Temple Stay Thoughts

(Written on August 21st)

Last night I had a really unique opportunity to stay at Buddhist temple and learn about Buddhism as it applies to traditional Korean religion and culture and, more interestingly, I was able to learn from a Zen Buddhist monk from Detroit about non-Buddhism and spirituality. The experience in entirety was unique and uplifting. Here are a few of the thoughts I came away with: 

Thoughts to remember:

If we live in a way in which we are fully present in the moment, we can more easily live out our fullest potential and be happy. Learn to be ever-present in the moment at hand. As we focus on failures or disappointments of the past or fears or anxieties of the future we are robbing ourselves of the precious gift of the here and now. Be aware and grateful of your environment. Be completely present in the conversations you have, food you eat, words you say. Try to live each moment.

As I was meditating it was really difficult for me to just be present. My mind was constantly running through the past and future. I was making to do list, worrying about the past, worrying about the future. It was 4:30am. I was in a beautiful temple in the countryside of Korea. The air was crisp and cold from the late night rain. It was silent as I sat by others who breathed in the stillness. Whose energy spoke of service and ease or at least a search for to obtain such. What was I going to do to solve all the anxieties that kept popping into my mind at that time? NOTHING! Even though it was only for seconds at a time, each one of those worries was taking away my ability to fully appreciate and live in that very beautiful moment. That was when I realized the value of learning to be ever-present.

Meditation: As humans we are subject to the coming and going of emotions and thoughts. Often times our emotions and thoughts are out of our control. As much as we’d like to believe it, we can’t just tell ourselves to be happy, or to not be effected by this disappointment or to stop thinking about why your friends aren’t texting or why the man you’re interested in isn’t courting you. The thing we have some control over is our body. With meditation we sit in postures to control our body. As we discipline our body to hold still and be comfortable in what would usually be uncomfortable positions we are disciplining our selves to gain better control over the thoughts and emotions that are a little harder to overcome. Meditation is a time to clear your mind. Think about breathe alone. Think about a question without searching for an answer. Learn to be okay with the unknown. Learn to be unaffected by disappointment, but to still live in awe of each moment because that moment is present and special. 10 minutes of meditation a day can bring about greater ease and peace in our lives. It helps restore perspective.

Being awake is being completely aware of what your purpose is in life. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King (and even Joseph Smith!) are examples of people who were awake. They knew they had a special calling in life and embraced that calling with all their hearts. They didn’t care how difficult it was, whether or not they would succeed and whether or not their friends and family understood. They understood themselves and their work and they lived everyday to carry out that work.  Each of us have something special to do. Something that just feels right. It’s who we are. It’s what we were made to do. Discovering what that thing is and rendering our hearts and souls to that calling is being awake. A complete sense of self. A confidence no one can shake. Being awake brings peace. It brings about ease and calmness. It provides fulfillment and purpose. When we understand our purpose, we can’t waste time on things that distract us from that purpose. We can be kind to everyone, but we can’t waste time on people or dogmas that try to drag us away from who we are. I’ve always tried to be authentic in my actions, words and beliefs. I think I’ll really be on to something when I discover my purpose and then can live in a way that all my actions are authentic to that purpose. I don’t want anything to tell me what that purpose is. I don’t want it to come from a friend, family member or church. I want that understanding to come from within. I want to be sure that it not only comes from within me, but that it is me. It won’t be embarrassed or persuaded by others. It will be proud, assured and pour out good energy. It will be attractive and good.

I just need to figure out how to discover that purpose!

Orientation inside the temple

Traditional buddhist meal: everything is must be eaten, recycled and as clean as it was before the meal started. Whitney and I are cleaning out our bowls after a dinner of rice, soup, tofu and veggies. 

Every religion has their rituals. This one included placing offerings for Buddha, or rather to support the monks that live at the facility. Offerings included rice, incense, fruit and candles.

Another ritual is doing 108 bows. That doesn't sound hard, but trust me, it is! The proper way to bow is to hold your hands in prayer position, go to your knees, bend down to touch your forehead and hands to the floor, raise your hands, go back to your knees, place your hands in prayer position and stand back up. The bows are done to a monks chanting and are fluid from one to the next. The purpose is to rid oneself of earthly desires. I finished the bows...sweating, but my quads hurt for days after so much squatting! 

Meditation inside the giant golden Buddha.

I love this temple. It is about 20 minutes from my house and so beautiful. It really caters to educating foreigners and the people are so kind and accommodating.

6am gardening

Painting traditional Lotus flowers.

The entire group at the end of the stay.