Silleuksa Temple Stay– Quest for an Ascetic Life

Let’s leave the hubbub of city lifefor the tranquil and ascetic lifestyle at an ancient Buddhist temple where you can cleanse yourself with the serene sounds of wooden gongs, freeing yourself from materialistic attachments and the grime of everyday life. The Temple Stay Program offered by Silleuksa Temple in Yeoju is particularly renowned thanks to, among other things, the picturesque view of the Namhan River landscape from the temple. While it is a short stay program, participants will be able to relish the wonderful cultural experience of Korean temple life and find spiritual comfort via the contemplation of their inner selves.

Standing in front of an ancient temple

Yeoju is famous for the fertile land fed by the Namhan River which cuts across the county, helping this area produce Korea’s highest-quality rice. The county is the site of Yeongneung, the Tomb of King Sejong, and its guardian temple, Silleuksa Temple; both are located on the southern foot of Bongmi Mountain, which is bisected by the Namhan River.

Silleuksa Temple is well known for the wealth of treasures it contains, including the seven listed treasures of a multi-storied brick pagoda (Treasure No. 226), multi-storied stone pagoda (Treasure No. 225), Boje Jonja Stone Bell (Treasure No. 228), Boje Jonja Stone Bell Monument (Treasure No. 229), Tripitaka Monument (Treasure No. 230), Boje Jonja Stone Bell (Treasure No. 231), and Founder’s Hall (Treasure No. 180). The temple also features tangible cultural properties of Gyeonggi Province such as the Hall of the Land of Bliss (Geungnak Bojeon) and the Octagonal Stone Stupa. Legend says that the temple’s brick pagoda overlooking the river has been regarded as a guardian by the local people, who regularly suffered from flooding in days gone by.

There are two stories handed down regarding the origin of the name of Silleuksa Temple. The first is related to a dragon horse that emerged around a rock called Maam Rock (“Horse Rock”) located between Yeoju and the temple and terrorized the local people. According to the story, the dragon horse was eventually tamed with magic reins by a great Goryeo monk, Seon Master Naong. According to the second version of the story, the dragon horse appeared in the village opposite the river during the late Goryeo dynasty and continued to cause strife until a monk named Indang checked it with reins. The character “Reuk (勒)” in the temple’s name Silleuksa (神勒寺) means“taking the reins”.

Silleuksa Temple also features old trees revered for their connection with two of Korea’s important historical figures. There is an old juniper tree standing in the middle of the inner temple courtyard which is said to have been planted by Yi Seong-gye, the founder and first ruler of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Another historical tree, a gingko standing at the entrance to the temple, is believed to have been the Seon Master Naong’s staff. The age-old trees and the priceless architectural masterpieces in the temple’s precincts will provide visitors with a rare opportunity to stroll into Korean medieval times.

Seeking Harmony between Nature and Humanity

The Temple Stay Program provided by Silleuksa Temple is geared to help participants experience ascetic life at a historical temple where nature and Buddhist culture harmonize and to gain spiritual comfort with the serene atmosphere created by the cultural legacy of Korean Buddhism.

An ascetic’s day at the temple starts with the morning prayer service held before dawn. The service is followed by breakfast, which often involves ceremonial chants, and then a meditation session that seeks the realization of spiritual wealth via emptying the mind. After the session, participants are free either to stroll around the temple to free themselves from all the worldly attachments, or are invited for conversation over tea with other participants. The Silleuksa Temple Stay Program is carefully designed to help participants achieve harmony with the surrounding nature and discover their true selves through the atmosphere of cultural heritage, which is rarely found in today’s busy modern life. The spiritual wealth attained through the program at the temple often leads to the creation of a turning point in the participant’s life.

One of the most popular activities in the program is hiking on the mountain behind the temple or a leisurely walk along the Namhan River flowing around the temple. The fascinating natural landscapes and ecological vigor of the area are perfect companions for the valuable cultural and historical assets preserved in the temple – such as prayer halls, stone pagodas, stupas, Buddhist paintings and murals –offering participants a rare opportunity to appreciate some of the most precious natural and cultural legacies in Korea. After the program, participants may choose to make excursions to nearby tourist attractions such as Yeongneung, a royal tomb of the Joseon Dynasty, the birthplace of Queen Myeongseong, Godalsa Temple Site and Moka Museum.

Emptying the Self, Disciplining the Mind

The Silleuksa’s Temple Stay Program starts at 4 o’clock in the morning when the world is still covered in darkness. A wooden gong, one of the most important Buddhist ritual instruments, is struck for a ritual held as a preliminary to the day’s first prayer service and to wake up the temple and the surroundings. The goal of the ritual is not to tell the temple community that it is time to wake up, but to pray to Buddha for mercy and enlightenment through the sound of dharma.

With the preliminary ritual, which involves the performance of four Buddhist musical instruments, the participants along with the other community members dress and gather together at the main prayer hall. They offer three ceremonial bows to Buddhas enshrined in it, and then participate in the morning service, which starts after the preliminary ritual. The morning service signals the official start of a day and is believed to give vitality to all the living things around the temple.

he morning service is followed by a meditation (Seon) session in which participants cleanse their minds, and then by a ceremonial breakfast called Baru Gongyang. As the name suggests, it is “the ceremony of having meals” (Gongyang) with “bowls designed to hold a proper amount of food” (Baru). Baru Gongyang is sometimes called Beop Gongyang, or the Dharma Meal, because the act of having a meal itself is an important part of the ascetic practices Buddhist priests are expected to follow. After the ceremonial breakfast, participants are guided to experience the tradition of Ullyeok, which has been preserved according to the principles of Seon Buddhism in the belief that you should not eat if you do not work. The tradition requires all the members of the monastic community gather and work together.

Other key activities of the Temple Stay Program offered by Silleuksa Temple include the tea ceremony and meditation. Having a cup of tea in the midst of the ascetic practices help participants find peace and comfort in their daily lives just like the empty space in a traditional Korean landscape painting. Meanwhile, the act of meditation seeks the realization of harmony in the mind via the purging of impure thoughts, and returns the meditation practitioners to their true selves. The first step of the Seon meditation is clearing the mind via breathing because breathing in a prescribed manner helps us look into our minds. Meditation is typically conducted in a seated position.

he program’s other activities including learning monastic manners and customs, lotus lantern making, ritual circumambulation of the pagoda, and Silleuksa cultural tours. It is a short two-day program but filled with charming cultural activities that lead you to comfortably enjoy nature as it is. If you are interested in how you live and where you are going, the Silleuksa Temple Stay Program is a fine option.

How to get there:
▶Gyeongbu Expressway or Jungbu Expressway → Yeongdong Expressway (Yeoju Tollgate) → Turn right (National Highway No. 37) → Drive straight on for about 4km before turning right → Drive straight on for about 1.5km to Yeoju Bridge → Turn right at the end of the bridge → Silleuksa Temple (Distance between Yeoju Tollgate and the Silleuksa Ticket Office: 7km)
▶Seoul → Yangpyeong → Downtown Yeoju via Pottery Town → Silleuksa Temple
▶Seoul → Seongnam → Gwangju → Icheon → Downtown Yeoju → Silleuksa Temple

▶ How to apply for the program
Apply through the Silleuksa Temple website (http://www.silleuksa.org).
Foreign-language speakers should have their own interpreter when applying.
Program fee: KRW 40,000

GGi_tour l Text by Im Eun-jeong, Photography by Yi Jong-min

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