Spiritual Sustenance

 

    OK, after long delays, I’ll be sending a flurry of communication over the next couple of days.  Stomach illnesses have finally brought our dizzying schedule to a break, so now as I regain my strength, I will catch you up on some of my experience to date.  In this first post, I’ll talk a little bit about our experience with a 2 night stay at a small temple in the Yangsan region (see also Kari’s post below).  This means that my posts will be out of order, so I’ll come back to the busy times in Ulsan later.  That will give you better context for the need for a relaxing breath of sweet mountain air.

     Arriving at Panyaam temple, we were met immediately by the irony of arriving at a Buddhist temple with a great deal of material goods.  I am not the lightest packer to begin with, but when you add the multiple gifts we have received on each day of our trip, the load was quite silly looking.  Fittingly, we were informed that our lodging was located “over the mountain” and accessible only by foot up a steep path.  It felt great to have to lug our earthly burdens to our resting point, as during most of our stay, we have been catered to, to an incredible degree (although we did get some help from our Yangsan regional Rotary hosts).  Lucky for us, “over the mountain” only meant a couple hundred yards journey and not the epic journey I was envisioning.

     We were whisked back into the cars almost immediately for a trip to visit with Korea’s most famous potter, Mr. Shin, who showed us his amazing home-made kiln and demonstrated some of his considerable skill.  His late father was one of Korea’s “National Treasures” and his pottery is some of the best regarded in the world.  He explained that the process of firing the kiln to its full temperature of around 2,000 degrees F, takes 3 days of constant attention, after which he takes some time to drink before attending to the rest of his work.  At dinner later that night, he joked that he knows 2 things, drinking and pottery (I replied that I knew one of the two).  However, we know that isn’t true, as he is a warm and brilliant man who has also recently completed a documentary in Japan about the abduction of Koreans by the Japanese in the 18^th(?) century.  It is very important to him that Korean history is recorded accurately and thoroughly.  Later at our first “Western Style Dinner” (read: Steak and forks), Mr. Shin’s spirits were roused by our rendition of the Korean folksong “Arirang” which I have come to use as an icebreaker with each new group after being taught early on by Mr. Kim in Ulsan.  For my efforts, I was awarded a “beer bowl” which was created by Mr. Shin.  We then of course did Norae-bong with both Korean and English songs and Mr. Shin showed off his considerable dance moves, providing me with my first dirty dancing experience in Asia.

      We finally arrived back at the temple for sleep on some small cushions and blankets on the floor.  I was not ready to let the night pass without some initial time experiencing my surroundings, so flashlight in hand, I headed down the hill and made my way to a small peaceful pool and waterfall behind the main temple.  After I began to write, the main assistant to the “High Priest” (as the translation goes) came by to see who was out after hours.  I greeted him in my limited Korean, and he assured me that I should enjoy myself.  The peace of that place was so wonderful after all of our amazing and hectic urban schedule.  Please forgive the unedited nature of writings by the moonlit pool that first evening.  That seems like the best way to present them:

Motion all around,

My heart calls out for peace and stillness,

 

Beckoning in the hills,

A place of wonder –

Simple and beautiful,

Beautifully simple;

 

Peace, sing to me!

Stillness, be my guide,

Bring me back to sweet breath,

Show me your wonder,

Show me your truth,

Lay me down by still waters

As ancient truths speak without filters or agenda,

 

One drop without the taint of greed,

One universe without desire for power unattainable,

Dip joyously in the stream of goodness,

And live or die with the smile of the bubbling brook,

Live or die behind the humble, mighty Buddha,

 

She watches without judgment,

He embraces sweetly all that is,

Breathes in smog and soot,

Exhales pure delight;

 

Bring me contentment

That I may pass it to my neighbor,

Bring me health

That I may pass it to my family,

Bring me sweet earth

That I may share it with my lover;

 

Playful dancers gliding toward the water,

Frolic as you will

And let me witness burdenless joy,

Teach me as I sit in ignorant curiosity,

Judge me or not,

If you shall receive me in the spirit of growth;

 

Allow me a chance to taste the sweetness of your being.

 

     The next morning, one of our Rotary hosts, Mr. Quan, arranged for us to have a visit in the quarters of the High Priest, who had been his teacher.  He served us green tea in his humble accommodations, filled with the books of a scholar and the technology of a man engaged in the world. 

      After some inevitable challenge in getting the conversation started as we gauged the amount of shared language, we had a conversation ranging from politics to Buddhist philosophy and his travels abroad.  I asked him what was one thing that we in the U.S. could learn from Korean Buddhist teachings.  He responded by saying “cause and effect”.  This also led him to talk about President Bush’s lack of understanding of cause and effect in his decisions in the world.  Don asked about his thoughts on the situation in Tibet, and the wave of sadness in his spirit was palpable.  Again “cause and effect”.  Words to ponder in all areas of life. 

       Just before we left, I asked if it would be appropriate for him to give us a Koan to ponder for the remainder of our trip.  Once the language gap was bridged with some explanation, he gladly obliged, beckoning me toward him as he sat strongly in lotus position behind the ancient slab of wood which was his tea table.  He asked me to stretch my hand out, whereupon he grasped it firmly in his left and turned it palm up, his left underneath.  He then wound up with his right arm and brought his hand down hard on mine, creating a great clapping sound.  Putting my trust in him and in this experience, I did not feel the need to flinch.  It was as though he had kissed my hand.  Looking at each of our hands, he said “My hand….Your hand….Where did the sound come from?”  As with any koan, meditating for understanding can be a lifelong journey.  We will ponder as our journey continues.

       Later that same day, we were once again blessed to visit with the high priest of another very small temple.  Perhaps fittingly, I am not finding the literature on it right now, so it will remain nameless for the moment.  Upon entering his office, we all got onto the floor and bowed to him.  He served us wonderfully light green tea, and after a bit of small talk, he went into didactic mode and gave us many things to think about.  These paraphrases were through our wonderful graduate student interpreter Jae-ook:

      “You and I are the same.  There is no difference.”

      “You can experience the whole universe in this cup of green tea.  Earth, wind, fire and water.  These are the big 4 concepts in Korean Buddhism.  And, we have each of these elements within us.  Fire in our temperature; water in our tears, urine and saliva; earth in our bones and skin; wind in our breath.”

     “I am trying to find myself, to learn who I am.  Do you know yourself?  You can find out all you need to know by drinking a cup of green tea.”

      He had also mentioned something about where we are before we are born and after we die.  Don asked if he knew whether those were the same place.  He replied, “If you learn where you were before you were born during your life, then you will be in the same place after you die.  If you do not learn where you were born before you die, then you will go to a different place.”

 

      We finished off the day at the main Tongdosa temple where we went to the evening chanting service.  There were probably 100 monks there chanting beautifully (in contrast to the 4 monks in residence at the tiny temple we stayed at), and we all gamely tried to keep up with their up and down bowing.  We had received training earlier that day from our Rotary hosts.  Kari, Don and I had gone on an impromptu mountain climbing excursion during a brief couple hours of free time that afternoon, so our thighs were burning quite thoroughly.  But, I think that is the point to this sort of experience.  If you aren’t feeling it deeply, dig a little deeper.

    

 

Explore posts in the same categories: Alex, GSE Team Korea 2008