(Note to self: If you say "YES! We're going to have a White Christmas!" to a Korean.. don't expect an excited reaction.. or any reaction at all!! But don't let it get ya down!! :) )
It's true that there are a massive amount of Christians in Korea. It's a true that Christmas is quite a significant holiday nowadays. It's true that the celebration of Jesus' birthday became a federal holiday before Buddha's birthday did. It's also true that Christmas is a marketing ploy for many businesses & as always is great for consumerism.
During the first week of December, here in Jeonju and other areas of Korea, you began to see Christmas lights outside of businesses and huge malls.. Christmas decorations.. Christmas music (in ENGLISH :) ).. Christmas cards.. and Dunkin Donuts had special Christmas donuts.
I began to chat with my students about what their plans were for Christmas the week before it.. and most of the responses were sort of gloomy if they didn't have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Here's the difference! For Koreans, Christmas is a 'couples' holiday.. as is many of their holidays and celebrations. For the most part, families do not get together to eat a Christmas lunch or dinner, they do not exchange presents and you don't hear 'Merry Christmas' every 5 seconds of the day.
Couples do these things though. Most of the Christmas cards for sale are about 'love'.. you go on a date with you boyfriend/girlfriend, and spend the day with them. If you don't have a special someone, then most people say they are "going to have Christmas with Kevin." Who is Kevin? Kevin McCallister.. you know.. the boy from Home Alone :). Sound depressing? It is for many! I enjoyed telling my students about how we celebrate in America.. because it sounds so exciting to me.. and normal!
In Korea, if your family attends church regularly (and when I say regularly.. I mean, going to church at 10AM.. and not being finished until practically dinner time.. intense!), then my students planned on going to church with their family and then going on their 'dates'.
Walking down a main pedestrian area in Jeonju, it just seems like any other day. A stark contrast to back home.. talking to one of my students who had studied in America for 4 years and had an uncle living in New York City.. he was telling me about how on Christmas day he went to explore NYC.. and it sucked! There wasn't even anyone there to take his picture in front of 'The Tree'.. Macy's was closed.. in the beginning, he told me a story about how he was looking for Macy's on the map, and a police car stopped to help him (I was thinking, wow.. that's strange for NYC.. there's always something crazy going on, rather than offering to help the thousands of tourists that are looking at maps... and that was when he tells me that it was Christmas day! .. and I understood!).
It was so cool going to the Christmas Eve party at my friend Dawn's, because you get a big group of foreigners together and all you hear is "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" and it never gets old, it just makes you a little happier.. because you've had withdrawals because you haven't heard it enough this year! We were decked out in our reds and greens, asking around to see who has cried already in anticipation of another Christmas without family! No one admitted to it. We brought food, exchanged gifts (which were put under a baby Christmas tree).. and it felt like Christmas all around suddenly!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
(see.. I said Christmas so many times in this blog.. I'm still saying Merry Christmas a few days later!)
This is a mannequin at a Bean Sprout Soup restaurant near the University.. she bows when you walk by and says something.. she also normally has traditional clothes on ( a hanbok )... now she's sexy Mrs. Claus!!! hahaha
I'll make this short and sweet. Santa came to Korea to drop off presents to all of these good little boys and girls on this side of the world first.. and.. I.. kidnapped him before he made it over to the Western Hemisphere.. I wanted to learn all of his secrets!
JUST KIDDING! I refuse to be the Grinch that stole Christmas! And luckily, I turned my frown upside down! I was getting really sad as Christmas was approaching, because I knew that all of my close friends here in Korea were going to be going home to Canada/US/vacationing in paradise.. and I was going to feel SO lonely on Christmas without my family and friends! BUT the closer it got.. I fully got into the spirit!
On Saturday (Christmas Eve), I went to two orphanages with a group of people in Jeonju to help pass out presents and sing Christmas carols. It was a nice time, they were both quite rushed visits but I think the kids had fun! In between visits, I went with Eva and the owner of the Jeonju Diner to grab lunch.. a yummy breakfast burrito (complete with eggs, bacon AND SALSA... holla!)
Then I went to my coworker's house (Kay). We watched The Holiday and snacked on some munchies. Had a great time as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed at how romantic the movie is! A favorite!!
Then we each got our pasta/risotto ready, dressed up in green and red and hit the road to go to Dawn's Christmas Eve Hootenany party!! I only new 3 out of the 20 people there.. but it was super fun.. and the food that everyone brought was AMAZING!! Literally, it was SO positively delicious!! I take SO much American food for granted.. there was REAL macaroni & cheese there (no nacho cheese here, real macaroni noodles, REAL CHEESE), delicious mashed potatoes (I think with feta cheese!), VEGETABLE LASAGNA (which you just never ever ever get on this side of the world), a cheese assortment, brownies, homemade eggnog (which sadly I couldn't partake in.. because of my LASIK), and many other amazing things! We did a gift exchange as well! Definitely put me in the holiday spirit!
On Christmas day, I woke up around 9AM and Skyped my parents so that we could open gifts together. NOW, I must tell you that when I asked my parents whether we were going to open gifts during their Christmas morning or my Christmas morning.. their mouths dropped a little and said "Oh! We hadn't thought of that, I guess we just assumed it would be our Christmas morning. HaHa." And THAT is one of the tricky parts about living abroad.. 2 Christmas mornings, on 2 different days.. literally! It was really funny, they said that I could choose.. and I totally chose my Christmas morning.. I couldn't imagine just looking at the unwrapped gifts under my tree ALL.. DAY.. LONG for another day!! I'm a curious person about gifts.. secrets aren't my thing.. so I always like to know.. but I was a good girl and didn't peek at all!
We had a great time, laughing and carrying on. I got some awesome stuff!! My parents are so thoughtful and care so much, it's soo great! A few weeks back, they had sent the box that was filled with gifts and my stocking.. and the only thing I was allowed to open were the home baked (6-days earlier) Christmas cookies that my MaMa always makes.. and they tasted SOO fresh, it was amazing! I munched on them for a few days, and it made my heart smile! I hung my stocking and put the presents under my mini-Christmas tree.
(My amazing friends and family ended up sending me lots of Christmas cards.. made me SO thrilled!! 11 and counting! And I put them up on my little table (that is actually a suitcase flipped on its side!))
They also sent me some Kraft Mac & Cheese dinners, fruit roll-ups, skittles, the 2nd book of the Hunger Games, guitar pick earrings (awesome!), AMAZINGLY THOUGHTFUL cards that have pictures from my travels on them.. pretty much the coolest thing ever, a sweet watch and PEZ candy! :)
I'll be calling them during their Christmas morning as well, along with all of my other family and friends!! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!
Later, I went to Kay's for a delicious brunch and we spent some time with Kevin.. watching Home Alone!! The day isn't over, so it's time to start writing my New Years Resolutions!! haha
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Update:
Christmas night I went to dinner with a few people, then to a DVD Bang to watch Love Actually... followed by buying a pint of Baskin Robbins to eat whilst Skyping my family!!! A few phone calls and a stomachache later... I fell fast asleep!
A few months ago I decided.. "I'm gonna do it! I'm going to get LASIK!!"
So I asked around, got some good recommendations.. and chose EyeMedi Eye Center which is based out of Seoul. My friend Faith had her eyes done there a few months back, and she isn't blind, poor or distraught... so I found myself in Seoul... in the clinic... in October.
I'm still positively amazed at how simple it was.. no check of the passport, no insurance mumbo-jumbo, I just filled in a simple form.. they made a copy of my Alien Registration Card (ARC).. and BAM! I was ready to start my eye tests.
I wasn't allowed to wear my contacts for 7 days prior to the tests, to be sure they received accurate results of my eyes. I went through a total of 24 tests....
-some just staring into a machine as they measured corneas and what not
-the classic "don't be frightened, you're going to feel a puff of air"
-they touched my eyeball with a machine
-A-F-H-Z?-4?-J-uhhh-B
-1st or 2nd? 1st!.. okay, 1st or 2nd? Could I see it again please? 1st or 2nd? Uhhh, umm one more time? 1st or 2nd Uhhh I guess, 1st?
-tear check (they pulled my bottom eyelid out, hung a little thin strip of paper off the edge (it stuck out about 2 inches), and I had to close my eyes for a few minutes so that they could measure how moist my eyes naturally were... IF I ONLY HAD HAD A CAMERA!)
-video game - well sort of.. I had to stare at a dot, and click a button every time I saw colored dots appear around it
-they hooked thin strips of paper (about 2 inches long) onto the edge of my lower eyelid.. I closed my eyes for a few minutes.. and in then they measured how moist my eyes were
-at the very end, I was showed what the correction they would do to my eyes, and asked if I could see well (using the funky glasses thing seen below).. do you have any idea how nerve racking that was?! I was like.. I hope this is right.. but I'm not looking at too much in this room.. what if it's actually wrong.. and I don't get my eyes corrected enough.. or if they get corrected too much! SO MUCH PRESSURE!
What the machine looks like back home when you do the "A, G, H, E" chart check.
What the 'machine' looks like in Korea (similar) when you do the "A, G, H, E" chart check. Big difference huh?! It felt very old school, but I liked it much much better compared to the machine we use in America!!
After the tests, I was given my options for the procedures. Luckily! I was approved for LASIK .. the easier of the two surgeries (LASIK vs. LASEK). She said that my cornea was hard enough and large enough, and all of the tests showed that I didn't have diseases, astigmatisms in both eyes, and healthy eyes! Also, my glasses that I have owned for 9 years were basically the same prescription as the surgery (I've actually worn glasses since about 5th grade, and the prescription has only changed.. about 4 times!)... and I was ready to get razored and lasered whenever I would like!
There were a few things that I could add-on to the basic LASIK eye surgery, so I opted for an add-on (hehe that sounds funny) to help prevent seeing halos at night time when looking at lights. And I chose December 17th for the big day!
I had an entire 2 months to wait.. but I had a 2 week vacation and plenty of down time to relax and take good care of my eyes!
Walking to work, I have a good 15 minutes to just think about (random) things. I was thinking about how popular 'fur' is in Korea at the moment.. I saw SO many things while shopping that felt like real fur.. you also see it on just about every person that walks by. Fur on Jackets. Fur on Hats. Fur on Scarves. Fur on Vests. Fur on Shoes. It's just everywhere.
I began to wonder if this was real fur.. or maybe it was just fake fur. Then I wondered if they ever used rabbit fur (even though it is probably not 'fashion' enough)... I was like, rabbit fur would be a decent and animal friendly fur to use.
WHAT?! What am I saying?! I felt like a horrible person, especially when I wondered what they would do with the rest of the rabbit they killed for fur.. would they eat it?! If they did, then that would be better.. at least it wasn't being wasted.
Then it made me think of the rabbit's foot I used to carry around on a key chain for 'GOOD LUCK'!!! OMG, I was a crazy little American girl!
I am no longer allowed to judge or think something is 'strange' in a different culture.. whether they're drinking cobra blood, eating grasshoppers (without the chocolate), eating silkworm larvae, balut egg, or wearing glasses that are twice the size they were in the 80's.
I USED TO CARRY A RABBIT'S FOOT AROUND!!!! And no one thought it was strange!! Do you understand this?! You probably had one as well. Why is that not weird?! NO, No.. NO. It is not weird.. you know why?! Because it is 'good luck' and everyone was doing it!
Memory flashback... the toenails were still attached! I took that foot everywhere. I hooked it to my purse. I would pet it. I thought I was super fly. You could buy them at the dollar store!
PETA is going to hack into my blog and delete it.. I feel like I should prostrate:
I prostrate to all of the sentient beings that died so I could have their feet on a keychain. I prostrate in gratitude for the luck my rabbit's foot once brought me. I prostrate in repentance for thinking a keychain was lucky. I prostrate as a vow to only buy purple rabbit's feet in the future for they are they cutest.
So there I am, sitting there, in the middle of Seoul... looking around, hoping, praying someone will soon be here. I'm analyzing everyone I look at. Construction worker. Office worker. Construction worker. Secretary. Tourist. Restaurant worker. Construction worker. No ajummas, no young regular looking Koreans, no 'sign' in site. So I walk around to the other side of the building. Well.. I am 10 minutes early. You know what Dad said, never be on time, ALWAYS be early. But why did I listen this time? I should have been fashionably late, then I wouldn't be so worried. But wait, if I showed up a little late.. what if the protest ended because no one was there. A protest doesn't just end though because no one is there. You can protest on the inside all you want, but where are the OUTSIDE protesters. I need them. I want to protest, I want to join a group to protest on the outside for an important issue. Geeze, this is a large building.. where are all of these construction workers coming from.
Dangit, no one is on the other side of the building either. And there's no where to sit and wait. I guess it is back to the other side I go. Should I ask that security guard, no, what if he yells at me. No, maybe in 10 minutes I'll ask him. So I walk back to the other side of the building, sit, wait, clutch my poster.. it says "You wanted comfort. They want closure" pretty clever, great teamwork by Bruce and I. I just stare at everyone, lean forward, lean back, lean forward.. no ajummas, no one shouting, no one with signs, no one with a banner.. I'm definitely at the Japanese Embassy though. But this is a huge building.. what if they're protesting inside of the building today.. no... no.. they wouldn't do that, all of the pictures were outdoors. Should I go up and see, I could ask the lady in the lobby that I see through the door. But, how do I ask.. do I simply point at the sign? I bet they're sick of seeing protesters here every Wednesday. She'd probably lie to get me to go away! ERRR, this is one of the only times I'll be able to do this, I have this Wednesday off, that's never happened before.. and I've never been able to go. I guess I could try again some other time this year.
But I don't want to give up! I don't want to.. I've been looking SO forward to this. A bit bummed that no one was interested in coming with me though. OK, it's been 10 minutes, it's almost 12:15.. time to walk to the other side again. No one. No one. No one. Well there are people, plenty of people, but none that have that look in their eye.. the look I would expect from someone who is about to protest, someone who means business. So I go into the Starbucks, they have no clue what I'm even hinting at. Then I ask the security guard, he just shrugs and says no... what the heck?! This sucks! I read every last direction I could find on all of the websites, and even one of my students called and asked for me. Maybe I am in fact in the wrong place, maybe there are two Japanese embassies? I have no clue, why didn't I bring the phone number with me?! As if they would even understand me. So I do one last check around the other side of the building, no one, so I mope away. Slightly defeated. Slightly more geared up for when I'll get to 'try' to do it again.
This is a really important issue. And one that has pulled at my heart strings since I first heard about these 'Comfort Women' when I took part in the Vagina Monologues. The stories they must have, the constant terror and pain they must be living with, how can it be brushed aside, how can the government be so weak, all they want is an apology, someone to take blame for their living hell. These poor women are 80 now, there aren't very many left, they still fight all of the time... fighting for power, fighting for a voice, fighting for their lives to return... they need closure... they need someone to take the blame so they can stop blaming themselves... they need... they live... they fight... we need to fight for them and pressure the Japanese government, we cannot allow this nowadays, we cannot let this keep happening to women, we cannot.
The Comfort Women just had their 1000th Wednesday protest, and they rallied around a new monument that was placed outside of the Japanese Embassy, calling it a monument of peace.
It is a very simple statue, but the Japanese government hates it.. and has asked it to be removed.. and before it was erected, they opposed it and threatened the Korean government not to allow it.
Yup! You read it right. I, Paula Ferguson, slept with a monk. Well... maybe I'm stretching the truth a bit. But I had to get you to read this somehow, didn't I?!
Here's what went down. Chelsea, Faith and I made our way to Haeinsa temple. One of the most famous temples in Korea. Famous for beauty, famous for the mountain it rests on, famous for housing the most important monks of Korea, famous for the Head Monk of Korea living there, and famous for the 13th century Tripitaka wooden printing blocks that are housed there.
Basically this place is a holy rock festival of ambient goodness! It was awesome, beautiful, inspiring and tranquil... well, when the hundreds of Korean tourists filtered out it was.
So here we are, 3 Korean city girls, dropped off in the middle of the woods... wearing simple-comfy temple clothes, struggling every 10 minutes to put our shoes on or take them off and put them in a perfectly anal straight line.
After all of the foreigners got scolded for our messy shoes sitting outside of the temple stay practice room, and the Koreans got told their shoe line up was the Japanese way... we became very careful... yet some still got scolded later on.. awk-ward! The shoe Nazis were always lurking around the temple apparently.
We were divided into 2 groups, 6 Koreans in one group with their special monk, and 8 foreigners with our own special English speaking monk.
When they first walked into our practice room, we were sitting on our mats, awaiting their arrival.. my first thought was, Geeze, they aren't even smiling, they're so quiet.. I bet any minute now they're going to break out into Monk-Ninja mode, and we're going to get BEAT UUUP!
False alarm. Not ninjas. One can hope.
First, our monk taught us how to do a proper full bow, and how to bow when you enter the chanting hall (one half bow, 3 full bows, one half bow). We did it, quite sloppily.. but we moved right on to the next thing...
Our monk was honestly terrified of us. SO terrified. He was very nervous at first, and couldn't quite portray what he was trying to.. struggling.. pulling the words out.. yanking them out.. about 7 minutes after struggling, he finally explains a meditation technique.. we think we totally understand him.
He gives us 5 minutes.
We meditate.
We finish.
He asked how many sets of numbers we got through.
One guy says 7, and I'm thinking. Ha. Haa. I did 8.5 sets!
Then Faith says "One. 5 minutes was the perfect amount of time to finish one set."
We all look at her, WHAT?! How slow are you?? But, it was us who did it wrong.
The monk. freaked. out. Realizing most all of us did it wrong, and didn't quite understand him. He started rambling about how we need a lot of clothes on, because tonight it will get to about 30 degrees, and we have some ceremonies outdoors to go to. Then he just leaves. Flustered.
So I stand up, and say, "Welp, I'm gonna go put all of the clothes I brought on." And everyone just sits. No one is going to go. I think they're crazy, because it has already started to be freezing cold outside, and our temple clothes aren't the warmest of things. But they weren't sure if he told us to go change or not, so they didn't want to get left behind.
Heck, I just didn't want to be cold. I HATE being cold. SO I left, and went to our room to change. I was in there for 2 minutes, when Chelsea and Faith ended up joining to put clothes on as well. One thing led to another, and we started taking pictures of ourselves in ridiculous poses in our super cool temple rags. And by the time we walked back up to the practice room.... there were no shoes out front... the light was off... no people... no one anywhere... no tourists... no monks... WHERE DID ALL OF THE PEOPLE GO?!?
I look at Chels.. head slightly lowered, angel eyes on, pouty face on... "Whoopsies" is all I could let out. "Hey! You guys can't blame me. You followed me! You could have stayed." ... Their only reaction, "OH MAN! OH MAN! Now what are we going to do. How could they not have told us?? He told us to put warm clothes on. We shouldn't have gone!" My reaction to their fluster.. "ha.. ha... ha.. this is pretty funny huh?" Silence. "We'll find them don't worry, hehe, sorry! Sorry guys, I swear that's what he told us to do!" I could tell that Chelsea was a bit angry/worried that we wouldn't find them. BUT we sure did find them. ALL of them were already sitting down and eating in the cafeteria area. But this wasn't a normal cafeteria...
... we walk in, and there is nothing but silence. No one tells us what to do, we definitely look like we're trouble makers. Sure to get kicked out of the temple for not following directions. How funny would that be though?! Hilarious! Well to me, Chelsea looks even more upset than before. Still, all I can think of is whoopsies!
We grab plates and go through the buffet style set-up, and sit down, there are about 50 people in there, a few are monks (who sit on their own side.. and also have their own separate entrance), our group is about half way finished eating.
We definitely didn't grab enough food.. worried because we heard you cannot waste ANYTHING at a temple (even though there wasn't any one ensuring this.. we thought there would be)... we didn't know if we were allowed to get seconds either. So we had a few hours before we could go to sleep and veg out on our snacks we bought at the market earlier in the day (lifesavers for sure!!).
Then, we went to the drum ceremony. It was pitch dark outside, really cold. And the drum ceremony was AWESOME! They do it 3 times a day, first one at 3:30AM!
Next, we walked over to the large chanting hall that houses the golden Buddhas. Here, we took part (well watched) in the chanting and bowing.. the monks and followers did most of it! I really shouldn't have taken this video, but it was such an interesting experience I just couldn't help it. I feel like I should be a spy or a journalist, I enjoyed sneaking it and almost getting in trouble SO MUCH!
The next part of our evening was the tea ceremony.. where we could ask lots of personal questions to our monk (who finally about 5 minutes into it, calmed down A LOT!). We asked him if you had to be a virgin to be a monk (answer: When you are a monk, you cannot have sex. But if you become a monk after you've been married or have children, that's acceptable. You just can't be married when you're a monk). So it made me wonder if Buddhism accepts divorce, but I didn't ask it. We also asked him why MOST of the followers in the chanting hall were all women and ajummas (old ladies).. where were the men (answer: .. and an honest answer at that.. he said that the men in Korea like to climb mountains and drink at night)?! Couldn't argue with that, I KNEW that was what he was going to say. We asked how much he traveled (A LOT!), about the robes, why he has an IPHONE!!!, if they're allowed to use the internet (yes), why there were no nuns in the chanting hall (answer: they have their own.. separate but equal I suppose.. and so the monks aren't tempted.. it's best to have them separate)... and many many other questions!
Finally after way too much green tea at night, we went off to bed. We were EXHAUSTED, and lights out at 9PM was not early enough.. that's for sure!
Guess what?!? Wake-up was at 3AM!!!!!!! Paaaiiinnnffuullll, but we did it! First order of the day> drum ceremony, second order>chanting hall, next up>108 bows.
OH the bows, 108 of them. We listened to the English version of what each prostration was for (that sounds so dirty, I've never used that word before)... and the monk would slap his stick thingy every time we needed to bow, it was an experience!
Why 108 bows? Watch this:
I thought I was going to die, it was SO hot.. the ondol floor heating was on, and it was toasty&roasty! Holy moly, it was insane.. I kept trying to get Faith to open the window that was beside of her, because I felt like I was going to puke.. so did Chels, and almost everyone else in the room. I have to admit, after the first 50 bows, I started to lose my 'proper bowing techniques'.. I just didn't care, it was 4AM.. and I had just done 50 bows, what am I doing with my life. When will this torture be over.
THEN, there it is. I prostrated in gratitude to the sparkling rainbows. I can feel happy about continuing bowing.. then it gets a bit boring.. OH wait! Now I'm prostrating in repentance for having thought that only what I smelled was correct. OK, I'm going to make it. Almost finished. OH 108 bows, done, finished, success!
Everything we prostrated to:
1. With sincere devotion, I take refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha.
2. With sincere devotion, I take refuge in the Dharma.
3. With sincere devotion, I take refuge in the Sangha.
4. I prostrate in repentance for being ignorant of where I came from and unmindful of where I will go.
5. I prostrate in repentance for being ignorant of my true self and correct situation, relationship, and function.
6. I prostrate in repentance for having taken this body for granted.
7. I prostrate in repentance for having neglected my original nature.
8. I prostrate in repentance for having taken my ancestors for granted.
9. I prostrate in repentance for having taken my parents for granted.
10. I prostrate in repentance for having taken my relatives for granted.
11. I prostrate in repentance for being unmindful of all those who have contributed to my learning and education.
12. I prostrate in repentance for being unmindful of all those who have grown, prepared, and provided my nutrition.
13. I prostrate in repentance for being unmindful of all those who have made and provided my clothing.
14. I prostrate in repentance for being unmindful of all those who have built and provided my shelter.
15. I prostrate in repentance for manipulating people for my own selfish needs.
16. I prostrate in repentance for having ignored the effects of my misdeeds on others.
17. I prostrate in repentance with complete devotion to eradicate Karma accumulated in the past, present, and the future.
18. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through fits of anger.
19. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have stung with hurtful words.
20. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through arrogance.
21. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through avarice.
22. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through my jealous thoughts.
23. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have scorched with the flames of my rage.
24. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through attachment to my possessions.
25. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have harmed through attachment to like-and-dislike mind.
26. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have alienated through thought, word, and deed.
27. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I harmed through gossip, slander, and bad speech.
28. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have looked down upon.
29. I prostrate in repentance for my cowardly thoughts, words, and deeds.
30. I prostrate in repentance for all my hypocritical deeds and lies.
31. I prostrate in repentance for poisoning other beings through my mindless materialistic overconsumption.
32. I prostrate in repentance to all sentient beings that I have harmed or killed for entertainment and pleasure.
33. I prostrate in repentance for conceiving of this world only through the lens of my ego.
34. I prostrate in repentance to all those I have harmed through attachment to my thinking.
35. I prostrate in repentance to all those I have harmed through foolish or unnecessary speech.
36. I prostrate in repentance to all those whom I have injured by engaging in relationships based on using each other.
37. I prostrate in repentance for all thoughts, words, and deeds which create attachment.
38. I prostrate in repentance for having thought that only what I saw was correct.
39. I prostrate in repentance for having thought that only what I heard was correct.
40. I prostrate in repentance for having thought that only what I smelled was correct.
41. I prostrate in repentance for having thought that only what I tasted was correct.
42. I prostrate in repentance for having thought that only what I felt was correct.
43. I prostrate in repentance for every action born from I-my-me mind.
44. I prostrate in repentance for not seeing clearly my true interconnectedness to all forms of life.
45. I prostrate in repentance for having disregarded our only home, Earth.
46. I prostrate in repentance for selfishly polluting the air.
47. I prostrate in repentance for selfishly polluting the rivers and lakes.
48. I prostrate in repentance for selfishly polluting the mountains and the oceans.
49. I prostrate in repentance for selfishly destroying the flowers and trees.
50. I prostrate in repentance for a lifestyle built on the suffering of other forms of life.
51. I prostrate in repentance for discriminating between the rich and poor in my choice of relations.
52. I prostrate in repentance for discriminating between high and low, the superior and the inferior.
53. I prostrate in repentance for discriminating between "good" and "bad."
54. I prostrate in repentance for seeing this world based on absolute "right" or "wrong."
55. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for the sick or grieving.
56. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for those suffering from depression.
57. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for the poor and needy.
58. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for those who are stubborn or hard to work with.
59. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for the lonely, and those trapped by addiction.
60. I prostrate in repentance for my lack of compassion for those in trouble with the law.
61. I prostrate in gratitude for having come to take refuge in the Buddha.
62. I prostrate in gratitude for having come to take refuge in the Dharma.
63. I prostrate in gratitude for having come to take refuge in the Sangha.
64. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to realize that all beings are interconnected as one.
65. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to realize that all beings can communicate and sympathize with one another.
66. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to realize that all beings live in accordance with the Universal Law.
67. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to realize that all beings have the same True Nature.
68. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see the beauty of this world.
69. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to know the wonders of all life forms.
70. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to hear the pure beauty of the birds' singing.
71. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to know the spiritual sound of the wind.
72. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to hear the bubbling music of the streams.
73. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to feel the energy of new life in Spring.
74. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see the beauty of a shimmering rainbow.
75. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that true peace of mind comes from being in harmony with nature.
76. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that nature is Universal Law.
77. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that nature is our Great Teacher.
78. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that compassion is the greatest blessing of all.
79. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that a heart filled with hatred and resentment is the greatest misfortune of all.
80. I prostrate in gratitude for coming to see that selfless love is the greatest power of all.
81. I prostrate as a vow to live in the embrace of the Buddha.
82. I prostrate as a vow to live in accordance with the Dharma.
83. I prostrate as a vow to follow the teachings of the Sangha.
84. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from greed.
85. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from anger.
86. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from arrogance.
87. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from jealousy.
88. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from saying hurtful things.
89. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from hypocritical speech.
90. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from slandering.
91. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from looking down on others.
92. I prostrate as a vow to refrain from resenting others.
93. I prostrate as a vow to be humble in all that I do.
94. I prostrate as a vow to do my best in all my endeavors.
95. I prostrate as a vow to be honest in everything I do.
96. I prostrate as a vow to be positive in everything I do.
97. I prostrate as a vow to live with a compassionate heart.
98. I prostrate as a vow to always have a bright and happy heart.
99. I prostrate as a prayer so that all beings may live in peace.
100. I prostrate as a prayer for an end to all wars.
101. I prostrate as a prayer for an end to poverty.
102. I prostrate as a prayer for an end to all diseases.
103. I prostrate as a vow to always practice the disciplines of the Bodhisattva.
104. I prostrate as a vow to cultivate transcendental wisdom.
105. I prostrate as a vow to never regress in practice.
106. I prostrate as a vow to meet eminent teachers.
107. I prostrate as a vow to meet the Buddhas who always appear in this world, from moment to moment.
108. I prostrate as a vow to transfer all merits accumulated through compassionate action to all beings in the ten directions.
YAY, break time.. for about 10 minutes we got to take a mini-nap.. OF COURSE I wake myself up on my first snore.. hehehe. The whole time I was just praying we'd get to go eat soon.. but NOPE....
...it was meditation time. The most painful time of the trip. I couldn't believe it, I thought it was going to be SO easy, and I was going to be SOO good at it. But trying to sit half lotus style for 15 minutes (well.. to be honest, it ended up being simply cross-legged by the end of it).. my legs were IN PAIN.. I'm not that flexible obviously! I just couldn't handle it, I started freaking out a bit. I was so tired and hungry, I couldn't do the correct counting.. I WANT TO SLEEP! I WANT TO EAT! I want to do anything but this. I peak a lot, I couldn't help it, I wanted to see if anyone else was in as much pain as me. I quietly stretch out my legs, luckily Faith is doing it as well beside me. When the monk got up to check our posture and our 'meditation hands'.. I perked up, but when he sat back down and closed his eyes... I became a bad student, AGAIN. Of course!
FINALLY, breakfast time. I have been starving since I got here, I'm not sure why.. we've been munching like crazy. It's tiring being a monk and being so quiet, I'm not used to so much effort (being quiet that is).
We went and had a silent breakfast, it was yummy, of course! And vegetarian!
Next up, we went on a tour of the temple with our monk. It was extremely informative, and we were still the only people at the temple, besides the other followers who had arrived at the temple at 3AM for the ceremonies! We also went to see the Tripitaka that Haeinsa is so famous for. Haeinsa has been burnt down about 7 times over history, but they've always managed to save the Tripitaka that are from the 13th century!! AWESOME!
We had a mini-tea ceremony with the lady who runs the program, asked her a few questions, told her how much we enjoyed the temple stay. She gave us presents. We wandered around and took some pictures, then off we went.. back to our normal city girl lives!
(Note to self: If you say "YES! We're going to have a White Christmas!" to a Korean.. don't expect an excited reaction.. or any reaction at all!! But don't let it get ya down!! :) )
