Temple Stay??

[Gunpojohnny]

Has anyone tried doing a temple stay? I'm looking to give it a try with a few of my buddies. If you've done it, did you enjoy your experience?

[hermitgirl]

I am doing the same.  I found a good website.  Its called Templestay.com.  Its cool because it gives you all sorts of information about different temples and such.  I like it because there is a option of taking a short questionaire (under find your templestay) about what type of templestay you are looking for and it will basically list the temple and contact information that best fits what you are looking for.  Hope that helps

[beegriffy]

i did one last year. i enjoyed a lot about it. meeting new people. learning new things.
unfortunately, the weather was awful. rained all weekend and was about 50 degrees.
i think i would have taken a lot more from it, had the weather been better.
the scenery is beautiful, and it's a very calming experience.
prepare yourself for the 3:30 wake up. you will enjoy 108 bows, and your legs will hate you for it. 

[partheania81]

are the Temple Stay in English?

[beegriffy]

the one i did was. we had a chaperon who spoke english, as well as a few of the monks.

[cragesmure]

No good.  It's just a money-making exercise at the expense of the wide-eyed, inexperienced foreigner.  To get a more educational experience, don't go with anyone that feels the need to advertise.  Just go out to the sticks, search around and chat to locals.  Take a tent and enough water/food to get you through just in case.  Easy.

[rogue85]

I did the temple stay. It was honestly one of the best experiences I have ever had. I went to Hwagyesa Temple in Seoul. The temple isn't in the city though, it is located on the foot of a mountain - super beautiful. I would recommend the experience to everybody.

[kyema]

I'm going to try one in a fortnight. I understand that it might be a bit bastardised, but considering I can't speak to locals yet, it looks like a good place to start.

@partheania81
This site claims to have a list of all the English speaking 'temple stays': http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_8_3_4.jsp

[aldritg]

I'm glad this post came up.  I'm planning to do a temple stay over vacation and was hoping to find some people with some experience.

I'm looking at Haeinsa temple right now... but I was curious about Hwagyesa?  Rogue mentioned its not in the city?  I'm curious about this because that's the #1 thing I don't want.  If I can hear traffic then I'm going to be disappointed.

Also, my girl from the states is going to be coming.  Do they have like guys / girls sleeping areas or how would that work?

[Mezoti97]

I've done one before. Personally, I didn't really enjoy it very much -- it wasn't for me, I guess. But for anyone who has never done it before and is curious/interested, then give it a shot and see how it is for yourself -- who knows, you may like it. And a fair warning: the "bowing 108 times" will kill your legs.

[Gunpo_Erin]

I did one in November 2009 at Tongdosa temple near Daejeon.  it was worth it= the guide was in English and the two monks that were guiding us through the weekend spoke English- one was Korean and the other was German(maybe- I forget).  The sleeping quarters are seperate- and you sleep on the floor.  PM if you want some more information and/or photos

[rogue85]

You can't hear any traffic at Hwagyesa and it's set in a really beautiful place. We went on  hike and forest walk - it really is secluded. They have seperate rooms for males and females but I think you can ask to share a room.

[elizabethnoelle11]

I did a temple stay last fall and had an amazing weekend! it is not for everybody but if your interested in it you should do it for yourself to find out. It is not something you will regret doing, you'll learn a little something about Buddhist culture in Korea and maybe a little something about yourself too.. I wrote a blog about my weekend there which is pretty detailed, http://www.onedayillflyaway.com/2010/11/weekend-of-zen.html for more info. Also I really recommend this Lotus Lantern Temple. It is close enough to Seoul for a weekend but far enough away that you feel like you really got out of the city. Good Luck

[gtgatlin]

Has anyone visited a temple on Jeju?  I am wondering which the best one would be.  I have a bunch of family members coming to visit and am hoping to find the best one.

[kyrourke]

I went on a temple stay 2 weekends ago to Magoksa temple...it was with a one of the foreigner adventure groups in seoul (adventure korea i think). it weas a really great experience and very interesting. i would defiantely say its not for everyone, but its good to experience something new, right? ...this temple was really secluded and in a really beautiful setting, check it out

[Gokseongwaygook]

To OP,
I myself had a wonderful templestay. I went solo. Paid 30,000. Ate the coolest food and spent a LOT of time alone. Prepare yourself for being awake at hours you normally wouldn't.
Also ask yourself why you want to go. Then I think you might not get let down or get set on what you want.
If you're up for spending some time in a for real temple, my advice, take one that doesn''t speak a lot of english and bare it alone. I havn't gone to any english ones and from my templestay experience , I wouldn't want to anyways. I just enjoyed my alone time, reflected and chilled out in my little area. I went for walks. I read up on it and was expecting to do some chores but I didn't do any. The monk and I drank tea and talked briefly.  I found my experience was about learning about buddhism and it's part it plays in korean culture. I learned a lot. Even if there wasn't a lot of talking. =)
Buddhist monks I've found are the coolest people. If you're keen on learning about it all they'll be up for trying to explain stuff...
Hope that helps.

edit to above---
Also, must add that yes, templestays are not for everyone.
I did mine at Dorim Temple in Jeollanam Do.

[kcjohn7]

Has anyone tried doing a temple stay? I'm looking to give it a try with a few of my buddies. If you've done it, did you enjoy your experience?

I did one awhile back with some friends that were visiting.  Went to Golgulsa (not Bulguksa) near Gyeongju.  Me and my friends agreed that, while it defiantly not fun, it was a great experience and we all wished we would have done 2 nights instead of just 1.  Doing 1 night we just feel like we didn't get the full experience.  I'm torn on if it's something I want to go back and do again to get this "full" experience though.

This temple is famous for originally being built in caves, having a large stone Buddha carving, and for practicing sumundo; Buddhist monks form of taekwondo.  It quite a ways out of the way and a bit of a pain to get to.  Which means it's quiet and peaceful and there aren't a lot of others there.  People from around the world will do long temple stays here though, so they have several people that speak a few languages to help out.

[happyface]

Has anyone done a couple temple stay? What was like like?

[kcjohn7]

Has anyone done a couple temple stay? What was like like?

When I was looking into places to do mine, every one of them separated males and females.  Well as far as rooms go... obviously you could walk around together, etc.  Maybe the more touristy ones in Seoul and what not don't do this though?