Temple Stay

Snow everywhere on the temple grounds.

Orientation and Temple Etiquette--teaching us Chasu hand position.

One of two Yebul services we partook in at the temple. 

Food offerings to the Buddha.

Usually the statues in temples are gold, however in this modern temple hall, the artist chose white.  These particular ones were designed by the same guy who made the King Sejong statue in Ganghwamun Square.

Striking the temple bell after sunset. 

Greeted by a beautiful new day after our 4am service and 108 prostrations were completed.

Pre-meal chant of gratitude before eating our monastic meal.

Food is eaten in silence by the monks so as to show appreciation for every grain of rice.  There was quite a ritual involved in distributing the food and cleaning up afterwards.  Not a single morsel of food should be left over.

Hiking up the fortress during our walking meditation Sunday morning.

Group photo of all the KEB Temple Stay participants.

It's that time of year again

It's December again.  Having spent the last three in beautiful Deutschland, where the Christmas season seems to start way back in September/beginning of October I wondered how the spirit of this city would unfold. Surprisingly, Seoul is decked out a bit more than I would have expected.  The 'bakeries' have Christmas cakes, the subway stations have trees and lights and there are Salvation Army Santas ringing their bells throughout the city.  Who would have guessed?

Two quite exciting things happening this month:

-Our first overnight Temple Stay (December 8-9)

-And Christmas on Jeju Island (December 24-26)

In additon to a few more celebrations dotted throughout the month, DH has his Visa/Green Card Interview on December 10th at 8am at the US Embassy.  Hoping it goes smoothly and we can celebrate the end of a semester and the holiday season in good spirits.

Wishing you all a happy December!