8th Day: Bongeunsa Temple

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Today was special because Sandra and I went to the Bongeunsa Temple in Gangnam-gu. It is a Buddhist temple, so that's good for me because I am a Buddhist. We caught a bus to Bongeunsa from a bus stop near my hotel. I wanted to have a temple stay as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I packed extra comfy clothes, toiletries, socks, sneakers and my electronics (camera and mobile phone). The temple stay provided us with temple clothes that were orange and made of think material.

The temple is located in the city but it still had that traditional building and the nature feel to it. The temple stay starts at 2:00pm and ends at 9:00am the next day. It costs ₩50,000 (about $50.00 AUD) per person. The temple stay included a temple tour, tea ceremony (Da-do), monastic meals (Baru gongyang), chanting services (Yaebul), making Buddhist rosaries and lotus flowers, Seon meditation, conversation with a monk over tea, 108 prostrations.

Some of the meanings of these activities:
Tea Ceremony:
The monks will teach you how to prepare, brew and pour the tea. By doing this correctly, it will help you calm your body and clear your mind. It will work your 5 senses; your ears hear the sound of the boiling water, your nose smells the aroma, your eyes see the color, your mouth tastes the flavour, and your hands feel the warmth of the cup.

108 Prostrations
Prostrating is one of the ways to practice this quality, paying homage to the Three Jewels, the Buddha, the Teachings and the Buddhist Community. We would bow our heads to ground 108 times and by doing this you could discover your true self.

The activity i enjoyed the most was making the Buddhist rosaries and lotus flowers. We spent the whole afternoon doing various activities in the temple until it was dark. When it gets dark, we went on a lantern walk around the temple before we head off to sleep.

In the morning before we left, we had our last meal with the monks and other people. We enjoyed a morning tea session until 9:00am then left. I went back to my hotel and spent the rest of the day there.

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