I hosted a group of four on a beautiful November morning at Musangsa. This modest temple compound is situated upon top a steep hill, at the foot of the Kye Ryong San Mountains, 30 minutes from Daejeon.
We were graciously greeted by the office assistant, who led us inside a small trailer. We were lucky to get a chance, she said, to attend the ceremony taking place at the main Buddha hall just up the hill. Plus, Zen Master Wu Bong Sunim, an American and Zen Master from Berlin, Germany, happened to be visiting that day and would be leading the dharma talk. We were taken by surprise since that was who we wanted to see the next day in Seoul.
I led the group to the storage room where everyone could find appropriate temple robes and comfortable bowing pants. Visitors can just don on a work vest, or try on the entire nsemble of temple attire if they wish.
The moktok sounded five minutes before lunch-time. If you visit a Korean temple and sit down to have a meal with the sangha, it is a good idea to just pay attention and notice if there is a pattern in the seating arrangement. Since situations could change, just be aware, and follow the situation. At Musangsa, the row or tables next to the windows are reserved for sunims, one side for the males and the other for the females.
At 1:30, we all assembled into the dharma hall to practice sitting meditation. I took my seat, gathering the zafu (small meditation cushion) so that my knees could touch the floor, but raising my hips high enough to allow my belly to hang forward just slightly. I focused on my breath and felt my belly contract and expand. The chukpi sounded three times and we all sat for 30 minutes. Then the chukpi sounded once signaling the walking meditation segment of our practice. I attempted to focus on the placement of each part of my foot against the smooth floor and tried not to trail in my thoughts. But, of course, various thoughts swung to and fro. This is ok, as my Zen teachers have said: what's important is to watch them, instead of letting them pass as if in a daze. For ten minutes we practiced walking, then the chukpi sounded again and we all, one by one stopped at our cushions. The teacher slapped the chukpi once, again, and we all settled back down on our cushions to sit for another 30 minutes. Slap, slap, slap! This concluded our meditation session.
After the meditation, we rearranged the mats and cushions to prepare for the dharma talk. Dok Song Sunim, from Seattle introduced the talk. He made a commentary on his recent trip to Seattle, visiting friends and relatives. His words painted a greater reality of life and death. Then Zen Master Wu Bong Sunim took questions from the rather large audience. People asked a variety of questions, from heaven versus hell to how one could expect to help others if he/she sitting on a cushion most of their time. Most of the answers the Zen Master gave took many by surprise, which led to hearty doses of laughter from everyone and a sense of warm togetherness. If you have not heard a dharma talk, seize an opportunity to listen to one at Musangsa on Saturdays, at 3 p.m. One of the cornerstones of practice, is to listen to the dharma, along with practicing with a sangha, and following one's true nature (Buddha).
Dinner at Musangsa is scrumptious, and it is all vegetarian. If you like fresh, organic, vegetarian fare, then that is what you’ll get for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is advised to only take a small helping – food is not wasted at temples.
Evening chanting starts at 6 p.m. For those not familiar with the chants can follow along in the green chanting books they have stacked along the side of the Buddha altar. As with everything else, to participate at a temple involves great cooperation with others. When it's is time to bow, bow. When it is time to chant, chant. When it is time to sit, sit.
Soon after chanting, everyone assembles in the Buddha hall for a long sitting period, which is 40 minutes. There would be no walking meditation, but just silent awareness of all the activity or lack there of, in the dawn air.
Then it was time for bed. Lights are out at ten past nine. One can sleep or do extra practice til 3 a.m. For those who are not used to little sleep, there are periods during the day for small naps.
The motak sounded at 3 a.m. I peered out the window and watched the hengja (monk in training) beat the moktak while chanting out the Thousand Eyes and Hands sutra. For fifteen minutes he chanted and circled around both the guest house and the dharma hall in a figure eight pattern, during which time, guests and sunims were to meet at the dharma hall for bows.
At 3:20, we stood by our cushions and waited for the senior monk, Hyon Gong Sunim, to commence the bows. All are to follow the most senior person and not bow too quickly or too slowly. After 15 minutes, we had finished all 108 beads and stood by our cushions as the monks left the room. Bowing, or full prostrations, is what many practitioners liken to yoga. And if you do many of them, they say that it cleanses away your karma (cause and effect). I had a teacher who called it "bitter medicine" - it's hard to swallow, but one has to try, and see how keeping it up is practice in and of itself.
After the bows and the morning chanting, at 4:40 a.m. we went back to the dharma hall to sit through the dawn. How wonderful was it to lie awake in the wee hours of the morning and to just spend time with yourself, yet sharing it with a room of twenty other people.
Work period rolled in after breakfast. It was 6:30 in the morning and it was amazing to realize how much we had done in just a few hours, yet we still had a full day ahead of us. The House Master divided up all the tasks among the guests and practitioners at Musangsa. There was much to be done and any work not finished would get carried on in the next work period that morning. I was given the task of helping in the kitchen.
Work is also a form of meditation. When one is working, he or she is only working. Their mind is focused on the task at hand and is not worried about tomorrow or fretting about the past. One can actually enjoy work if one can freely accept each unfolding moment, without judging, but just accepting it as it is. Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn always said, "Put it down; just go straight!"
After work period, there is a house meeting where all the monks announce one by one what their plan is for the day or weekend. When it comes to your turn, if you're new, you can introduce yourself and say where you're from. Otherwise, just bow with your hands in hapchang (hands together). Then tea and snacks are served, so everyone can chat with each other in an informal setting. This only happens during Haejae, which is the three-month break period between winter and summer Kyol-ches (three month long intensive retreat).
To conclude our incredible weekend experience the head monk, Bo Haeng Sunim, offered to lead us on a hike. We climbed a steep hill at first, but when we completed it, the rest of the trail was easy. He led us through a winding trail that smelled of raw freshly fallen leaves, crossed paths with other hikers, then past a house with meditating laypersons, and walked by friendly farmers and bulls, ending up in front of the temple compound a few km away. That was a refreshing hike! Everyone was pretty happy afterwards.
We packed up and said our farewells and thank yous. Musangsa tends to bring people together from various backgrounds beyond imagination and it’s quite usual to make new friends. But, there’s something about Musangsa that makes one want to return again and again.
Musangsa will commence winter Kyol-che on November 20th, 2010 until February 17, 2011. The public is welcome to visit this temple during the day on Saturdays during kyol-che, when they will continue to hold their dharma talks weekly. For templestays during kyol-che, one must participate in this intensive retreat for at least a week, as per temple policy. You can learn more about this temple here: www.musangsa.org
Jennie Ullrich is an English instructor here in Gwangju. As a student of the Kwan Um School of Zen, she leads beginner meditation sessions at the Gwangju International Center on Saturday evenings. In the spring of 2011, Jennie will be leading a group to Musangsa for a temple stay. You can contact her at LeeMeeJa@gmail.com for more information.
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