Getting to Korea and the Temple

I woke up at 2am to catch an Uber to the airport. I realized the night before that I was staying at the wrong airport and would have to travel 45 minutes out of the city to get to the airport. Luckily I did not miss my flight though. I flew 2 hours to Sydney and 10 hours to Seoul. It was a blissfully uneventful travel day. I chatted with fellow travelers, napped, and got ready for my next adventure. 

I arrive around 9pm, made it through customs, picked up a transport card, and grabbed the shuttle to my hotel. By 10:30pm I was comfy in bed and resting.

I woke up early the next morning, just before sunrise. My room had a beautiful view of the sunrise and I sat in my large bathtub soaking with coffee watching the sunrise and gathering plans for the day. 

I checked out and took the shuttle to the airport and the train into Seoul (about 45 minutes). I stopped at the Hadig University and wandered the streets. Enjoying the peaceful quiet streets. I think if I return to Seoul for a few days before my departure I may come to this area, as it’s quaint and quiet and accessible. The narrow streets and alleyways intersected in many directions making for a quiet, calming journey. Artists played music in the streets to adoring onlookers and a sense of peace emanated over the area. I stopped for a delicious brunch of savory french toast, although, it was sweeter than I prefer. I’ve noticed that many things I perceive as being supposed to be savory, like garlic bread and bacon French toast, are actually quite sweet here. Much more sweet than my preference.

I made my way to Geumseonsa Temple located within a national park where I would spend the night. 

Geumesonsa is a Buddhist temple on the Northern edge of Seoul. They are part of a cultural tourism scheme which promotes domestic tourism of Korea’s natural and cultural traditions. Guests at the temple stay were about 50/50 foreigners to Koreans. Most people were around my age, although there were a couple retirees in each. In total I believe there were around 20 guests. 

Upon arriving I was given my uniform for the stay. A lilac vest and trousers. I changed and rested for an hour wandering around the temple before meeting with the other English speakers for our introduction tour. It was led by a Buddhist temple-goer. He spent an hour telling us about Buddhist practices both in Korea and abroad, explaining customs and showing us around. 

The temple is at the top of a granite hill. Before reaching the temple you walk up about half a km of stone steps. At the top is the first gate. He explained that it is called the one pillar gate. He laughed as he explained that while if you use your eyes you can clearly see two pillars, but that the single pillar is metaphorical. At the one pillar gate you enter the spiritual realm. The outside world, your past, your future, your problems will wait for you at the entrance. They won’t go away, but they are not important within the temple. They do not have power here. You are in the present he explained. 

Next you pass under Beomjongak. This elevated platform contains the 4 instruments of Buddhism. First is a bell, about 6 ft tall and 4 feet across this bell is rung with a suspended pillar. The ringing of the pillar calls out to human souls. There are 33 planes of enlightenment he explains, our souls reside amongst those planes depending on how enlightened we are. The tolls of the bell reverberate through all 33 planes to awaken the soul. The ringing of the bell is deep and reverberative. You can feel it in your chest. A strong, powerful dong. It is played at the beginning and ending of each day. 

The next instrument was a wooden fish with the head of a dragon. It is hollow inside and holds a golden ball in its mouth. The fish has a dragon head because it ascended to enlightenment. When the fish is played it calls to all the beings of the ocean. 

Next is a large heavy metal sheet. It is shaped like a series of clouds. When played it calls to the being of the air including birds, insects, and spirits of the dead.

The final instrument is a very large drum, like the other instruments, it is suspended from the ceiling. It has a diameter of probably 6 ft and is 8ft in length. One side of the drum has made of cow hide and the other ox hide to symbolize both male and female spirits. The drum when played calls to all four legged land animals. 

In the evening a monk came down and played some really beautiful music with the different instruments. It was melodic and impressive that these 4 simple yet ornate instruments could create such variety of sounds. At the end we all had the chance to ring the bell.

After the bell ringing we proceeded through the Nirvana gate to the top of the hill to pray to Buddha. The Monks and locals sang some beautiful songs that were just really lovely to listen to. It was mesmerizing and encapsulating. 

Prior to the evening ceremonies we were served dinner. Buddhist temples only serve vegan food and you are asked to eat in silence as a part of your meditation practice, listening to your body and eating everything you take as to not waste food. They warned us that Buddhist food was not spicy, nor does is contain onion or garlic, because these things are thought to be distracting from mediation, but the food was so incredibly flavorful nonetheless. I was expecting it to be quite bland, but it was bursting in flavor. 

In the evening I attended a sound meditation. The Buddhist practitioner (not the monk) played 10 metal bowls with a series of different sticks which reverberated in a really beautiful way. It was calming and peaceful, and a few people snored in the background while the rest of us giggled.

After meditation I remained in the common area and socialized with some other travelers. Mainly a Russian guy who has been living in Korea for 2 years. We had some really beautiful and deep conservation about life and travel and humanity. I was the first American he had encountered and he seemed perpetually surprised by how much we had in common on our world views. He told me he left Russia at the onset of the war, along with many of his friends, but he often longs of the familiarity of home. We spoke about the similarities of our countries and the people who reside within them and the complexity of loving your country and feeling pride for it and the people of it, while feeling consternation about the politics and the small mindedness of some people who never take the time to see the world from others perspectives. We bonded over our love of hiking and nature and he totally convinced me I need to make a trip to Serbia when the war ends. Hopefully soon.

I retired to my room where I slept on a mat on the floor. It was quite comfortable and the floor was heated making it cozy and warm with the brisk night coming through my paper windows. 

The next morning I woke to sunrise and the ringing of the bells. I ate my delicious breakfast before spending the rest of the morning mediating and drawing and enjoying the quiet of the temple before I had to head out for the afternoon to my next spot.