Felici Lives Here

After a super late night (bedtime was 1am for me, 4am for Jojo), we packed up and left Seoul at 7am to get to Tongdosa, which is near the southeastern tip of Korea.  We only had to travel around 200 miles, but the way we travel, it took the whole day. Sunim had arranged for us to meet with another Zen master, the Venerable Chin Chul Sunim, in the city of Daejeon.  This was our first time meeting a Zen master (other than Yangil Sunim), so Sunim instructed us to box to the floor 3 times when we met him.  We were nervous, but everyone bowed properly and Chin Chul Sunim turned out to be the sweetest monk.  Throughout lunch, he smiled and laughed with us.

Now, about the lunch, it was amazing! I believe the word in Korean is Hanjeongsik, meaning a full course traditional meal. We ate with gold chopsticks on golden plates and bowls.  We were served course after course, I couldn’t count because the servings just kept coming, nonstop!  Each dish contained a small portion of the most delicate and elaborately prepared Korean foods.  We didn’t have anything like this for the rest of the trip, this meal was really special.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures because I didn’t want to be rude, the meal seemed so fancy.  We ended it with a delightful bowl of persimmon syrup/juice that had just a touch of cinnamon, so good!

Arriving finally at Tongdosa (Tongdo Temple) around 5pm, I was struck by the awesome beauty of the mountains and trees surrounding the temple. We entered through a huge gate of elaborate wood carvings, then drove down a long winding road through a forest of trees until we saw the roofs of the temple. This place is amazing. It was first established 1,300 years ago and is one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea.  The first thing we noticed is that there are no Buddha statues in the shrine halls here.  That’s because this temple holds relics of the historical Buddha, including his robe, begging bowl, and a bone from his skull.

As we walked the grounds, this feeling hit me all of a sudden: this is the place where my dad became a monk. And then I thought: my dad was a holy man!  Strange how I’ve been telling people all these years that my dad was a monk, yet it never struck me that he was really a monk.  As I walked each path, I imagined him in his prayer robes walking the path before me.  It was an emotional moment for me, and not one that I can easily illustrate in words.  I don’t fully understand how I feel about this place, knowing my father was pulled from my life to this calling.  All I know is that a part of me is inspired to be here, and craves to see more of what he saw, do more of the things he did, and learn the things he learned here.

Here’s a common sight during the trip, many more sleeping pictures to come:

From left to right in the following picture: Marissa, Chris, Norman, Chin Chul Sunim, Yangil Sunim, Tiffany, and Jojo

One of many rest stops on the way to Tongdosa. These rest stops were our happy places, sitting in the back of a van for hours can drive you nuts.

Not to mention the great food at the rest stops. Here is fired squid and walnut cakes (actually just sweet bread with red bean inside, yum):

LPG, aka liquid petroleum gas. Our van (a Dodge Caravan) was converted to run on LPG, which is much cheaper than unleaded fuel and has cleaner emissions:

This is the view as we approached Tongdosa, amazing misty mountains (and of course more rice fields):

Tiff, Jojo, and me at the inside gate:

Tongdosa was preparing for their 1,300th birthday celebration, reminds me of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart:

Roof tiles of Tongdosa and kimchi jars:

Venerable Chun Cho Sunim at Tongdosa:

This is the schedule posted in our room. I can’t read Korean, but I know we have to wake up at 3am, chant at 3:50am, then breakfast at 6am. Yikes!

South Korea Day 3: Seoraksan and Seoul
South Korea Day 2: Seoraksan, Naksansa, & Sinheungsa
South Korea Day 1: Arrival and First Meal
South Korea: Beautiful Country, Delicious Food, I Love This Place!
South Korea: Back to Civilization