Joenju to Naesosa

I had expressed a wish to do a temple stay and we chose Naesosa as it was possible to stay for one night only and is small in size. The temple is located at the base Mount Naebyeongsan and was established in 653 CE and rebuilt in 1633 during the Jeosan Dynasty after being burned down during the 16th C Japanese invasion. There is an interesting story passed down about the construction that was recounted to us by our guide.

We were taken through our program after receiving temple clothing. The etiquette for the temple was explained; bowing to the three Buddhas in turn followed by a sequence of kneeling and bowing. Later I watched others, including monks, and realized that it was possible to modify the movements depending on the willingness of knees to comply….

There were crafts for the children, predictably!

Meals were taken in a dining room with the two other visitors, two volunteers and the monks. The food was simple and vegan and we all had to rinse our dishes. The evening ceremony was led by one monk whereas the one at 04:30 the following morning, was led by one sounding a gong, and two others chanting. Kneeling was repeated a number of times. Both children got up and willingly participated at that early hour.

The previous evening we had an opportunity to have tea (mulitple cups) with one of the monks. Although all in Korean the gist of the discussion was relayed to me. I asked a question about continuous learning and was told that study never comes to an end.

After dinner we had climbed up to a small temple overlooking the main site and

Note: Although we were urged to collect any insects in our room and deposit them outside, fogging presumably for mosquitoes was being carried out as we walked up from the site!

the next morning we climbed to a higher ridge where we got a great view of the temple and the surrounding area

I shared my experience of the temple with my yoga/ meditation teacher:

“While not a Buddhist I felt it was OK to maintain respect for the practices while benefiting from the meditation. The environment was peaceful, welcoming and conducive to  the practice.

I have no wish to become an adherent of Buddhism but valued the opportunity to learn more about it and to take advantage of the time for meditation.

There was a very old “grandma” tree in the grounds, around which people had hung small messages (with an appropriate Chinese zodiacal sign). We left one for Lois around the 6 month anniversary of her death.

By the time we left mid-morning there were lots of tourists in the grounds and they were treated to a performance of traditional singing.