Day 7 (8.19)- Free Your Mind (the rest will follow)
We packed our bags this weekend and headed to Myogak-sa Temple, just 2 stops, and one transfer from our station in Hyehwa…a new home away from home for the evening. I have been dying from a cold (a customary tradition Mother Nature gifts me with every time I travel…not sure how to tell her I’d like a gift receipt next time), so I was reluctant to join, but decided to try out this once in a lifetime experience of staying in a Buddhist temple and learning about what the religion and culture is like.
First though? The most aesthetically-pleasing breakfast/outfit combo I’ve ever laid eyes on….
(photo courtesy of @fancyfreb)
Hyehwa is full of these hole-in-the-wall food stands and tiny eateries managed by senior ladies who know how to make good food. This was from a toast stand, where the lady in charge made toast, bulgogi patties, egg, cabbage, and of course, American cheese, pieced them together, and sprinkled them with just the right amount of special sauce. It’s a s(e)o(u)lely Korean take on the familiar American breakfast sandwich. Korea used to not be super into breakfast foods, and like many other cultures worldwide, breakfast was just another meal where you ate foods similar to lunch or dinner. With recent times, the industry for breakfast foods has become a booming market for people looking for the next big food craze, and I will say, the result is way better than an Egg McMuffin.
After eating our fill, we headed to the temple for the evening, greeted by hundreds of lanterns, and temple adorned with intricate designs.
We then learned a bit about Korean Buddhism, and partook in a challenge where we were to bow in a complicated way 108 times. We were told Buddhist practitioners do this to atone for their daily unholy thoughts, like greed, anger, and ignorance. With each bow, we placed a bead on a string until the bag of beads was empty. It was much harder than it sounds… Now doing 5 sets of squats at the gym doesn’t sound so bad. We were also given advice on how to clear one’s mind, which seem pretty universal; relax, don’t rush, live in the now.
Afterwards, we went to the rooftop where we rang the bell for 5pm, similar to the bells in Catholic churches and other religious establishments. Our guide, one of the sunim (senior monk/nun) of the temple helped us ring this bell for the town, as it reverberated in our skulls and throughout the city.
She was quite peaceful and pensive, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use her as my subject for some candid silhouettes…
There was also a lot of interesting buildings in this section of town with unique architecture mixing old and new, which was worth noting.
#aesthetic
Then after we had a wonderful vegetarian dinner, and some meditation time (which was much less my thing than eating was), we waited for the sun to set to see Seoul by night from the perch of the golden Buddha who looks over the city from atop the mountain, passing the stone Buddha carved out of the rock itself along the way.
The views were worth every penny it took to fly to Seoul….
I also made a friend on the way down…. just a little camera shy
