Me and my amazing friend, Sarah, thought that climbing one of the many mountains around Seoul would be a great way to clear the mind. After failing to find our first mountain, we got off at Danggogae Station, last stop on line 5. After hopelessly searching for the path from vague directions from some miscellanous blog, we found a map near the metro exit which helped us direct ourselves to one of the many paths leading up to Mt. Suraksan.
The path consists of several hundred steps, that eventually leads
to a more rocky terrain that requires some much needed hiking boots for grip, rather then my street pumas. Half way up the mountain we took a break to see the breathtaking view of the city.
It was quite a trek but when you reach the top its all worth while:
We had a lot of fun! I recommend it to everyone out there, climb a mountain, it clears the mind :)
The enlightenment weekend did not end there. After climbing the mountain and passing out at 8pm on a Saturday night, we thought that Sunday should be reserved for a more relaxing environment.
There is a temple, Hwagaesa,. near Suyu station on Line 4 that offers free english meditation every sunday for 1-3pm on the top floor, get out at exit 3 and take the number 2 bus, It is about 5 min away and its at the end of a road. More information can be found on http://www.seoulzen.org . You can come at 1230pm to get some tips from the friendly lead meditator, Chris. He is from New Zealand, and definitely easy on the eyes.
The meditation routine consists of 30min sitting meditation, 15 min walking meditation, 30 min sitting meditation, 15 min and another 30 min sitting meditation.
To be completely honest, sitting cross legged for 2 hours is definitely difficult, and I do not think it will be repeated by me. I would however recommend to go for at least 30 min, you can walk in whenever. The english meditation class is on the top floor of the temple, there is a Korean meditation room on the floor below, and much more gorgeous.
You are allowed to drink tea, but make sure you wash your own glass! Also donations are optional, I would recommend some sort of contributions since Buddhist monks do not work and the only way they feed themselves is from donations.
The most interesting part of the whole experience was the Dharma talk at 3pm. The head monk comes to the class and talks with you for about an hour. Each week has a different theme, this weeks theme was the seed, basically the thought that helps you gain your enlightenment. I would recommend it for anyone, it is absolutely fascinating and the stories that the monk tells the class are very helpful.
After Dharma talk you can actually talk to the monk one on one. They provide tea and snacks for the students and its kind of like a little soiree. I decided not to go because I was extremely exhausted from the trek the day before, but I would encourage anyone to go at least once, it will benefit you no matter what.
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