Korea: Day Four

Travel day! First, off to the train station to catch a train to Gyeong-ju. We easily found our bus to the city center, where we changed to yet another bus, which dumped us off on the side of the road on the middle of nowhere! After a nice walk, we arrived at our templestay — Golgulsa Temple, a Buddhist temple that is headquarters for Sunmudo, a meditative martial art. After a delicious vegetarian dinner, we participated in the bowing and listened to the evening chanting of the Buddhist teachings. Then it was time for our 90-minute Sunmudo training! Wow, what a workout! Fun, but extremely challenging!

 

Sidewalks? Not here! Mountains, streams, and fresh air? Plenty.
 
Walking to the temple
  
The temple gate
  
In our training clothes
   
The 1500 year old stone Buddha at the temple.
  
The view from the Buddha – we understand why it was built here!
 
Preparing for evening chanting
  
After Sunmudo training!
  
Our beds: thin pads on the floor