Not to mention, so many people have tried to impress the idea that it is about THE JOURNEY, not just the destination. Im finally realizing these ideas and really put them into practice. Call it maturity or maybe its just timing, i truly believe that there is something inside all of us that we learn to bury…i believe that love is innate and that some of us are given the tools to use it and some of us have to work for it…..

aaaanyhow, in learning about meditation, quieting my mind and the Buddhist principles i really looked forward to tapping into my “heart” and letting go of all of the noise in the world so that i could really listen to me. …just in case you were wondering about my motivation for visiting a Buddhist temple.  Phew…. are you still with me?

All right, day of my journey to the temple i woke around 730am to get ready to head towards Incheon. The directions from Lotus Lanterns website seemed straight forward. I had packed yesterday because i thought that i would be there on Friday as well but since that didn’t work out i just left my bags packed. In the morning i tried to shed some extra weight which actually proved to be fairly difficult. I really needed everything that i had with me since i would be on the road for the next 2wks or so…yes, i need the computer! Haha, when i picked up my bags to head out the door i seriously wasn’t sure if id even make it to the subway let alone to Incheon, then to Busan and Jeju Island…

So per the instructions from Lotus Lantern’s website i took the subway to a stop where i would catch a bus to “On Soo Ree” outside of Incheon. I got out of the subway and i didn’t see the bus stop that they mentioned in the directions… boo. I started stressing for second and in fact part of me was like “meh, maybe the Temple Stay just wasn’t meant to be.” But no, despite running out of time to check in for the weekend at the Temple i had one more option that i’d try to check out, so i headed back into the subway and in a whole new direction in the underground of Seoul. I lugged my bags another 15mins in the opposite direction and actually found the Ticket Booth for the bus to On Soo Ree. I went up to the booth that was all in Korean, and slooooowly mouthed and pronounced “Ooooon Soooooo Reeeeeee” hoping that he would give me the right ticket and put my on the right bus. He said something in response, held out his hand and i dropped 3,000 WON into his hand and he pointed…i waited. I was a little nervous because all of the buses destinations were written in Korean lettering… okay, was pretty much screwed so i asked a youngerish looking person if they spoke English. A few people came to my rescue, but everyone wanted to send me on different buses…it was hilarious. Eventually this really nice woman shoved me on to this one bus.. i was off to enlightenment, or at least hoping! I got on and the driver spoke no English, i was hoping he would let me know when to get off. About 45 mins later he said something, i got off, took a cab up the street, and i was at Lotus Lantern.

Once at the Lotus Lantern and getting out of the cab i was greeted with puppy kisses by one of the temple dogs, i bid farewell to my cab driver, and i swear i took the deepest breath of fresh air EVER, period! No one was around and it was deathly quiet so i had no idea what was next. I looked around and saw an empty field (panoramic above), a garden, 2 temple looking buildings and a mess hall looking building. I popped my head into the mess hall and saw some ladies who were sitting and chatting and completely ignoring me… eventually a man came down and motioned me to follow him to one of the other buildings where he had me sign in and then he pointed me to a closet where i suited up in my XL genie pants and my Temple Stay attire. He then showed me my room, let me know that orientation would be at 4p and POOF he was gone… and there i was with about an hour to feel like i had no idea what to do next. I ended up walking the temple grounds, talking to my roommate and even got lost in my book for a couple seconds.

At 4pm we met up with our lead Monk whos name escapes me right now but he welcomed us to the Temple.

Next, upon hearing the GONG we rallied to dinner where we dined on delicious vegetarian cuisine… tofu, rice, sweet potato, some kind of root, kimchi, seaweed maybe, peppers, some kind of salad with cucumber, Korean pear, soup and a few other things. Ive yet to really acquire a Korean palette but i have to say that this meal was so good…maybe i was just starving by that point? Anyhow, while at the temple we were only to eat their prepared meals at the designated times, so no snacking..i had to earn my meals, and the meals had to be enjoyed in silence by all.

After dinner it was time for our evening chanting. Evening chanting consisted of a couple monks who would lead as disciples would follow suit, almost in perfect sync and harmony.. it was absolutely fascinating… i tried to follow along in the song books that they provided but they were moving along so fast that there was no way i could join in if my life depended on it. It was very soothing almost “trance” like, i could listen to them all day long if you let me.

Next we watched a movie about the history of this form of Buddhism, principles and how to practice. We learned how to sit when meditating and how to concentrate on “Hwado” and how to discover enlightenment.  Hwado is this intangible “idea” that they can’t explain, it “just is”…. but its the way to enlightenment. Other things? Wisdom + Action = Enlightenment. They touched on the idea of letting “ego” go. They posed the questions of “who are we” and “why are we here”.

After the movie we meditated for about an hour.  We sat kind of cross legged, but instead of having your legs tucked under you, you pulled your feet up on your thighs. You can either position your hands kind of over your knees or in the position shown in the picture with your hands sort of forming a circle with your thumbs touching. You do this for 1 hour focusing on nothing but “Hwado”, trying to find enlightenment. I don’t think i found enlightenment but i did hear lots of different cricket sounds, saw lots of dots on the wall in front of me, i even fell asleep for a second and most certainly found my way to PAIN! Try just sitting cross legged in one position for an hour, then try to do this hybrid style with your legs up and hands positioned… OMG, it was excruciating, but bearable if you just got lost in some good deep thoughts (or sounds and sights in my case). So what did i think about? I thought about my career, my birth mother, this journey that i am on, why im on this journey, connectedness to the world, love, enlightenment of course… i thought about how children would have to be the most enlightened people (other than buddhas) in the world… they have no expectations or dependence that they need to let go of. Wow, my mind was just racing in a million directions…these are some of the things i remember i guess.

After meditation we had a little while to chat with the other visitors. Arizona, Texas, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Korea were all represented. Most people seemed most curious about Temple life and the Buddhist ideals, but no one seemed to be super into Buddhism. We hung out under this little hut where we sipped some tea and gotta know each other a little bit but knowing that we’d have to wake at 3am we didn’t stay up too late.

That night my roommates and i enjoyed a little bit of catching up and as we tried to sleep our stomachs danced and gurgled… it was so loud it kept us up for awhile.

At 3am the morning we were woken by a gentle knocking at the door. I woke pretty easy, got my Temple steez on (clothes) and headed to morning chanting and anticipated the 108 prostrations. Prostrations are basically burpee style bows…haha, no other way to describe them. lets just say that i broke out a sweat and that my legs were sore the next day!

4am Meditation – After chanting and prostrations. After another hour session of meditation we had an hour or so to relax, rest or drink some tea then in was time for breakfast. Breakfast was basically prepared with the same ingredients as dinner oddly enough, but was really good…again, i think i was starving. The meal was so fresh though, and filling enough…

After breakfast it was tea time with some of the monks. They told us more about the Buddhist ways, what they as monks have to endure, about Temple Stays, about Hwado and let us ask questions as well. After that we got a chance to walk the temple grounds with one of the monks.

It was pretty cool how open to questions and sharing their knowledge that the monks were

A medicinal mushroom that the monk talked to us about

Next was arts and crafts time… we got to experience calligraphy.. it was very therapeutic and relaxing.

After calligraphy we did some more chanting… i actually used the time to take pictures and to catch up with some of the other visitors (bad buddha, i know!).  The experience itself was incredible and im glad i visited Lotus Lantern and did a Temple Stay.  I learned so much and yet realize i still have so much to learn and ill look forward to reading up when i get home.  The monks were so at peace and their quiet nature was so contagious, i really would have loved to spend more time there.  The Buddhist principles and values are very “human” and i like the ideals that ive been introduced to or have been familiar with thus far, but i definitely don’t see myself becoming a full fledged practicing Buddhist… i don’t think, but who knows.

After our vegetarian lunch we were excused, got into our street clothes and everyone packed up to head back in to Seoul.  A few of the visitors were English teachers living in Seoul, there was a couple from the Czech Republic on their Honeymoon and my Indonesian buddies on a quick trip thru Korea…we all packed into a van that took us to the closest bus stop where i then realized that i left my shoes at the Temple.  Meh, they were cheap shoes and Jordan has been telling me that they are crap forever now so i figured id flip flop my way to Busan and pick up some cheap shoes at the market or something to get me by until i get home.  Moving on, i ended up back in Seoul, exchanged some email addresses with everyone and hung out that night in Seoul before heading to Busan the next morning!

Here is another look at my schedule from my Temple Stay:

Saturday 2:00 Arrival & check-in
4:00 Orientation
5:00 Dinner & Dish washing (Noble Silence)
6:00 Evening Chanting
6:20-7:20 Introduction to Buddhism
7:30-8:00 Watching video of zen Buddhism
8:00-8:30 Meditation
9:00-9:30 Sleeping Time
Sunday 03:40 Waking up
04:00 Morning Chanting & Meditation

• (108 prostrations. Reciting of Virochana Mantra.
• Homage to Buddha. Reading of daily vows & Heart Sutra)

06:00 Breakfast &Dish washing (Noble Silence)
07:30 A session with tea
08:30 Walking around temple
09:30 Sutra Calligraphy
11:00 Midday Chanting
11:30 Lunch & Dish washing (Noble Silence)
12:20 Cleaning rooms & Check-out

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