In South Korea, Immersion in
Buddhist Austerity
By CATHERINE PRICE, New York Times,
November 26, 2006
Seoul, South Korea -- AT 3:30 a.m. in a temple in
South Korea the sound of the moktak a wooden percussion
instrument that Buddhist monks play every morning to start the
temples day jolted me awake. I pulled myself up from my floor
mat, straightened my itchy gray uniform and stumbled through the
pre-dawn darkness to the temple, where pink lotus lanterns
illuminated a small group of people waiting to begin their morning
prostrations.
Sungsu Cho/Polaris, for The New York Times
Guests at one of the temples participating in Templestay Korea, not
long after the early-morning wakeup sound of the
moktak.
I was at the Lotus Lantern International Meditation Center on an
overnight trip run by an organization called Templestay Korea.
Created by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism the largest
Buddhist order in Korea the program aims to allow visitors to
sample ordained lifestyle and experience the mental training and
cultural experience of Koreas ancient Buddhist tradition,
according to its Web site. Although the program only began in 2002
on the occasion of the World Cup soccer tournament held in Korea
and Japan, it has grown swiftly over the last four years from 14
temples to 50, with 52,549 participants in 2005
The meditation center on Ganghwa Island, about two hours from Seoul
by public transportation, certainly seems like the sort of place
that could inspire calm. The grounds are nestled between rice
paddies and a leafy forest, and the centers brightly painted
temple sits several stone steps up from a gentle brook and a small
pond stocked with lotus flowers and koi. Monks wander silently,
occasionally gathering at an outdoor wooden table and offering tea
and small snacks to guests.
But be forewarned the point of the temple stay is not, as the
pictures on its Web site might make it seem, to lounge next to a
brook nibbling crackers as you consider what it means to reach
nirvana. The point is to live like a monk. And monks, it turns out,
keep strict schedules, are vegetarian and spend a lot of time
silently meditating in positions that can become, quickly and
without much warning, incredibly uncomfortable for those unused to
them......