The Saturday I arrived at MuSangSa (Kyeryongsan International Zen Center), marked the last week of Kyol Che (Tight Dharma). This meant I was going to be spending my time with people who had been silent for up to 3 months: silent and unplugged from all things tech. My adventures into the “don’t know” mind began. Here is a basic run down of our daily schedule:
Mornings started off at 3:25am with 108 bows in Meditation Hall (see pictures below), followed by Kido chanting at 4am at the Buddha Hall. We then would walk back down to the Meditation Hall to start sitting meditation at 4:40am until 6am, when we would head to Dinning Hall for our formal breakfast. Then it’s time for working meditation until 7:40am. We break until 9am, where we meet in silence for 2 hours of meditation. Remember, except for the chanting, this is all done in silence. Then it’s a formal lunch. Then break. Then meditation from 1:30 until 4:30. Then a silent informal dinner. Break. Our final chanting of the day begins at 6pm. Once this is over, we return to meditate until 9pm in the Meditation Hall. Lights are out at 9:20pm.
We do it again the next day.
The regiment, the order, the silence, and the community has a fascinating impact on ones thoughts. For once, I got a glimpse into what real clarity might be like.
What did I learn or at least glean from this time? Scroll to the end of the photo gallery to find out.
Our morning chants (4am) & evening chants (6pm) were done here
Buddha of Compassion – Gwanse-eum Bosal (Buddha Hall)
Dragon above Gwanse-eum Bosal (Buddha Hall)
Buddha of Compassion – Gwanse-eum Bosal (Buddha Hall)
My accomodations for 7 days
To my room
During our silent work period, my silent friends and I were in charge of bedding and ironing
For breakfast (6am) and lunch (11am) we silently ate from these bowls (Baru Gongyang))
My bowl was #37. The meal is quite an orderly process.
Dinning room
Winter work clothes
Meditation Hall
These meditation pillows were set up the whole week
At specific points during our meditation periods, one of the monks would walk behind us, and we could request a tap from this Zen stick. Very helpful when nodding off.
My meditation pillow was #37.
For some reason, ladybugs seemed to have found refuge in the meditation hall. A sign of wishes fulfilled.
The monks’ pillows
First snow of the retreat
To Buddha Hall
The House Master kindly sweeps the snow before our 1:30pm meditation period.
Snow on bamboo
Bo Haeng Sunim organizes our outdoor walking meditation practice
Walking meditation was usually done indoors, so this was a treat!
Retreat attendees and monks
By day 5, we weren’t always silent.
Back from the walk
“Bo Haeng Sunim, can I take a picture?” – “Why not? It’s just a building?”
Only plain gray clothing for the week
These were posted throughout the living quarters.
Working meditation with Joseph in the storage room
Winter and summe clothing for retreat attendees and staff
Tea room in the Meditation Hall
Non-silent hike
Getting ready to do a deep cleaning of the Buddha Hall. This is done after every 3 month retreat.
Cleaning the year-prayer candles
Cleaning the meditation pillows
Learnings to hold on to
– “One of the greatest delusions we have, is the delusion that we think we make decisions.” – Won San Sunim
– We take audio and visual silence for granted. It’s amazing how much one word or one image can trigger the ego.
– DanJeon (Tantien) breathing techniques helped keep me focused when meditation got hard.
– Zen sticks are necessary for rigorous meditation. I couldn’t have done without those courteous wake up calls.
– Zen Masters are pretty darn cool to talk to in Kong-an interviews or simply over tea.
– “Decide and do.” – Bo Haeng Sunim
– “Have a ‘don’t know’ mind” – Seung Sahn Haeng Won Sunim
– 41.5 hours of meditation in 7 days taught me that I need to meditate a whole lot more.
Private Mixture 