Om vairochana ...umm...I forgit
Ok so an update is in order. First, a little touch on the Virginia Tech shootings. I don't know how it is being covered in the US but in Korea, there is a deep pervading sense of shame that the perpetrator was a Korean. You could feel it in the air on Wednesday, when Cho Seoung Hui's identity was released. There have been memorials and many of my students have asked about it. Some people blame it on American discrimination and alienation but mostly people were in total shock. Koreans are always talking about their collective identity and how they represent themselves on the global stage so to see this level of public violence commited by one of their own commands a deep deep sense of grief.
On another note, Ryan and I spent have just returned home from a weekend stay at a korean Buddhist monastary. Just getting there was a marathon of travel, jumping from taxies to buses to subways on our five hour journey. While we were standing on a street corner in Gimpo, west of Seoul, looking for a mysterious bus stop with only four minutes to go before our bus arrived, we ran into two other foreigners, who were headed the same way. Turns out, one of these girls went to college with my friend, Jenne Farley! Weird! But now more on the monastary.
Upon arrival, we were given scratchy gray monastic clothes to wear and shown to our stark rooms, unfurnished except for a bed roll. After thumbing through the books and talking quietly with the other guest (all foreigners), we were given a brief tour and introduction. It was a small meditation center perched on top of of green rolling mountain. In the afternoon, we were given free time so Ryan and I walked the grounds, thorugh the fields and up into the woods. The trees were young and the dirt was red and greasy but other than that it looked like a southern michigan woods. We even scared up a deer, which looked strangley rabbit like, and a few pheasant. There were grave mounds scattered throughout the pine and cherry trees. Nearby the temple compound was a large dog farm so on our walk and throughout our stay the silence was punctuated by the sound of a hundred barking dogs echoing through the mountains.
We were then given a meal, eaten in silence. All vegetarian, rare in Korea. beans, greens, laver, kim chi, warm potato soup. After dinner, we washed our own dishes and then headed to the tmeple, where we learned the chants, prayers and prostrations that we would use the next day. After that we went to the meditiation hall, listened to a Damma talk and meditated on soft gray cushions. The monks were two diminutive, aloof Russian men. One cool and intelligent, the other small with nervous eyes, who blushed when he smiled.
After our meditation session we went back to guest house and (attempted) to go to sleep. At 3:45 am the morning bell for prayer was sounded and we crawled out of our bed rolls and silently made our way to the temple under a sky full of stars. In the temple we did the 108 prostrations before the Buddha and then chanted the 108 sutra. It was really difficult! I was dripping sweat and dizzy. After our prostration we went to the med. hall and meditated. Then there was a breakfast of rice porridge and sea weed.
After breakfast, we did a walking med. through the woods, learned about the traditional tea ceremony and practiced calligraphy. At 11 we again headed to the temple for chanting. Lastly, we ate a strange, savory lunch of forest greens, anise pods, rice, and laver. And then our temple stay was over!
We took a cab back to Seoul where we ate overpriced Egyptian food and wandered through Itaewon, the area where all of the embassies are and consequently variety in the poeple, food, clothing, etc.
But now, I'm tired and in need of a shower so, good-bye!
ps. did I mention that a sam sam (sushi) restaurant just opened up on our street where we can get a ton of sashimi and a bowl of udon for about four bucks? yesssssssss.......
On another note, Ryan and I spent have just returned home from a weekend stay at a korean Buddhist monastary. Just getting there was a marathon of travel, jumping from taxies to buses to subways on our five hour journey. While we were standing on a street corner in Gimpo, west of Seoul, looking for a mysterious bus stop with only four minutes to go before our bus arrived, we ran into two other foreigners, who were headed the same way. Turns out, one of these girls went to college with my friend, Jenne Farley! Weird! But now more on the monastary.
Upon arrival, we were given scratchy gray monastic clothes to wear and shown to our stark rooms, unfurnished except for a bed roll. After thumbing through the books and talking quietly with the other guest (all foreigners), we were given a brief tour and introduction. It was a small meditation center perched on top of of green rolling mountain. In the afternoon, we were given free time so Ryan and I walked the grounds, thorugh the fields and up into the woods. The trees were young and the dirt was red and greasy but other than that it looked like a southern michigan woods. We even scared up a deer, which looked strangley rabbit like, and a few pheasant. There were grave mounds scattered throughout the pine and cherry trees. Nearby the temple compound was a large dog farm so on our walk and throughout our stay the silence was punctuated by the sound of a hundred barking dogs echoing through the mountains.
We were then given a meal, eaten in silence. All vegetarian, rare in Korea. beans, greens, laver, kim chi, warm potato soup. After dinner, we washed our own dishes and then headed to the tmeple, where we learned the chants, prayers and prostrations that we would use the next day. After that we went to the meditiation hall, listened to a Damma talk and meditated on soft gray cushions. The monks were two diminutive, aloof Russian men. One cool and intelligent, the other small with nervous eyes, who blushed when he smiled.
After our meditation session we went back to guest house and (attempted) to go to sleep. At 3:45 am the morning bell for prayer was sounded and we crawled out of our bed rolls and silently made our way to the temple under a sky full of stars. In the temple we did the 108 prostrations before the Buddha and then chanted the 108 sutra. It was really difficult! I was dripping sweat and dizzy. After our prostration we went to the med. hall and meditated. Then there was a breakfast of rice porridge and sea weed.
After breakfast, we did a walking med. through the woods, learned about the traditional tea ceremony and practiced calligraphy. At 11 we again headed to the temple for chanting. Lastly, we ate a strange, savory lunch of forest greens, anise pods, rice, and laver. And then our temple stay was over!
We took a cab back to Seoul where we ate overpriced Egyptian food and wandered through Itaewon, the area where all of the embassies are and consequently variety in the poeple, food, clothing, etc.
But now, I'm tired and in need of a shower so, good-bye!
ps. did I mention that a sam sam (sushi) restaurant just opened up on our street where we can get a ton of sashimi and a bowl of udon for about four bucks? yesssssssss.......