The Bal Woo GangYang and Dawn Worship Experience (October 1997)
Last Saturday night and Sunday morning (97/8/7), I ate at a (Pal-u hang-yang) Buddhist monk's dining ceremony in So-myon. The organizer, Jay Oh, invited foreigners, so they could see how monks eat every night. Most of the Koreans there were experiencing this for the first time as well.
The night started off with the monk, Shin-san, explaining to everyone how the evening's meal would proceed. Everyone there was nervous, including me, because the rules seemed so complex. I soon realized that this form of eating is in reality very simple, indeed. We then broke for about half an hour, and at around 11:30pm, we sat down to eat.
We had a special way we were supposed to hold our bowls, a way to serve the food (in a buffet manner) and we were not supposed to make any noise, not even to hear ourselves chew, because this would take us out of the meditative state of mind. The monk seemed to be really intrigued that there were some foreigners present, and was keen as to make sure that we performed the ceremony in a truly Buddhist fashion. I found it interesting that we used a piece of kimchi to clean our bowls, as we were not to leave any waste whatsoever, for we must all care of the environment.
After cleaning up, we ate dessert with the monk, and discussed with everyone what our feelings were, regarding the ceremony. Most of the people present said that they were so nervous, that they were having digestion problems, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
At 2:00 am we took a bus to Tongdosa in Yansan Province, about an hour north of Pusan. We then witnessed something wonderful. One monk started to ring a giant bell with a hammer for ten minutes, while chanting Buddhist prayers. When he was done, another monk took two sticks and started to bang a wooden model of a fish with all of his might. Simultaneously, a second and a third monk started to beat a giant cow skinned drum with their hands. All of this was done to wake up the monks, the creatures in the sea, in the sky, and those under the ground. It was three in the morning, a monk was sitting right next to me, and tree monks were beating instruments; I finally felt like as in Asia.
We then proceeded to the Dharma room, to worship with the other monks present. That lasted roughly half an hour. At 6:00 am, we were back in So-myon, ready for bed.
I met some really great people on this night, and had an enriching cultural experience. The Pusan-Tongdosa Mission holds these kinds of events every month, and has some other types of events every other Saturday night in So-myon. Feel free to give Jay Oh a call for the exact location. Phone: 816-2241
Article Credit: http://pusanweb.com/Exit/Oct97/dawn.htm
Photo Credit: http://magazine.seoulselection.com/2015/10/09/healing-the-traditional-way/
The night started off with the monk, Shin-san, explaining to everyone how the evening's meal would proceed. Everyone there was nervous, including me, because the rules seemed so complex. I soon realized that this form of eating is in reality very simple, indeed. We then broke for about half an hour, and at around 11:30pm, we sat down to eat.
We had a special way we were supposed to hold our bowls, a way to serve the food (in a buffet manner) and we were not supposed to make any noise, not even to hear ourselves chew, because this would take us out of the meditative state of mind. The monk seemed to be really intrigued that there were some foreigners present, and was keen as to make sure that we performed the ceremony in a truly Buddhist fashion. I found it interesting that we used a piece of kimchi to clean our bowls, as we were not to leave any waste whatsoever, for we must all care of the environment.
After cleaning up, we ate dessert with the monk, and discussed with everyone what our feelings were, regarding the ceremony. Most of the people present said that they were so nervous, that they were having digestion problems, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
At 2:00 am we took a bus to Tongdosa in Yansan Province, about an hour north of Pusan. We then witnessed something wonderful. One monk started to ring a giant bell with a hammer for ten minutes, while chanting Buddhist prayers. When he was done, another monk took two sticks and started to bang a wooden model of a fish with all of his might. Simultaneously, a second and a third monk started to beat a giant cow skinned drum with their hands. All of this was done to wake up the monks, the creatures in the sea, in the sky, and those under the ground. It was three in the morning, a monk was sitting right next to me, and tree monks were beating instruments; I finally felt like as in Asia.
We then proceeded to the Dharma room, to worship with the other monks present. That lasted roughly half an hour. At 6:00 am, we were back in So-myon, ready for bed.
I met some really great people on this night, and had an enriching cultural experience. The Pusan-Tongdosa Mission holds these kinds of events every month, and has some other types of events every other Saturday night in So-myon. Feel free to give Jay Oh a call for the exact location. Phone: 816-2241
Article Credit: http://pusanweb.com/Exit/Oct97/dawn.htm
Photo Credit: http://magazine.seoulselection.com/2015/10/09/healing-the-traditional-way/
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