KOREAN BARBEQUE: October 2008

Cathy and I went to stay at a temple for a weekend and it was great! Our itinerary included:

* sleeping on the floor - and waking up to a GIGANTIC black spider by my head!

* bowing 108 times - we did this at a very quick pace, to the beat of a bamboo stick...what a workout! I haven't sweat that much in a long time!

* chanting - surprisingly, I was able to keep up with reading the words, although there was no hope for me to actually chant along :S

* walking meditations - we walked one by one along a beautiful path in the forest, and were told to concentrate only on our feet...if we stepped on a rock, we should feel the pain, but immediately go back to focusing entirely on our footsteps. It was really interesting.

* sitting meditations (at 4am!)- we were woken up at 4am to practice our sitting meditations. We were not allowed to close our eyes, and the sunim walked around with a bamboo stick just in case we felt the urge to go to sleep!

* a tea ceremony followed by discussions with the sunim (monk)- this was a very relaxing and thought-provoking part of the weekend, and I feel I learned a lot about buddhism

* making lotus lanterns - craft time! the lanterns were really fun to make, and we sat at a table with some funny Brits, making it the most light-hearted part of the weekend.

* making a 108 bead necklace - for which we were supposed to bow 108 times...however, after the first 108 bows, and some extras thrown in here and there over the weekend, my poor legs couldn't really take any more strain, so sadly, mine is a mere 68 bow necklace :(

* eating the most depressing breakfast EVER! - at 6am we experienced a traditional monk breakfast, eating out of four bowls, in a very particular order, in complete silence, and then cleaning out the bowls with a piece of radish and water, and then EATING the radish after it all was done! NOT my favourite part of the weekend, but an experience to remember, that's for sure!

Thoughts on the weekend: It was informative, and thought-provoking at times, grueling and physically painful at others! Overall, I'm really happy that I did it!
It was a fantastic weekend, even if I came home barely able to move :)

In the video, the first bit is of a monk drumming. You can't see much, but the sound is awesome! Afterward is a slide show of pictures taken during the weekend.