Temple Stay/DMZ - Video and Photo Extravaganza!!!!!!!

Temple Stay: August 29-30th Bubheungsa Temple

Excuse my rambling:

(I made it really low quality because... its long and you don't really need to see me all that well...)









Also you can see a video of us doing the bows courtesy of adventure Korea! Also a lot of the photos you see that are the group doing meditation I got from them too. :) Some from Lexi as well.

VIDEO HERE

It pays to be the nerds in the front. Remember. These are the types of bows we did 108 of on the first night. And throughout the whole stay.



Enjoy:






Day 1:


Here are some sights from the river trekking.












Could have stayed here all day, or all week for that matter.










This is the practice temple made for temple stay where we did most of the activities. I didn't get many photos of the other temples we bowed and meditated at because they were far up the hill and we were mostly there in the dark.


Talking to us before the walking meditation.


Leave the shoes behind...



Meditate and walk. Enjoy nature.



This was the best part! Yell out the remaining stress!



Wash your feet!



Lunch time. You have to eat everything you get.

My eyes were bigger than my stomach but I made it!


Drum ceremony:


So I think forgot to put this part in the video. We each got to go up and hit the giant bell and make a wish. It makes such a loud sound you can feel the vibrations. I was so concerned about hitting it right I forgot to make my wish! But I guess I was thinking about it before my turn so it still counts right??




The sun was setting and there wasn't enough light! I knew I should have put on the flash. But is kinda nice, like a dream.


Mid bow:



The paper we were supposed to do the chants off of. None of us could keep up... esp since you are doing bows at the same time!



Last photo I took the first night before leaving my camera to go up to the beautiful temple and do the 108 bows. Recognize it? That's right, Sister Act (2?). They showed this video and another one of animals that shed their skin to teach us about.... well the Sister Act clip was to show how joy spreads. The skin shedding was about how you have to shed the old to have the new. Like how you have to empty a cup of water before you can pour a fresh cup.

After this off to the Jeokmyulbogung Temple to do our 108 bows and then sleep in another little place near it, at the top of a very steep hill. Sooo tired after all that! The temple has the ashes of Buddha in it I think? Though I'm not sure which Buddha. Some things def got lost in translation. Pretty sad I didn't get any shots of it. Lexi had some on facebook but it looks like they are gone? Might have to track them down later.


DAY 2:


Before the 5 am meditation. I'm so tired! In the Yaksajeon temple.
Back down to the practice temple again before breakfast. Katrina can sleep anywhere I think!



Traditional breakfast time! We are all so exhausted.



Here is the pickled radish and water I had to drink. You can't really see but there are food particles and stuff in there. It was not tasty. And then after the bowls are cleaned they stack into each other.

Making the lotus lanterns!


These rock stacks were all over the temple grounds it was so cool.

Trail up to one of the temples.






I can't seem to do a trip without these jumping photos. :)


We didn't do anything in this temple but it was closer than the other and it was cool looking so we stopped for photos.


One of the nice temples. This is where we did the 5 am meditation. Still not as pretty as the one we did the 108 bows in. Oh well.

Yaksajeon:



Inside the temple. You can see the Golden statues and above us are lotus lanterns with tags... not sure what for? And then on the sides you can see hundreds of dream pouches hanging. We hung ours up later on the opposite side.



The monk Sunim, doing the box knot for me.


This is the photo Sunim took:
After this we did a ceremony where we hung up the dream pouches.



The whole group!

With Sunim. How can you be sad looking at him? He's so peaceful.










DMZ:








This train used to run between North and South Korea. Can't remember all the history but note the bullet holes.





Mini museum on the way to the tunnel.


With Sabrina. She is my friend Emily's good friend from Philly and we finally met!


We weren't allowed to take photos inside the actual tunnel but you know... it looked exactly like this. With sneaky little North Koreans running around digging up stuff. Ok maybe not...

This guy was hamming it up for the foreigners. Maybe he was drunk?



This is the line we couldn't cross with our cameras. Such a bummer!


Say hello to North Korea! That's their flag in the middle of their propaganda village.

I dunno what you can see here. But from the binoculars we could see North Korea and their flag on one side, and South Korea and their flag on the other. They are 4 km apart. That is the demilitarized zone. :)



Yep. North Korea is behind us.


Then off to the train station. This is the ever optimistic map of how far the train can connect if North and South are reunited.


Mom, dad. Meet my new boyfriend. He's not the best to look at but he listens to all my problems.


Lexi is walking to North Korea. Byyyyeee Lexi!


The signpost. The train really does go to North Korea! I didn't know there was any movement between the 2 at all. Shows how much I know.






Fin. Finally! You guys thought I'd never do it but I did it!!