Temple Stay at Jikjisa Temple 11/13-11/14

Last weekend, Katie and I did a temple stay at Jikjisa Temple which was about 3 hours away by train from Seoul.  We participated in the "Slowness, Emptiness and Sharing..." program.  We got on the 10:35am bus and arrived at Gimcheon at around 1:41pm.  From there we took a local bus to the temple. 

When we arrived, we checked in and paid for the program (50,000 won) and headed to our site.  We met the monks for the weekend.  Teacher Monk is Minseong Seunim and the Assistant monks were Deogcheon Seunim and Daetong Seunim.  We changed into our uniforms and learned the etiquette of the temple.  Unfortunately for us foreigners, the monks spoke only in Korean so we learned b following Koreans. 

us before the uniform...

now in uniform!

We learned the 3 bows which you do whenever you enter the temple.

teaching us the bow

We were also sitting in 4 lines the whole time.  This is important because everything you do is based on your line.  I was in line 1 and we all enter/exit through the door, walk on the same line and sit at the same place. 

Then at 5:20 we headed outside to the dining area.  One thing I learned is how uniformed everything is in the temple.  We had to stand in lines the whole time and whenever we took trips, it was in one huge line (all 4 lines formed into 1 line).  For dinner, my line was last one to leave so I was among the last few people to get food.

After dinner we all had to clean our own dishes. 

Then we walked into a temple and did 108 bows.  This was the first time doing 108 bows and it was tiring but wasn't too bad.  You have to first go on your knees then put your upper body down to the map with your hands raised up and then stand up with your knees up first while your hands are pressed together.

holding our mats...about to head to the temple...

bow when you enter the temple...

we're all doing the 108 bows

After that we went back to our main temple and watched a video called Miracle of 0.7M2 which is about the benefits of bowing.  There was one event where people bowed 3000 times per hour for 10 hours!  that's crazy! 

watching the movie...

After that, for some reason we all did another 108 bows!  The second time was definitely killing me!

making sure we're all doing the 108 bows...

i'm in pain here

Then we had tea time!  The tea was very delicious; it was ginger and honey tea.

haha i look like i don't like the tea but I really do!  It was just really hot.

After tea, guess what we did again?  That's right another 108 bows.  By this time my legs were killing me and I wanted to die.  Luckily, after that we were all assembled in our lines and massaged the person in front of us.

Then the boys left the main temple and went downstairs to sleep.  We all went to bed at 9:45pm.  I passed out the minute I hit the pillow because the 324 bows were too much for me.

We were woken up at 2:58am to begin our day!  First thing we did was head out to the temple.  We did Tebul (chanting) and then another 108 bows.  Oh gosh, it was so hard but I didn't give up at all!  Then we all took a walk outside through the woods to meditate while walking.  It was a 30 minutes walk but I enjoyed it a lot.  It was still dark out and a bit chilly but I really got to think about a lot of things.

When we went back to the temple the monks passed out a chapter filled with Korean words.  It was a chant about debt to one's parents.  Luckily they had some Chinese characters so I understood a little.  It was basically about how we should cherish our parents because they have done everything for us so we will always be in their debt. 

After that it was 5:45am so it was finally time to eat breakfast!  We had Baru (Buddhist Meal) for breakfast and the procedure is very intricate.  First there are 4 bowls and they're all inside the Buddha Bowl (the biggest one) followed by a brown towel, pouch of utensils and a white towel.  First you set the brown towel in front of you.  Place the Big Buddha Bowl on the left bottom corner.  The 2nd biggest on the left uppercorner, 3rd biggest on the right bottom corner and the smallest on the right upper corner.

the bows...before we took them out

putting the plates and utensils in front of us

My line had to get the food from the dining room so we all set out in cold and carried the dishes, water, rice, and soup in.  Then some volunteers came and passed out water, rice and soup to each of us.  Only rice can be put in the Buddha bowl and when you eat you're not allowed to mix other ingredients into the buddha bowl.  The soup goes into the bowl that's on the right bottom corner.  The water goes into the right upper corner and it is used to clean all the bowls and utensils.  We placed all the other food (kimchi, yellow turnip (which was used to clean the bowls), fried tofu, and vegetables) in the bowl that's on the left upper corner.  After bowing we were allowed to eat in silence.

walked outside to get the food...

carrying the food back to the temple

placing the food down

how you're suppose to sit.

the food

water for cleaning later

soup

getting the food

After we ate, there is a procedure in cleaning the bowls as well.  First you take the water from the 3rd bowl and pour some in the rice bowl.  Using the yellow turnip, clena the bowl.  After it is cleaned, drink the water.  Then pour water into the bowl w/ all the other food and clean it using the turnip.  After that, drink the water and eat the turnip.  I was a bit grossed out that we were drinking the water but I guess it is clean afterall..it's just food.  Then we used the white towel to clean the bowls.  Then assemble the bowls back together.

cleaning the bowls...

bow after you're done eating!

After that, we had to do community service.  Some people cleaned the temple and some sweeped the floors outside.  I think my line had the worst job because we had to clean all the bowls that we just ate (with soap and water) outside.  It was freezing and not only do we have to clean it but we have to dry them and assemble them back together.  It took forever!

After that we took a long walk to Hermitage (Myungjeogam) which is a temple located at the top of the mountain.  We hiked for almost 30 minutes up the mountain!

At the temple we did the 3 bows and then took some pics at the site.

Katie and I w/ Master Monk

all the foreigners!

group photo!

After that we walked back to the temple and after the long walk, we all massaged each other again.  Then we gathered our mats and walked to the woods.  The walk wasn't so bad and we got to meditate in the woods!  This was my favorite part.  I felt at peace and I really felt connected to nature.

Then we walked back to the heart of Jikjisa Temple into a construction site.  Master monk told us to take off our shoes and socks!  We were then told to walk to an area barefoot!  It was freezing out!! 

We were going to do the Marching with 1 Big Bow after 3 steps.  We were assembled into 2 lines and we were 1 meter away from the person in front of us.  After walking 3 steps we had to bow (knees on the ground).  After doing it for 5 minutes the Master Monk came to evaluate us and he tapped me on the head.  I realized that meant that I didn't put my head on the ground because there was no sand on my forehand.  Finally we reached a temple and we were told that we were done.

first you bow

then you go down on your knees!

I'm on the right

with my partner

the temple!  We finally reached it!

last group pic!!

Then we walked back to the temple and wrote about our impression of the temple stay and filled out some survey.  Then the monks came to each of us and said good bye. 

filling out the survey...

I'm happy because the Master Monk remembered my name!

He's my favorite!

It was definitely an unforgettable experience.  My legs were so sore after the 4 108x bows but I really enjoy experiencing a real monk lifestyle.  After that, I decided to see how far I can push myself and decided to be a vegetarian for a week.  It's a bit hard to be a vegetarian in Korea though because there is meat in everything!  I ordered an egg fried rice and there's beef in it!  I ordered a sweet potato toast and there's ham!  It's hard but it's almost Friday and I can do it!!!