Free Flowers, Baby Monks, & B-Boys in Busan! (5/19)

The Baby Monks, sporting their traditional gravel-pattern camouflage.

T H E   F I R S T thing I hear at Hongbeopsa? Children!!
Around 5am, I'm woken from my dreamless first night's slumber by the unmistakable sounds of a heard of children-- ecstatic shrieking and the quick crunch of gravel under many pairs of running feet shot through the calming voices of chaperons. Outside my window, framed by the gorgeous green mountains of Korea, I see the source of the sounds-- BABY MONKS!!!

Our visit to Korea just so happened to coincide with Buddha's Birthday (석가탄신일)-- possibly the largest festival in all of Buddhist culture. Because Korean Buddhism follows the lunar calendar, Big B's B-day falls at a different time every year, most often too early in May for us study aboraders to participate or observe. My group, however, was lucky beyond belief to be present when we were-- Korea explodes with Buddhist energy and excitement in celebration!
Baby Monks (or śrāmaṇera [?]) are but one of many special traditions closely associated with Buddha's Birthday. As a glimpse of ordained monastic life, the 5-6 yr old children of Buddhist laypeople are taken into the temple and treated as fully-ordained sunims, or monks, for ~21 days-- their heads are shaved, they wear traditional robes and participate in ceremonies, partake in traditional monk meals, and generally get a feel for monastic life. My friend Hayes said it best when he compared these little guys to Vacation Bible School-goers back in the states, although they're far more serious than any VBS kids I know!!

Before long, the wooden gong rang out to signal breakfast time, and my first day in Korea began f'rill!

Lining up to eat our first breakfast in the Temple's dining hall

S T A Y I N G   A T  Hongbeopsa means eating like a Buddhist. Because Buddhism forbids killing of any kind, traditional Buddhist diets are vegetarian (at least in southern Asia; more on that later). A vegetarian meal in Korea is of course NOTHING like any American vegetarian meal I've ever had for three main reasons: spice, fermentation, and vegetable selection. Sounds like fun, eh? That's 'cause it is!

An example of Korean Temple Food.

E V E R Y T H I N G    T H A T waited for us in Hongbeopsa's dining hall seemed foreign and exciting. Even the greens (pictured above) seemed to grow differently on this side of the world, and as it turned out they had a distinct taste, too! I for one was very thankful that the temple didn't pander to our western tastes-- it meant more opportunities to try more things! I will return to the subject of food in a later post. At this point in the story, all I knew was that I hadn't eaten in a long time, I'd NEVER eaten Korean temple food in a Korean temple in Korea, and I was jonesing for some novelty!

The group assembles at our swanky outdoor classroom for the first time!

A F T E R   B R E A K F A S T , we rallied outside the Main Dharma Hall for our first lesson from the incredible Dr. Hyangsoon Yi, our professor for this leg of the journey. It was an unrivaled privilege to have Dr. Yi's expertise to guide our journey. As a Korean national and child of Busan, as a double-doctor in English and Language Education, and as THE preeminent scholar on Korean Buddhist nuns, she was a perfect professor to share Korean Buddhist culture with us.


W E   W A L K E D around the grounds, taking in the sights and smells...

The biggest incense burner EVAR. It used the industrial-size incense, about as thick as your pinky!

One of a few purdy goldfish ponds in front of the steps to the main hall.

A view of the main Dharma hall!

Some of the meticulous landscaping.

A waterfall Buddha altar

My first Korean dog! They all eat kimchi. F'rill.

"Hongbeopsa"-- the name of the temple! (/self-portrait #2)

An army of hand-made fermentation jars--bean paste, or doenjang (된장), is but one of many delicacies produced here.

The road entrance to the temple

Some Buddha babies, with the giant one in the background.

. . . T H E N   W E N T into the main Dharma hall to learn about Buddhist architecture and painting...

The main altar! Breathtaking detail and design.

Dr. Yi explains the Dragon Boat.

H O N G B E O P S A ' S    H Y P E R M O D E R N I T Y separates it from the average Korean Buddhist temple. If you were to take the universe of Korean Buddhist temples and put it into a bag, and then to pull one out at random, it would likely be larger and older than Hongbeopsa; it would have survived repression from Korea's Joseon Dynasty and the subsequent colonization by Japan; it would have been funded by the emperor or a wealthy noble; and would otherwise overflow with the history of generations of use.


Hongbeopsa is separated from this fascinating and tumultuous history of Buddhism in Korea by time, but channels this heritage through its adherence to the traditional Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Its newness allows it a personality unlike those temples alluded to above. Visitors do not come for the history because it isn't here. Instead, they come to make sense of the seemingly anachronistic Korean Buddhism through a contemporary lens. At traditional temples, visitors see into the past of Buddhism; at Hongbeopsa, they see its present: the people, the practices, the philosophies in action.


Hongbeopsa takes advantage of its modern accessibility by actively seeking visitors from around the world. While there, for example, we met two Cambodian grad students who study and live there, a visiting dance master/yoga master duo hailing from India, and a handful of Burmese tourists. It also engages in an impressive amount of community outreach, ranging from festivals and cultural events à la Buddha's Birthday to ESL classes and after school programs for elementary school children in need.
The land on which Hongbeopsa lies is large-- its farmland origins are evident in the size of the temple's grounds and the amount of agriculture it advertises-- but it has fewer facilities than traditional temples like Tongdosa or Unmunsa. These facilities beautifully demonstrate Korean architecture with a modern flare-- the nontraditional circular Dharma hall, for example, is festooned with round rafters and gorgeous paintings, poorly depicted below.

A brief glimpse at the traditional roof adornments and the scenic surroundery.

O U R   F R I E N D  Andy, who had arrived at the temple a day or two earlier, told tales of a beautiful Jindo dog that lived a short walk from the temple, so we set out to find it. This walk served as our introduction to the suburbs of Busan that surround the temple. We saw a river that the temple is working to beautify, an impressive running and exercise trail, a Korean bullet train track and a highway framed by the gorgeous green mountains in the distance, and most excitingly a massive family-owned flower farm!

The river, under construction. Their goal was to build a bridge in a week. I think they succeeded.

A   F E W  moments into petting the dogs, a lady came out and began to talk to us. Yoon-hi, our travel-buddy and impromptu interpreter, stepped up and engaged her in conversation. The woman had come to ask why a heard of foreigners was messing with her dog; she was excited by our American-ness and ended up talking one of my travel mates into a paid english tutoring job for her son. This was our first exposure to the forwardness and generosity that we'd come to find throughout Korea. She was extremely excited that the strangers in her yard turned out to be resources for her child's education, and in appreciation showed us around her farm and even gave us some flowers as gifts!

Aveek pets a Jindo as, off to the right, people barter for Andy's english tutelage.

PURDY FLOWURZ!

MINI-TREES!

Andy wonders what to do with the plants he was given as gifts-- SURPRISE!

A glimpse at the flower farm! Flowers, as far as the eye can see!

W E   R E T U R N E D  to the Temple for lunch, which was another great experience, aside from the fermented sesame leaves-- the ONLY Korean dish I did not have a stomach for. After, we were whisked away to a new building across the temple grounds where we were introduced to the Baby Monks!

Baby Monks before selection!

W E   F I L E D  into a room ringed in the little monks and were chosen, one-by-one, by whichever monk favored us. The ladies of the group were the first to be chosen-- the teachers laughed and explained that the monks wanted to partner with the beautiful American women. I patiently waited my turn, watching my travel mates being selected one after another, wondering which of the bald-headed monks would choose me. Eventually, this little guy walked up, took my hand, and led me back to his place in the ring. Meet Togun-sunim, my little monk friend!

Togun and I!

W E   W A L K E D  with our little monk friends across the grounds to the main hall, where we watched them chant and pay homage to the Buddha altar. They certainly were a handful-- always in motion, always causing a scene.

The Baby Monks approach the altar

Dr. Yi consoles a sad one. These kids were only 5 or 6-- I'm impressed there wasn't more crying!

A F T E R   A  day full of Buddhism, we hopped on a bus headed for the secular world. Dr. Yi told us about a "B-boy festival" taking place in downtown Busan and told us how to get there via subway. Although we never found the B-boys, we did find Busan, and within it a thriving populous, a magic act, more stores than one can shake a stick at, AN INTERNATIONAL ATM!!! (until then I had been broke; it was SUCH a relief to get some won!), a world-renowned fish-market, and an awesome laser/pyro show. Take a look!

There were definitely lots of festivals going on in Busan. No B-boys, though.

My first Korean beer!! Nummy!!

A view of Busan. LOTTE OWNS EVERYTHINGGGGG

Inside the Jagalchi Fish Market ( 자갈치시장)-- more critters than an acquarium!

Some awesome articulated lanters as dusk sets in

Not intimidating at all, right?!

Bus, train, foot, plane... quite a travellin' trip!

... and yes, that was all just the first day in Korea.

Edit: For Dr. Yi's class, we were required to write reflections on our experiences. Here's my reflection from this day!