Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul

During our day off, Kyle and I visited a Buddhist temple. There are several temples located in South Korea. Many are out in the mountains, away from the dirt and noise of the big cities, but Bongeunsa Temple is right in the middle of busy Seoul. It's surprising to see this temple. As you are walking down the street, past all the high rises and the giant underground shopping mall called COEX, you come across a big gate with two stone lions and lotus flowers. It's a hidden gem. It was founded in 794 and was the main temple of the Korean Zen sect of Buddhism for almost 400 years. Most of the buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1939 and also during the Korean War, but it has since been rebuilt and renovated. 

One entrance to COEX, the underground shopping mall.

A very large, abstract looking building.

The entrance to the temple.

Walking through the gates.

This temple had so much detail in the design of the buildings. The colors were so vibrant, and the whole place looked like it was painted by hand.

Kyle and the giant lotus

Warriors.

A gorgeous door.

When we were there, they were setting up for some event. People were hanging thousands of paper lanterns from the ceiling of  the central pavilion.

There were many building that people were meditating in and praying in. I was wanting to meditate for a bit while I was there, but did not know the customs or rituals, and was just generally worried about doing something wrong and disrupting people. It is a very strange feeling being there. It is nice and calm, and beautiful, and many people are walking around taking pictures and enjoying the architecture. But there are also monks praying, and people giving their respects to Buddha and all the gods. At times, I felt like I was being totally disrespectful by photographing the halls and just had to put my camera away and take mental images.

We were fortunate enough to listen to one of the monks chanting.

Thousands of gold Buddha statues.

At this temple, there is a giant Buddha. This Buddha points to both the sky and the earth, and is much different from the happy Buddha that most people know (the big chubby one that is either standing or laying down and laughing). It was very beautiful and calming to be in its presence. In front of the giant Buddha was a marble platform where people can chant and pray. At the base of the Buddha were several different Buddhist gods. Many people who were there said a prayer and bowed to each of the gods.

Giant Buddha

This man was praying on the platform when we arrived.

A contrasting view of city life and monastery life.

A small prayer site. People would build towers out of the rocks they found on the temple site.

There were hundreds of these towers all over the temple landscape.

Something that Kyle and I are planning to do is a temple stay. For a fee, you can stay at the temple for one night and learn about the history of Buddhism and follow the monks in their  daily routines. You dress in simple clothes, eat the traditional monastic meal (where no food is wasted, and even the water you clean your dish with is consumed), and follow the early morning prayers and 108 prostrations. We are trying to figure out a good time for when our bodies will be able to handle waking up at 4am and bowing to the floor 108 times. I'll let you know when that happens....