Geumsunsa: Part II

Sure enough the sounds of chimes began to wake me up at 4:30am. I was not going to miss the meditation at 5am so I did my best to get ready. I did account for the slow climb down the stairs, which is a result of the pain in my knees from the 108 prostrations from the day before.

The morning meditation is the best because your mind is so ready to go right back to sleep. After the monk's guided meditation, I stayed to do some more before breakfast.

Breakfast was another vegetarian treat, this one a bit more quiet and relaxing than the previous night's dinner.

Then we had some time to clean up the room. Cooperative labor is a big part of Buddhist living. Originally it had been proposed to work together to clear the snow from the trail, but only a few were needed since the had been some melting this morning when the sun came out.

 

After tidying, we met with the monk for a sort of tea-time chat. She spoke about Buddhism and answered questions as we enjoyed cups of fresh green tea. The manner of drink the tea is unique since it is so much more than just drinking. First, the cup is held from the bottom with your hands wrapped around it to feel the full extent of its warmth. Next, it to smell and look at you tea before tasting it. Tea, like everything it Buddhism, is meant to be enjoyed with the full extent of one's senses.

Next, we made some Buddhist prayer beads and wrapped up for the day. We returned the comfy clothes and shoes, and passed back through the gate to enter the real world again.

I will miss that tranquil feeling.

I took the bus with my new translator friend to get some lunch and souvenirs in Insa-dong market. She was picking up her favourite Korean things to bring back to Germany, and I've been hunting down my last few things I wanted for my family and my travel board.

She introduced me to this really cool candy. I've never seen anything like this. You can hear my dumbfounded reaction in this video. It's a chunk of hard opaque honey. First he sprays some water on it and hits it against the counter to show that it's hard. Then he makes a little hole in the middle. Occasionally dusting the honey with corn starch he begins to stretch it out and loop it over itself. One loop, then two, then four -all the while he does the math on it! Finally he's left with 60,000 strings, almost like hair, that gets wrapped around some nuts. Watch the video and see for yourself!

I also stopped into a PC-bang, like an internet cafe for gaming computers, and printed some information for claiming my pension -which is tomorrow's adventure.