Finding Utopia, Twice

Temple Stay

The pouring rain only added to the serenity as I sat cross-legged in the temple waiting for the 4:30 am service to begin. We had gathered outside our sleeping quarters a few minutes earlier, umbrellas in hand, wearing our temple clothing.

The night before, we had practiced the proper way to bow and made our own rosaries, threading 108 beads onto the string with a bow and meditation between each one. We also had time to explore the beautiful mountainous setting beside a rushing stream on our own, remembering to stay silent and bow when we passed by anyone, especially the monks. Before returning to our rooms where we had lain our mattress pads on the floor, we enjoyed a wholesome vegetarian meal, also in silence, taking only what we could eat and cleaning our plates afterwards.

And we learned about the now-famous nun who lives just up the mountain in a hermitage. Learn about her Netflix experience, her philosophy of preparing food, and how she has touched lives across the globe in this video.

I bowed hundreds of times during my overnight stay at Baekyangsa Temple, and my body ached a bit from twisting it into positions I wasn’t used to. I wanted to stay longer, though. I wanted to continue soaking up the sacred energy of this 1400-year-old compound, to walk further up the mountain and sit and meditate by a stream, to offer more prayers up for family members suffering from illness, and to disconnect from the outside world.

I know I can work to achieve those things outside of the temple, but it was so much easier there! I’ll do my best to practice the serenity I learned at the temple, even when surrounded by the chaos of the world.

Hadong Utopia

I spent a few more days in Korea after our tour ended, first visiting Jeju Island and then going for a brief stay with friends in Hadong. I was welcomed so warmly (and excitedly) at the train station by Leah (my friend Eric Kim‘s mom) and her husband.

Over the next 48 hours, they showed me why Hadong is often called a utopia. We ate the most amazing food grown in their garden and also dined at the best restaurants. It seemed like we ate gourmet meals every few hours, but with all of our activity in between I was always ready to eat again.

I had many cups of tea with a monk and tea master who lives alone at an beautiful temple just up the mountain from them, and he gave us a tour of his private bamboo forest that he has cultivated and cared for over many years. I was honored by the compliments he gave me and he invited us back for a lunch, but my stay was too short to be able to fit it in.

We saw awe-inspiring vistas and visited sacred places, such as Samseonggung with its 1500 stacked stone pagodas built over 50 years by its founder. I’ve never seen anything like it!

And we had delicious breakfasts with the most spectacular view right on their front porch. During one breakfast we watched the view transform from scattered clouds to mountain-hiding fog, torrential rain, and warm sun. Better than Netflix!

Staying with a local family was such a privilege and I will be forever grateful to my hosts for sharing their utopia with me.