I spent 2 rainy days at Geumsansa Temple, learning about Buddhism, meditating, prostrating, chatting with monks, walking and resting. It was a peaceful escape from everyday life in Seoul, and something I’d recommend to anyone who finds themselves in Korea.

About Temple Stays

Temple stays in Korea are popular for both tourists and locals. For tourists, it’s an opportunity to experience and learn about Buddhist practice at a traditional temple. Locals come to escape the hectic life in the city and gain some peace and calm.

I wanted to find a temple outside of Seoul, where I could get away from the concrete and high-rise buildings. I found Geumsansa Temple through templestay.com, a great resource to find temple stay programs in Korea. I booked it, and off I went.

Getting to Geumsansa

I grabbed a bus from Seoul to Jeonju, then hopped on city bus 79 to the end of the line. Once I got out of Jeonju, the bus wound up into the mountains, passing through rural areas unlike any I have seen yet in Korea. Each house has a garden and a shed in the back. Everything is so green. It feels so nice to be out of the city.

At the last stop, the bus driver shoos me out, and I start the short walk to the temple.

I’m greeted by Il-sung, the guy who will be my go-to at Geumsansa. Over tea, I learned that up until a month ago, Il-sung was a candy maker. He decided to make the switch to live and work at the temple as a temple guide.

We are joined by a fellow temple stayer, a French guy traveling Korea for a month. Il-sung shows me my room and gives me the temple garb – some baggy pants and a vest that seem to be made from natural materials.

About Geumsansa Temple

Geumsansa Temple, translated as Golden Mountain Temple, is nestled in the mountains about 5 hours south of Seoul. It was established in the year 600, is one of the largest Buddhist temple complexes in Korea, and is home to one of the world’s largest indoor, golden Buddha statue. This time of the year it is surrounded by green. It's a beautiful setting, magical with the fog rolling over the mountains and a slight mist in the air.

The temple has some significant history: it was the headquarters and training ground for the Buddhist volunteer corps, an army of more than 1,000 monks who defended Korea during the Japanese invasion of 1592. Most of the original structures were damaged or destroyed by Japanese forces and rebuilt in 1635.

Getting into it: Temple Staying

Temple stays are more than just sleeping at a temple. They give you the opportunity to learn and experience temple life first hand.

Here’s what the program at Guemsansa included:

108 Prostrations

Prostrations are full body bows that are used in Buddhism to show reverence to Buddha, his teachings, and the spiritual community as a whole. Worshipers do prostrations while chanting prayers or asking questions to the Buddhist statues in the temples. Prostrations are also done for different reasons based on the Buddhist school of thought: it is an act of humility, it can purify some of the negative thoughts, improve karma, or prepare the worshiper for meditation.

Most worshipers do 3 or 7 prostrations, while monks regularly do 108 prostrations to facilitate reflection and concentration. The number 108 is significant:

6 bodily pathways that lead to suffering (eyes, ears, skin, nose, tongue, mind)
6 objects that lead to suffering (something you see, hear, feel, smell, taste, think about)
3 time periods in which you suffer (the past, present, future)

6 x 6 x 3 = 108

At Guemsansa, I learned how to prostrate correctly and proceeded to do 108 Prostrations. It’s hard! I was sweating, and my knees started hurting after about 50 prostrations. It was a mental challenge as well as a physical one. But I did it, all 108 of them! I earned that necklace!

The Food

Eating is viewed as receiving an offering. We bowed before entering the dining area and took only what we could eat. During the meal, no one speaks, you should reflect deeply on the people, effort and energy that went into preparing the meal. And not finishing your food is seen as wasting resources and not honoring the time and energy that went into preparing the meal.

Buddhism is often linked to vegetarian because of their general belief of causing no harm and avoiding any kind of violence. But Buddhists and monks aren’t necessarily vegetarians. Buddha himself wasn’t a vegetarian. Typically, Buddhists can eat meat as long as the animal was not killed for the sole purpose for them to eat. At Buddhist temples, however, animal products are not allowed, so the food is all animal friendly. And it was delicious.

Meditation

Meditation is the most important aspect of Korean Buddhism. It’s a practice of calming your mind and living in momentary quietness. You most often think of meditating as sitting indoors, but walking meditation is a thing too. It’s the same idea, you’re just walking instead of sitting. Guemsansa is the perfect place for walking meditation. It’s quiet, mountainous and surrounded by beautiful nature. It was easy to quiet my mind, losing myself to my surroundings.

Sitting meditation is a different story. It’s not easy sitting for one hour, trying not to think, trying to recognize when my inner voice starts talking and being able to quiet that voice, sitting in absolute silence.

One strategy to quiet your inner voice is to focus on your breath. This distracts your mind from thinking about other things, but for me, it lasted only a few minutes before my inner voice started up again. Thinking about what I need to do tomorrow, singing a song, reliving things that happened earlier, thoughts, thought, thoughts. It’s not easy, but worth the effort. Meditating, even for only 15 minutes per day, has been shown to reduce stress and increase calmness.

Meditation, like the 108 prostrations, is both a mental and physical challenge. Mentally, it’s a challenge to keep your mind calm, and physically, it’s a challenge to remain seated in a cross legged or lotus position for that long. My feet fell asleep, my back began to hurt, my legs wanted to move. But you push those feeling away along with the inner thoughts; it’s not easy, but it’s all about practice. I plan to continue to practice meditation daily, hoping to increase the amount of time I can sit in calm.

Evening and Morning Ceremony

Each morning before sunrise and each evening around sunset, the monks participate in Yebul, a Buddhist ceremony paying respect to Buddha and his teachings.

In the morning, the ceremony begins at 4:30am with one monk walking around the temple hitting a wooden, round object, acting as a human alarm for the monks and any animals nearby. Then the monk rings a gigantic bell on the grounds of the temple, calling the monks to the main temple hall for the morning ceremony.

Inside the main temple hall, one monk hits a wooden instrument while the other monks are prostrating and chanting. The tempo of prostrations are guided by the beat of the wooden instrument. We did 7 prostrations facing the 10 golden Buddhas and goddesses.

The chanting was mesmerizing. This video isn't from my temple stay (I was too bust participating to record) but it is similar to my experience:

Tea with a Monk

After the evening ceremony, I sat with a monk who lives at Geumsansa and enjoyed some Mugwort tea. She made us the tea and sat for more than an hour asking us questions and answering any of ours. I asked her how she would explain Buddhism to someone who knew nothing about it. She complimented me on the question, saying it was the best she’s been asked yet. [I was proud]. She explained that, put simply, Buddhism is all about being virtuous, empathetic and loving. Not committing acts of violence, not being unkind.

She was so kind and interested in getting to know us. She didn’t speak English, and I think a lot was lost in translation, but her vibe was positive, and the tea was delicious.

Rubbing of Woodblocks

Woodblock printing is an ancient form of printing first used in China in the 2^nd century that is associated with spreading Buddhist teachings and sutras, or hymns. There is a piece of wood that has been carved with pictures or text, paper or fabric is placed on top, and a pad with ink is rubbed or tapped on the carved areas of wood. When the paper or fabric is lifted, a picture of the carving remains.

Here' a video of me rubbing, or really tapping out a picture of the Mireukjeon Hall pagoda on the Guemsansa Temple grounds.

Final Thoughts

There’s just something about these temples that get me every time. The colors, the history, the architecture, the beliefs, practices and vibes all speak to me. It’s a slow and simple way of life. Living this way slows your brain, allowing you to really see the beauty around and do some important self-reflection.

This won’t be my last temple stay, and I wish I had stayed longer at Guemsansa. If you have the opportunity to experience a temple stay in Korea, Asia, or anywhere else, I recommend you do it. Definitely worth it.

Like Temples? Check Out My Other Temple Experiences

 

Check out my visit to Beomeo-Sa Temple in Busan, South Korea

Or spend Chinese New Years at Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong

Can't get to Asia? Meditate at Morgan Bay Zendo in Maine