Templestay

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Sudeoksa Temple

Feel the spirit of practice, as you ascend the mountain Deoksungsan…

If you mention the name Sudeoksa, something comes to the mind of most people, even those who don’t go to the temple. There is a popular folk song that has to do with Sudeoksa, and also there’s the famous “Sudeok Hotel”, which looks like it could almost be part of the temple. It was at this hotel that the painter Eungno Lee (1905-1992) drew a painting on a rock. Because of these kinds of memories, the name Sudeoksa has certain fond associations for many people. The exact date when Sudeoksa was established can’t be known, but in the academic world, it is assumed to have been founded during the reign of the Baekjae King Wideok (554-598 C.E.). From the Goryeo Dynasty through the Joseon Dynasty it was a large temple, but the important role that Sudeoksa has today in Korean Buddhism is really the legacy of two Great Monks, Ven. Gyeongheo (1849-1912) and Ven. Mangong (1871-1946). Ven. Gyeongheo was a great Seon (Jap: Zen) Master who helped revitalize the Seon school in the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty. While he was staying at Sudeoksa, Ven. Gyeongheo did a lot to enliven the spirit of Seon in Korea. Later his disciple, Ven. Mangong, continued his efforts and enlarged the temple, producing many great disciples himself. Because of this long, steady tradition of practice within the Sudeoksa family, in 1984 the temple was awarded the distinction of becoming a Chongnim Temple, officially called the Deoksung Chongnim. A Chongnim Temple includes a Seon (Jap: Zen) room, Sutra school and Precepts school, all functioning together as a unified place of practice. At the moment in the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, there are five Chongnim Temples: Haeinsa, Songgwangsa, Tongdosa, Baekyangsa, and Sudeoksa. There’s one more figure in Sudeoksa’s history who can’t be forgotten, Ven. Ilyeop (1876-1971). Before she ordained, Ven. Ilyeop was a famous writer among modern women of her day. Together with the female artist Hyeseok Na, she played an instrumental role in pioneering the feminist social action movement, during the gloomy period of the Japanese occupation of Korea. She ordained in 1933, and became a disciple of Ven. Mangong. There are many cultural properties at Sudeoksa, which confirms that it was indeed a great temple in both the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. The Daeoongjeon (Main Buddha Hall) was built during the reign of Goryeo King Chungryeol (1308 C.E.), and is one of the few extant Goryeo Dynasty buildings in Korea, together with Buddha Halls from Bongjeongsa in Andong, and Buseoksa in Yeongju. Especially when seen from the side, the geometrical beauty of the Main Buddha Hall is famous.
Sudeoksa’s Templestay Program
Sudeoksa’s Templestay Program is very popular with international visitors. The program features monastic formal meals, communal work period, tea and conversation with the monks, and a variety of other activities that give the participants some experience of temple life. In particular, there is a good chance to appreciate the area’s beautiful scenery if you take a walk up to the top of Deoksungsan (also called The Little Diamond Mountain of Chuncheongdo) to visit the temple Jeonghyesa near the peak.
Geumsansa Temple

A Templestay program you’ll never forget…

The temple Geumsansa is quietly perched in the western foothills of Moaksan. Like the mountain Gyeryongsan, Moaksan, the so-called “Mother Mountain”, is the cradle of many different indigenous religions. The mountain’s shape looks like a mother cradling her baby, just as Moaksan embraces Geumsansa. During the Baekjae reign of King Beop (599 C.E.), the temple was built to pray for the king’s prosperity and good fortune. Later during the reign of Shilla King Hyegong (766 C.E.), the Precepts Master Ven. Jinpyo (718-752 C.E.) enlarged the temple and established it as the Head Temple for the worship of Maitreya. Maitreya is the future Buddha, who will appear countless eons from now, but to his faithful followers he is a compassionate Buddha who is always with them. Wherever you step in Geumsansa there are valuable relics and cultural assets. But among them all, without a doubt the most eye-catching is the three storey Mireukjeon (Maitreya Hall), the only one in Korea. If you look at the structure from the outside, it seems like a three storey building, but when seen from the interior, it’s completely open all the way to the high ceiling. Inside this enormous hall, there’s a triad of statues, Maitreya in the middle, with a height of 11.82 m, and two Bodhisattvas on either side with a height of 8.79 m each.
Geumsansa’s Templestay Program
Geumsansa runs a Templestay program that is extremely popular and participants often return again to stay and run the volunteer team. Administrative staff and volunteers number almost 20 people at times. The program enables people to speak with the monks and ask them anything they may have been wondering about Buddhism, or for advice on how to solve some of the problems in their life. There are three kinds of standard programs run at Geumsansa. The basic program is called “Templestay: Whispering Together…” and features Seon Meditation, 108 prostrations, tea and conversation with monks, and walking meditation. A one week program, with more of a focus on actual practice, is called Seon: Understanding Myself. It is a freestyle program that gives participants a chance to examine themselves by doing practice according to their own schedules. Finally, once a year there is a special program in which former Templestay participants get together again, called Memories of Templestay.

Templestaywrite what one experiences

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I have never felt as healthy as I do now, right at the end. The bowing and chanting were particularly rewarding both physically and mentally as I felt muscles harden from the 108 times bow and my mind embracing the amazing feeling involved by sitting among buddhist monks at 3 in the morning listening to their ancient and timeless chants. Despite the harsh hour I felt lucid and inspired.

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