Felici Lives Here

We were definitely not prepared for the unique experiences of Day 5. This was our first full day at a temple, which meant we woke at 3:00am to the resounding peel of a giant bronze bell.  We walked a short 20 steps over to the shrine hall for morning homage.  One thing I could not get used to was how much bowing the monks do outside the temple.  Every time we passed by a monk, he bowed to us, and we would return the bow.  Once inside the shrine hall, shoes left outside, we grabbed a cushion, found a spot behind the monks, and quietly sat in silence.

When the chanting began, it was like nothing I’ve ever heard before.  I grew up with a monk for a father, so seeing and hearing the Heart Sutra chanted in Korean was not something new.  But hearing 50 monks in this giant hall, chanting in unison with their baritone voices, was completely different!  The voices filled my ears, the synchronicity awed me, the power & strength in the voices as each monk sang wholeheartedly to Buddha inspired me!  After many full prostrations, bowing all the way to the floor and back up again, we meditated for a short time and morning homage was over.

The rest of the day was just as unique as we had meetings with many of the officials at Tongdosa. Two of the Zen masters brought us in their room for tea and roasted chestnuts after breakfast.  The tea was a special blend of leaves from that region, and it tasted like nothing I’ve ever tasted, very tree-like and hearty.  We then met with the abbot of Tongdosa, Venerable Jung Woo Sunim.  After bowing 3 times, we sat and talked, drinking cold lotus leaf tea.  Immediately after that, we met with the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.  This was huge, it’s like meeting with the Pope!  Bowing again 3 times to the floor, we were served a sweet juice, maybe pomegranate, and we just hung out with the Supreme Patriarch!  Before parting, he gave us each a small piece of woven cloth with his calligraphy (which had his name and some words of his wisdom).

All this before 10am, which is when we attended a sermon in the shrine hall.  Yangil Sunim made us sit up front, and the abbot made us stand up and bow to the audience!!!  Hundreds of people clapped for us, we have no idea why we were standing or why they were clapping!  Many leg cramps later (it’s much harder than you think to sit cross-legged for more than 15 minutes), we were done with formalities and enjoyed a day of eating great food and exploring the temple.  Here are a few images from Day 5.

Jojo’s perspective on the temple:

Lanterns strung up to celebrate 1,300 years since Tongdosa was built:

More lanterns strewn throughout the courtyard. I love this shot for so many reasons! It looks out from inside a temple structure to a courtyard and pagoda, surrounded by more temple structures, nestled snugly within the misty mountains:

We love Happy Buddha!

Shoes outside the main shrine hall during the service:

Hundreds of Buddhists prostrated on the floor during the service given by the abbot, Venerable Jung Woo Sunim. This room was amazing, so huge and every inch of the ceiling was skillfully carved and painted with images of Buddhas, dragons, Sanskrit symbols, and other beautiful artwork.

Super cool stairway we happened upon while walking through the forest. It leads up to a pagoda at the top:

This monk kept walking past the pagoda at a brisk pace into the woods, so we followed him:

I’m glad we followed him, because we ended up at the top of a peak with this view of the whole temple and surrounding mountains:

Closer view of Tongdosa, this temple is huge. The structure in the bottom left is the original shrine hall, and just behind it is the relic containing the historical Buddha’s robe, begging bowl, and a bone from his skull:

Two little monks with prayer beads I found sitting on a stone lantern near the pagoda:

One of many large spiders we saw in Korea. And on the right, a neato praying mantis!

We were staying next door to this monk, he was very kind and demonstrated some moves for us:

He then gave us a gift, writing out the beginning of the Heart Sutra on a handkerchief:

Lastly, I have to throw in a food picture. This was our first meal of kalbi ribs in Korea, and boy was it GOOD!!!

South Korea Day 4: Road Trip to Tongdosa
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