This past weekend was eventful, in a really relaxing way. Saturday we got up early to Ryan calling, he was outside our apartment, we'd overslept! We all pitched in and made a huge breakfast intended to fuel us up for our hike! We walked to the bus stop and headed out of town, south of Seoul to the Cheonggyesan mountain range. We had incredible bus luck all day, I love it when that happens. No waiting, our transfers just pulling up as soon as we get there, etc. Easy.
When we got there we headed to the hills, passing a great little farmers market, which we hit up on the way back down, getting the freshest veggies for dinner.
We hit the trails, and they were so crowded at first, must have been some hiking club or group, so us, not knowing where we were going, or having much preference, took a sudden turn off the main trail to a small, steep terraced trail, and suddenly it was peaceful! No hikers at all in fact, just the three of us.
This was a great trail in fact, leading us up the mountain at such a kind pace. The day was cloudy, and rain seemed imminent, but that didn't bother any of us, we are from Oregon, we are used to the rain! The gray clouds overhead were pretty in contrast to the luscious green canopy above. It was warm and the air was wet and the forrest seemed to be alive with bugs and worms and insects, so we peered closely at the leaves to investigate an inch worm or some cool looking beetle... it is mating season, so it was highly entertaining! We continued up and around and through the trees, as the path changed several times, each change revealing a new beauty of the place. The rain came, but it wasn't a nuisance, the trees above caught most of the drops, the rest cooled us down nicely, although it made for some muddy and therefore slippery terrain, no falls though (just some close calls)!
Sunday we did some urban exploring, Josh found for us some info about a lecture, or talk of some kind to be held (in english) at a temple in the very north of the city, and on the topic of zen buddhism. So another early start on the day this time we took the subway across town, to the base of the Bukhansan mountain range, to the Hwagyesa (temple). Situated at the top of a hill, above a humble looking residential area, towers another of Koreas beautiful Buddhist temples.
The grounds were lush and green and had lots of things to look at and trails to ramble upon. So we wandered freely and took it all in.
The place seemed free of tourists, which was a nice treat, there were lots of people milling around, busy doing their days work. Monks on cellphones, men setting up huge tents, a woman selling trinkets from a tent, and a small crew on construction workers moving a giant glass buddha, a goofy sight really, but not that surprising either.
The temple grounds covered a large area, maybe a dozen or so buildings, surrounding one massive five story temple in the center of it all. There were lanterns up, leftover from all the celebrations this past month, such a beautiful addition to the already incredible and colorful buildings, with the ornate wood structures and paintings on nearly every surface! We had time to kill before the talk was to begin so we wandered around for a few hours, and even stumbled upon a service that was in session, and stopped at a nice shady bench to enjoy our tasty snack, courtesy of Josh!
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| a Korean woman explaining to her kid the scene in the painting |
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| people can write a wish or a prayer and attach them to the lanterns |
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| A service being held at one of the dozens of temple rooms adorned with golden Buddhas |
The dharma talk we went there for was held on the top floor of the main building, in an attic room with wood floor, low vaulted ceilings and a big gold buddha in the center. There were about twenty people there to listen, we all sat on small mats on the floor, legs crossed for over and hour! Whew.... I'm glad for all my years of yoga training, but I was still quite antsy to stretch my legs, being as they are sore from the hike on the previous day! Two monks led the talk, a woman from Poland and a man from the US, he the zen master and she the student, I think. Those of us listening hailed from probably fifteen nationalities, but all had the same desire to gain some knowledge from this talk.
The head monk, the zen master as he called himself, talked a lot, and much of it was simple and common sense, as with many buddhist philosophies. He presented an interesting metaphor of a piece of fruit that has become so ripe that is has fallen from the tree and is now beginning to rot, in this fruit however is a seed, and the rotting fruit is creating an optimal fertilization for the growth of a new tree. He thinks of the world we live in that way. It has become rotten, people are fascinated and almost obsessed with the end of the world, why? He thinks because people are really unhappy, but it is best to not be only saddened by this, but to realize that there is potential fruit, seeds of a greater thing. We can work to find what these seeds are and learn how to cultivate them. I like this thought. It was a good talk, and it was a good relief when it ended as well.
We ended the day, and the weekend with a quick stop at our buddy Kevin's house (with a great view, and a porch for enjoying it) for a BBQ to honor the great Dan Mckay (yeah, he's got those awesome pink shorts on), of Portland, Oregon on his 32nd birthday. We had burgers, potatoes, and lots of watermelon, along with a killer home brewed IPA (yesssss!!!). Another good weekend, and many more to come...
love love love
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