Last night I had decided to sleep in and not go to the 5:30AM meditation. However at the announced hour of 5 AM we all were awaken by the Buddhist call to wake up via a series of outdoor loudspeakers located throughout the temple complex. You could not sleep if you wanted to! So I figured I might as well dress and trudge up that steep road to the temple complex where we had walked to yesterday. It was just barley light enough to see my way as I joined others also headed in that direction. Beneath the patio where the sunmudo demonstration was held is a small indoor temple. Upon arrival I found other attendees already sitting on mats on the floor with the monk seated on his mat facing the Buddhist altar in front. Soon he began the ritual chanting as he beat a rhythm to accompany the chant on a wooden block called a “Wok Tok”. The chanting was combined with standing, then kneeling and bowing over a period of 15-20 minutes as he performed their morning service. We were to follow the motions as best we could. I did take a quick picture before the service began but not during this service out of respect.

Rob had suggested that if we skipped the 5:30AM service he would recommend the walking meditation service that would be held right after. Well since I was already there I chose to join everyone to see what it involved. After sitting a few moments and doing several simple stretching exercises the sunmudo master led us on a walk through the nearby woods. I have to admit it was reflective and relaxing to simply sit and walk quietly in the crisp morning air. The “service” lasted about 20 minutes and was worth doing.

Breakfast would now be served(6:30AM)  and I was curious what a vegan breakfast might entail. Rice was the main ingredient along with vegetables, another soup and some fruit. There was toast with honey also available. No coffee, only water. Same routine as last night. Take off your shoes, gather your food, sit on the floor and wash your dishes.

There was another sunmudo training session at 9AM for those interested. After watching yesterday’s session, I was not interested in participating so I remained in my room, checking up on the events of the world. We  would be leaving the temple around 10AM and were instructed to “clean up” our room and return the used bedding, towel and clothing to the office before then.

One of our travel companions learned there was a coffee shop right outside the gates of the temple if anyone wanted to get coffee before we left. I certainly did and once I returned to civilian clothing and turned in my laundry I walked there and proceeded to have a very nice americano coffee. By the way if you go into any coffee shop in South Korea that is the coffee that is listed first. The Koreans love their coffee.

Once we left the temple the plan was to explore a few of the other attractions in the area and spend the night in a local hotel in Gyeongju before continuing to Busan. Stop number 1 was a visit to the Yangdong Folk Village, a UNESCO heritage site. Houses in the village date back to the 15th century, during the Joseon Dynasty. There are two distinct home types here: large elegant, tiled roofed homes high on the hill owned by the wealthy residents and small, thatched roofed homes below owned by the workers. Several 500+ year old homes still exist and there are 54 homes that are over 200 years old!  We did a walking tour of the area to see the palatial homes of the two founding families (Son and Yi ) which are still occupied by descendants. Obviously we could not enter the actual home but we were able to walk onto the property and see the outside of the homes.

Lunch had been arranged at a small family owned restaurant in the village where we were overwhelmed by the number ( I think I counted 15) of side dishes that accompanied our main dish of either pork, fish of vegetarian bibimbap. The owners also served us rice wine with the meal. It was quite a full table!

Leaving the village we then headed into Gyeongju to visit the Cheomseongdae Observatory and the Royal Tombs. Cheomseongdae Observatory is thought to have been built during the reign of Queen Seondeok (r. 632-647) of the Silla Dynasty for observation of the movements of heavenly bodies. It is the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia. It stand 9 meters high, has 12 stones on the base layer (12 months of year), with 30 layers of stones (days in a month) and a total of 366 stones in the structure. There is  a hole in the center where one can climb into and watch star progression over time. During the ancient period, astronomy was deeply related to agriculture as farming times were often determined according to the movements of the stars.

Nearby is the site of some Royal Tombs of kings from the Shilla kingdom (one of three ancient kingdoms of Korea). There are about 20 grassy mounds which contain the remains of former kings and their family. Only one has ever been opened. It is called the Cheonmachong tomb (built in 5th or 6th CE), meaning “sky horse” which was depicted on items found in the tomb. The reason it was the only one opened is that nowhere in history could they find who was buried there, so they rationalized that perhaps they could determine who it was if they opened it. They never did learn who it was, but they did uncover over 11,500 gold artifacts in the tomb, replicas of which were on display here. Why were other other tombs not robbed over the centuries? The thought is that construction of the tombs was so complex ( wood, stone, dirt) that it would have made it extremely difficult to penetrate them.

That completed the day’s activities and we went to a local hotel for a good night’s sleep in real beds! Again Rob offered to join him at a local restaurant where the focus was on Korean pork belly BBQ. Of course we all went to experience Korean BBQ. It required a bit of education on how to do it but it was a lot of fun and we ate (and drank) well! I really like the concept of the tour leader taking us to local restaurants even though we each pay for our meals. Normally unless the meal is included with the tour package you are on your own. I wish other tour companies offered the same approach.

There were several optional activities offered on the tour, including one to visit a local attraction called the Anapji Ponds at night. Normally we would have to take a 20 minute cab ride from the hotel but Rob asked our bus driver if he would take us there after dinner if we would pay him for his time. A deal was cut and for 5000won each ($3.73) he would take us. Deal! I was not sure why it was so worth seeing but this made it easy to see what all the interest was about a pond.  Once there I can say it was one of the major highlights of the trip for me-simply breathtaking display of lights on trees and pagodas with reflections on the still waters on the pond. It was magical!

 

Back to the hotel for a good, restful sleep as I logged 19,941 steps this day-a new record I think!

My reaction to my stay at the Buddhist Temple:  Been there, done that…..no interest to do it again!