Temple Stay

Taking a Long Hard Look at Myself with Hasim (下心, being humble and showing respect to others) at Bonginsa Hangil Jeongjinwon
Written by Hong Hye-Ju and Photographed by Lee Hyo-Seon

If you have ever been at a loss to answer the question “who am I?”, it may be great to take a look at yourself at Bonginsa (Temple). Bonginsa is located on the foot of Mountain Cheonma of Namyangju, and it takes about an hour from Seoul to the temple. It will be a valuable experience to take a look at myself and find my true self at Bonginsa. Bonginsa is a branch temple of Songgwangsa, and it is estimated that it was built in the mid Joseon period. As a temple housing Jinsinsari (remains) of Buddha, it has a tranquil atmosphere where the sound of birds is even loud. Nevertheless, there is always excitement of trainees at the temple.

Bonginsa is a wide open place. Due to the nature of Seungbosachal (Buddhist educational institution), the temple is visited by many people, and it is well aligned with the philosophy of the head priest of the temple. He does not care whether the visitors are believers or not. Anyone can find peace of mind and purify his or her mind at the temple. As an open temple, there is no name plate of Daewungjeon. It was replaced with a reader-friendly Korean name plate “Large Sermon Hall.” Every corner of the temple shows that it is the place for experience of ordinary visitors, and it is all friendly and simple.

Bonginsa Hangil Jeongjinwon is the place where diverse programs and training programs are operated, and Jagwangjeon is the professional training place. Failing to find perfect illumination through the well-known samatha practice, Sakyamuni felt enlightened through the vipassanaa practice that he made himself. Vi means the complete absence of ego and passanaa means illumination. It is a practice of Theravadan Buddhism to root out greed and evil passion and achieve the state of liberation. They practice the vipassanaa meditation in Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka that have maintained the tradition of early Buddhism and assumed the title of the original Buddhism. The practice allows trainees to focus on themselves by keenly observing states of their bodies and minds. In order to take a look at the state of my body, I have to concentrate on my heartbeat, footstep and movement of hands. The basic practice consists of sitting in Zen meditation and walking in Zen meditation. We are asked to observe the abdominal movement when we sit in Zen mediation, and to observe the footstep when we slowly walk in Zen meditation.
We are also asked to notice every movement including having meals, ideas and the external sounds in everyday life. While taking a look at ego, we can realize that everything comes and goes, and mind is just a constantly changing state made by ideas, images, emotions and atmospheres.

Bonginsa is a rare place where we can practice the vipassanaa meditation, and great monks visit Bonginsa from Myanmar and Tibet for the vipassanaa meditation. Bonginsa is a professional center for visitors. Jagwangjeon provides diverse experience courses with the durations from a week to four week, and accommodation and meals are all provided at Jagwangjeon, creating the ideal environment to concentrate on ego. In addition to weekly experience programs, intensive programs are operated in summer and winter.

There are tea rooms at Bonginsa, allowing visitors to practice the tea ceremony. As the number of tea lovers dramatically increases, the tea ceremony has been increasingly regarded as the everyday activity. As tea rooms enable speculation without external interference, they are great places to enjoy the tranquil atmosphere.

Name	Bonginsa Hangil Jeongjinwon
Address	304 Songneung-ri, Jingeon-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do
Contact (Website)	031-574-5585  www.bonginsa.net
Location (Access from National Roads and Expressways)	Guri IC à Gyeongchungado No. 46 at Namyangju Police Station à Jingeon Sign à Turn left at Geumgok Post Office à Underground passage à Go to the direction of Bonginsa at Songneung 2-ri
Overview of Facilities	Large Sermon Hall (Daewungjeon), Jijangjeon, Jinsinsari Tower, 1250 Nahanjeon and Samseonggak
History	The year of establishment is unidentified. According to the historic record, the temple was established earlier than the early Joseon period. Gilro, a leader of Wonhyojong, restored the temple in 1979.
Descriptions   (Fact-Based Characteristics)	Visitors can have the rare opportunity of making the practices and meditations including vipassanaa and samatha, the unique practices of Theravadan Buddhism as well as DeeKSHa.   The temple has the cultural assets including Jinsinsari Tower, the Treasure No. 928.
Tips for Visitors	“Think Together (Sangsang, 相想)” temple stay program is operated with the practice of vipassanaa meditation.
Operating (Opening) Hours	Temple Stay: Saturday and Sunday (two days), detailed schedule is posted to the website
Accommodation (Admission) Fees	Two-day temple stay: KRW 50,000
Adjacent Tourist Destinations	Sareung The tomb of Queen Jeongsun Song, the wife of King Danjong, one of the unhappiest queens of the Joseon Dynasty
Accommodations	Bonginsa Hangil Jeongjinwon

 

Restaurant Options	Aunt’s Original Bean Soup The restaurant serves bean soup and dried Pollack tofu soup Bean soup: KRW 5,000/ Dried Pollack and tofu soup: KRW 8,000/ Boiled pork with tofu: KRW 20,000 Contact: 031-573-7571
Remarks (Events and Promotion)	Two-day weekend temple stay programs are operated from August 1. For detailed schedule, please visit the website.