Tea with a Buddhist Monk

Today, the plan was to go to the old part of Seoul, as there are lots of traditional houses and buildings there. There aren't too many old buildings because of the war. Instead we (Leesa, Michelle, Gillian and I) decided to do one of the walking tours in the Seoul Lonely Planet book. It was nice out and hey, when in Rome.

Attraction 1 on the walking tour: taking pictures of taking pictures (Michelle, Leesa, Gillian)

A man saw cameras and wanted in on the action (Michelle)

Side bar: Gillian is from Scotland and has been in Korea for 2 months. Leesa met on her on Facebook and she also teaches English. She is really nice and cool and I've hung out with her a few times. Thanks for making new friends, Leesa!

Vancouver didn't make the cut

Attraction 2: closed (Michelle)

The tour started at a subway station and wandered through a very artsy part of the city. The first sight on the tour was an old watchtower, which we took pictures of from accross the street. Next was an english bookstore that was closed. Third item on the tour was a Buddhist temple and shrine. We went inside. There was a cool shop on the main floor that sold prayer beads, rugs and books. At the back of the building was a small room for prayer, meditation and chanting. The walls an ceilings were painted with ornate designs of turquise, white, red, orange and blue. The floors were wood and we had to take our shoes off before going into the room. The front of the room had large figures along the wall. Massive bouquets of orchids were placed along the front ledge of the room. It was so beautiful. I took picures, even though I wasn't sure if I was aloud.

Changing trees

We wandered upstairs to the second level. There were a few closed doors, but nothing really to see. Then a man came out of one of the doors and he asked us if we had any questions. We wanted to know if we could go to the third floor and if we could take pictures. He said yes and yes. Then he brought us into one of the rooms on the second floor that is used for meditation. It was very plain, with a few candles and mats on the floor. He asked us if we knew how to meditate, we said sort of. Then he asked us if we would like to meet the monk that is in charge of the temple. Uh yeah! He went away for a few minutes, came back and told us it would be a few minutes and if we wanted to go upstairs to the main shrine, he would come to get us. So we did. We only spent about 5 minutes upstairs then he came to get us. He was Korean but spoke very good english. He asked us where we were from. Canada, Canada, Canada, Scotland. He said he spent 3 months in Toronto and he has been to Vancouver.

The shrine on the main floor

Huge orchid bouquets

Orchids are everywhere

This man, we never asked his name, now that I think about it. Lets call him Mr. Park. Anyway, he led us down a hallway and into a room where the monk was sitting at a low table with cups, tea pots and fruit on it. He was wearing a grey robe. We stood in front of him in a row and Mr. Park arranged cushions in front of each of us and taught us the traditional bow one must do when joining a Buddhist monk. Its 3 bows. Hands in prayer position, bend at the waist, hands and then knees down on the cushion. Forehead to the cushion. Flip hands so palms are facing up, then back to standing position. Then we sat cross legged in front of the monk and we learned about the lotus position. It hurt, but after much practice, I think I could get it. The monk made us tea and Mr. Park said we could ask him questions and he would translate. We asked about meditation, and Mr. Park said that this monk was a meditation master. He told us about the mind/body connection, enlightenment, breathing. We were in the room for about 45 minutes. It was very cool. Except all of our legs were cramping up because us westerners are not used to sitting on the floor for long periods of time.

Then we went into another room, with no furniture, just mats. We learned about posture and more about breathing. Mr. Park and the monk told us about cause and effect (karma), how we will bring good things to our families, cities and countries through meditation. We can meditate anywhere, and it takes lots and lots of practice.

We said goodbye and thank you to Mr. Park and the monk. They were so kind and hospitable to us. And we felt so special! I don't think its too common for foreigners to go into a temple, and get a personal lesson about meditation with the temple's master.

Outside the main shrine

We quickly went upstairs to the main shrine. It was amazing. Three large gold Buddhas were at the front of the room. It was a large room, and again, the ceiling and walls were covered with these painted designs. There were mats on the floors, and candles all along the back wall of the room. So beautiful. I got some pictures and then my camera battey died. Then a man came into the room and said we weren't allowed to take pictures. OOPS!

It was so cool! We left the temple about an hour and half after we entered. We felt so grateful for the experience. I think we will definetly go back to meditate.

It was raining outside as we continued our walking tour. We made it about a km down the road, then the rain turned to monsoon status. We ducked into a cafe and had a snack and figured out what to do. As we headed back to the subway stop, the rain got even harder. We called it a day, and decided to continue the tour another time.