Baekdamsa Bliss
Trip Start
Aug 18, 2010
1
20
31
Trip End
Ongoing
Inje, Gangwon, Korea Rep.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Bus #3 took me to a little town called Wonton. Wonton was weird. From Wonton, a little man dragged me in the terminal to explain to me that I had to wait another 2 hours to get to the temple. After 3 buses, I just wanted to get there. So, I went to check with the taxi drivers, and repeatedly asked "Baekdamsa." They shook their heads. Well, looks like I was stuck in Wonton for a while. It was nearly 3 pm and I had spent the entire day on the bus it felt, until the little man popped up, grabbed my hand and started to run. So, I ran with him.
He led me on bus #4 and from the little Korean I figured out that this bus was going to drop me off at a place near the temple. I thanked little man many times and he patted my back and we were off. I looked around and saw no one else on this bus though! I guess just a special trip for the lost, hungry, confused foreigner girl, who was just trying to get to a damn temple! Bus #4 dropped me off on the side of the highway near Yong Dae-ri. Well, I just sighed with relief and thought, no more buses! But, where was I? I walked until I found a Family Mart, grabbed some strange flavored snack and a water and asked some Korean cyclers where to go. They pointed straight and told me to continue walking for 3 km. So that is what I did. The walk was beautiful, with mountains towering over pine trees and rivers weaving in and out of the rice paddies. Okay, I thought, this was worth it! I came to a sign that said 7 more kilometers. So, I just kept walking until I came to a bus station with signs for Baekdamsa!
Finally! I approached the ticket booth and bought a ticket for bus #5 and waiting in a line for about 30 minutes. The bus was packed to the gills with hikers and tourists, but no foreigners, therefore many people wanted to practice their English with me. This would have been fine if it hadn't been for the crazy bus driver who was whipping around corners like we were in a high speed car race. All I could concentrate on was holding on for my dear life and trying not to smash my neighbors. When we arrived, the couple who I sat next to, or basically on top of, on the bus bought me a coffee and crackers and asked me to join them. I played cherades with them for a while, until we ran out of things to talk about and they were on their way. But, the good news was, I had made it to my destination. Baekdamsa...nestled in the inner mountains of gorgeous Seoraksan National Park. I whipped out my camera to try and capture the beauty, and low and behold my camera was dead.
I checked in to my room, bought a 10,000 Won disposable camera and immediately set our for a hike which was well needed after my day of travel. After my hike, I checked out the temple grounds and stopped in the museum to find out some information about the history of the temple. I was greeted by a middle aged man, Song, who spoke perfect English. He had been volunteering at the temple for over 5 years. He explained to me that Baekdamsa was one of the most famous temples in Korea. It was made famous by Manhae Han Yong-Un, a strong activist for national independence and poet who wrote his literary piece called “Nimui Chimmuk (Silence of the Beloved)." Anyways, I won't bore you with history banter. He showed me around the temple, ate dinner with me and translated many conversations for me. He mentioned that he was driving back to Chuncheon the next day and offered to give me a ride. Hallelujah! This took away all my stress about making it back in time and eliminated bus #2,3,4 and 5!
After dinner, which consisted of sour vegetables and rice in a cafeteria where we wash our own dishes, we attended the night service. This was where I met my roomates, Jung Yi, Hyun Mi and Ju Hee. Jung Yi and Hyun Mi were teachers at a school down south, both single and in their early 40's. Ju Hee was an apsiring artist, age 25 too and living in Seoul. She came to Baekdamsa to clear her mind after a break up with her boyfriend who she met in Washington DC.
But, back to the service. I had no clue what I was doing and just followed along with my roomates, bowing, standing, bowing and chanting. After the service, Song wanted to introduce me to one of the monks. It was dark and all I could see was the shadow of the monk's draped clothes and docile, smiling, gentle face lit up by the moon. It felt like we were in a fairytale almost, as I was expecting Tinkerbell to land on his shoulder and Peter Pan's silhouette to fly across the moon while fairy dust fell from the sky. But, this did not happen, although, I had the honor of talking and walking with the smiling monk on a trail through the forest (forgive me I cannot remember his Korean name). He wanted to practice his English and encouraged me asking him personal questions and learning about Buddhism. I noticed miles and miles of rocks vertically stacked on top of each other by the river. Smiling monk told me that each rock stacked on one another represents the amount of troubles and worries you want to get rid of. Once the rainy season starts, the rock piles will crash over and your worries will be washed away in the river. After the insightful adventure, he walked us back to our rooms and told us to rest well because we would be getting up at 2:30 am for morning prayer service. Me and my roomies did not do as he commanded and ended up talking, laughing and sharing stories until midnight. Before I went to bed, I filled up my water outside at the fresh spring beside our room. I looked up at saw thousands of twinkling stars, listened to the sounds of the night creatures, smelled the fresh, crisp, mountain air and felt the tranquility and serenity that encompassed the temple grounds. My spirit was light, my mind was clear and my soul was free in this very moment. I was content.
Gong. Gong. Gong. It was 2:30am. My 'chingoos,' or 'friends' in Korean, woke me up and guided me to the temple, still half asleep from the mere two hours of rest. We layed out cushioned mats and sat indian style listening to soft chanting music while the monks sat in front of the golden Buddha statue. Eyes closed, heart opened, it was time for meditation. I was doing great, until half way in, my stomach started to churn. My focus was disturbed and so were many others most likely from the loud, grumbling sound coming from my tummy. I drank some water, but still, for the next 30 minutes my stomach added an unpleasant and noisy background beat to the soft and sedative chanting every couple of minutes.
Next was the 108 bows. Each bow represented a sin that we have made. Buddhist do this as a way to wash away their sins, and I also found it's a great work out. I was loving it and loving the discipline, as I could not stop. I had to keep going! In my head counting, 106 bows, 107 bows, okay, just one more, 108 bows. Phew!!! Wait, maybe I counted wrong? The monks in front were still going. Okay, 120, 121, 122....188, 189....then I just stopped counting. We must have completed about 200 bows before the second meditation started. By this time, I was starving and burnt out. I did not properly fill up on the sour veggies and rice at our 6 pm dinner the previous night. I made it through and as we exited the temple the sun had already come up and a mist lay low along the riverbank. I was feeling refreshed and grounded, despite my extreme hunger and sore legs.
We ate breakfast around 5 am and my friends treated me to some traditional ginger tea to settle my stomach and soothe my soul in the quaint, log cabin-like tea house nestled in the mountains. We then went back to the room to get some sleep before our hike, which was a mistake. By the time we woke up it was nearly 10 am and the trail was swarming with Koreans. My peacefulness had gone from a 10 to a 1 (10 being the highest level of peace!) I trekked on for about an hour until I couldn't battle the crowd anymore and had to say my goodbyes to my lovely, kind friends to find a place for some R & R. A couple hours after lunch, Song and I jumped in the car and passed by the hundreds of hikers lined up on the bridge waiting for the bus to leave the temple. I did not want to leave. Less than 24 hours was not enough for me. I really wanted to call in to school and say "I'm so sorry, but I've found my place here at Baekdamsa and am staying here to live with monks in peace and quiet." But, I had to leave unfortunately.
On the way home, Song explained that he had attended Stanford University and lived in California for 10 years. He was a type of scientist/biologist and did many research studies about depression and stress. I had also taken many classes in college on these subjects, so it made for an interesting ride. Song mentioned that he goes to the temple about once a month and the smiling monk who I had taken a walk with the night before had invited me back to stay for free next time. I am once again amazed by the people that enter my life at seemingly the exact and almost perfect times. Are these coincidences, or carefully mapped out events that God plans? In any event, however you look at it, it was a true blessing to have met the little man in the bus terminal, Song, my roomates, the smiling monk, which all made my experience staying at Baekdamsa so magical. I am looking forward to returning again and learning more about meditation and myself!!
