Travel. South Korea. Meditation.
Why I Hated My First Time Meditating at a Buddhist Temple Stay
What goes on inside your head that first time?
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t have high spiritual aspirations when we booked our Buddhist temple stay. I can be something of an obsessive travel list checker, and this was something that you’re supposed to do in Korea.
Golgulsa Temple is just outside the historic city of Gyeongju in South Korea. It’s a beautiful, green, peaceful place tucked inside the shadow of Hamwolsan Mountain. The unique thing about Golgulsa was that the monks practice, perform and teach you Sunmundu, a type of moving meditation and martial art during your stay. How cool is that?
On the first day, they took us to the beach to practice. My ex did karate for years, so he was all pumped up for this. I was less pumped. In self-defense classes at school, I would run away from my partner rather than fight! What we were taught felt a lot more like Tai Chi or yoga, so I was happy. What I was less happy about — we walked across the lovely, soft, white sand to a nasty patch of rocks, stones…
