an old brian andreas "storypeople" quote that i used to have up on my wall in college kept floating through my mind as i gazed upon the richness of unmunsa and the dramatic landscape surrounding..."she said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short." when i first looked out my window that morning i thought, "oh no, it's raining. our trip to the temple is ruined." but as we drove through misty mountains on winding roads lined with blossoming trees and arrived to the scent of damp earth in the air and an afternoon light so soft and beautiful....i could not believe i had ever thought that clouds and rain could ruin this experience. every moment was sheer beauty and my heart was like an open door.
the characters read: unmun (door to the clouds) sangha (community of nuns/monks) day-hakk (university) - this temple is not only a temple but the largest buddhist university for nuns in korea.
we arrived to the temple in the late afternoon so that we would be able to experience the nuns' drumming ceremony that happens every evening at sunset. we were then invited to the chanting ritual following the drumming. it was extraordinary.
we concluded our day with none other than a traditional korean feast! mr. lee met us at the restaurant where we dined on blowfish soup, tempura and tens upon thousands of sidedishes! truly divine!
No comments:
Post a Comment