Temple Stay in South Korea - Beomeosa Temple

This past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Busan, where I stayed at Beomeosa Temple for 1 night. The temple is located on Beomeosa Mountain, and it's beautiful and full of rich, ancient culture. 

A Temple Stay is an experience where you can stay within a Buddhist temple and observe/take part in Buddhist Monks' lifestyle. From meditation to prayer to rituals, you can experience it and detach from the hustle of modern life. 

At Beomeosa, there are two options: Experiential Stay and Relaxation Stay. Since my trip to Busan was mainly for relaxing and unwinding, I opted for the Relaxation Stay, which costs 60,000 KRW, or $41.71, and food is included (Book Here). 

Below is the outline of activities for the Relaxation Stay: 

Food: 

Food at Buddhist temples are vegetarian but tasty! You are expected to finish what you take. In other words, wasting food is simply "not allowed." 

Rooms: 

My room was gorgeous, located in a beautiful, traditional temple. The floors were Ondol, or heated floors, bathrooms were clean, and I had a room all to myself with breathtaking views. 

Overall Experience: 

As someone that is deeply interested in learning about different cultures and religions, I had a wonderful time at this temple. The people of the temple were so kind, with one regular visitor giving me 20,000 KRW to buy myself a meal. She said she would like for me to eat well, since her daughter is also alone in Seoul. The devotees helped me throughout the prayer with one man giving me a translated version of the prayer on his phone. Everyone within the temple gave me their sweets, fruits, and the head monk gave me a beaded bracelet on his wrist, claiming he was gifting it to me from his heart and Buddha's body. 

I am so thankful to everyone there and the stay itself was relaxing and introspective. With plenty of free-time and meditation, it truly is a place to relax and unwind. I strongly recommend that you add Temple Stay to your travel list!  

I hope this information was helpful, stay on the lookout for more articles as I explore South Korea! Thank you for reading and I look forward to writing more :) 

              - Jayani Jayakanthan