South Korea

My lifeline at the temple used to call the head monk at the temple "my monk". I chuckled the first time I heard it. She now says "the monk" though I tell her that there's a kind of charm, something special about saying "my monk" though I don't say this when talking about the monk. I don't feel that close. It seems like a real term of endearment.

Anyhow, a couple of weeks ago she told me about this website. www.koreanbuddhism.net I've been reading it, slowly. Several days ago I was looking for a Dhamma Talk to listen to when I came upon this one. http://www.koreanbuddhism.net/hwadu/content_view.asp?cat_seq=3&content_seq=457&page=1

I scrolled up and down to find a link to listen but didn't find one. Instead I found a picture of "my monk". My eyes bulged and I smiled.

Read it if you're interested.

Just today I found these other two. The first is some biographical information. The second regards fasting and meditation.

http://www.koreanbuddhism.net/master/priest_view.asp?cat_seq=12&priest_seq=93&page=1

http://www.koreanbuddhism.net/life/essay_view.asp?cat_seq=25&content_seq=467&priest_seq=93&page=1

He doesn't speak more than a tiny bit of English so for sure these are translations. I don't know for sure but I suppose these are all there are of his teachings in English. I'll ask.

I asked my friend if they believe "our monk" is enlightened and she said yes. I myself don't feel anything special around him but do see him as a generous person. You need to be around someone intimately to get a better sense of whether or not they are enlightened.

Last Sunday he invited me for breakfast, at 6:30. I've decided to go tomorrow morning, Sunday, Nov. 19. Rice porridge and I don't know what else. Vegan for sure. All the food is vegan and most or all of the vegetables are grown at the big garden next to the temple. The garden is all organic too.

Troy.

HIYA!

It's getting so cold. So cold. The jacket I bought a while back on eBay isn't doing the job. It wasn't advertised as a warm weather jacket, but since it's waterproof and windproof, and a ski / snowboarding jacket, I thought, it's gotta be warm. Plus, it was only $45! Well, now I'm hunting for something else.

I was online a few days ago looking for "vegan jackets" when I eventually got to Patagonia's website. There are several jackets that they have that I'm interested in. Most are about $260.

I really like Patagonia's environmental things. Just say "things". And the only two animal products they have are non-chlorinated wool, and down. I called and talked with a lady there and she said the down comes from birds that are not plucked while they're alive. They're killed for other purposes and the feathers are a by-product. Well, I don't want that either. There are plenty of synthetic things, which of course, have their own drawbacks, but, well, we all gotta choose something. I make my own choices based on my own views and understandings.

Then a couple of days ago I went shopping at the local outdoor market. I stumbled on some winter pants. $15. I figured I'd try them. Wow! I love them. Well, with reservations.

When I sit down there's a feeling of warmth on my butt. I always wonder if someone had just been sitting on the chair and made it warm! Yesterday at work I inadvertently brushed up against the wall and felt a warmth right there. So I touched the wall to see if it was warm! Nope. Can't explain it. But I'm pretty warm with these things on. One possible explanation is the static cling. I've noticed a few times there is static cling. I wonder if this is part of the reason for the warm feeling. And just what is static cling and why does it happen? Is there any reason to be concerned with static cling? I've long wondered about these two questions.

Then a couple of days ago I saw some winter jackets on the street. $5! $5! I didn't look at them because I thought that a $5 jacket couldn't be very good. $5! But when I compare $260 and $5, I have to say I'm interested. And I can have the jacket immediately. I'll try them on next time I go to that place.

From what I'm told, this is probably the second warmest place in Korea. The southern part of the island is a bit warmer. A tiny bit.

I'm glad to know that the temple has heaters so we can keep warm while we sit and meditate at night. Otherwise I wouldn't go. We haven't started using them yet but it's not so very cold.

Troy.

HIYA!

And I never got around to voting! I intended to when I got here but it was too early to register online so I waited then never got around to it. Boy. I'd'a voted for some drastic change.

Impeach Bush and Cheney? Sure. Why not.

I've been watching and listening to mostly left-wing media and boy the things they say .... I've been listening to a guy named Noam Chomsky quite a lot and he's got the most damning things to say about the US gov't that I hear regularly. Democracy Now! is one that I watch almost every day on the internet. Boy.

I've long been left-leaning. When I was about 20 years old and the US was doing things in Nicaragua I went to a lecture at a public library in SF. I wasn't sold on all the things that I was hearing and reading at the time but I was really really interested. Then when I joined the Navy and went to the Philippines I read The Philippine Daily Enquirer nearly every day. A columnist in this paper also damned almost every day Americans in gov't, the US military, multinational corporations, and others. I wasn't sold on all that he wrote but was, again, really really interested. Before I quit the Navy, I wanted to change my job and get out of the boring one I was doing. I wanted to be in the intelligence field because, in large part, I wanted to get a better feel regarding all these charges against the US. Never was allowed to get into intel. So I quit the Navy.

Now, I'm pretty much convinced that there's a lot of truth being told on the far left. Sure, some people are making things up. Can't believe everything you read and hear, for sure. But I feel there are lots and lots of things that some influential, powerful people don't want to get out into the general population.

I haven't yet gotten involved in doing anything positive. Don't know when I'll be ready.

Troy.

HIYA!

I teach only Monday to Friday from 2pm to 8pm. I look forward to the two hours that I have off in those times. They're a nice break. I'm the only foreign teacher; there are three others, all of them Korean, one of them is my boss. They don't work as many hours as I do. None of them sees all of the kids. They each take a set of the children to teach English grammar, pronunciaiton, and what else I don't know.

We haven't had a meeting nor have I had any training. There's a system here that I don't know. It's called Butter English but I don't know how it works. I don't know where I fit in. I know pretty well what I'm supposed to do but also know that I have lots and lots of freedom in the classroom. Whatever I see as appropriate.

I don't like the way this school works. There's no coordination amongst teachers as to what each of us teaches. So I'll teach, say, the Simple Past Tense, while another teacher teaches the same class prepositions. This is just an example I made up. I don't know exactly. But if that teacher were also to teach Simple Past Tense, students would understand my lesson much better, there would be more cohesion to the students' English language learning, and, just maybe, they'd be a bit more interested, and might even learn a little. They might become able to use the language. A little bit anyway.

As it is, most of these kids can hardly put three words together. Oftentimes they'll blurt out one or two words, sometimes they make sense, sometimes they don't. There isn't relaly much language ability being demonstrated here. My boss says that the past four years his kids have won the speech contests that are held among all the 7 schools using the Butter English method here on Jeju Island! If these kids are the most capable on the island ...!

I've told my boss my feelings regarding cohesion of the curriculum. About making lessons more coordinated among teachers. He says he'll change everything but has asked me to "endure" things the way they are until the end of the year. He's really busy. But he's honest so I believe we'll make some changes. He has told me the difficulties of making the curriculum more like the way I have told him I think is better. He agrees but says it's really really hard.

It's really frustrating for me when I teach the words "going to do" as in "will do" where the "going to" is not the verb "to go". The kids don't seem to already understand that this is not "to go". Yet explaining it to them and getting them to use it correctly is a real battle. There are other examples like this but never mind.

I've recently been adjusting my teaching style to use the books less. I really don't like them and the kids don't seem to like them much either. But I tell them that we can't play bingo all day every day. I have been using more games though because they're more fun than just drilling and doing the boring stuff all the time. I prefer to use material from the lessons for the game but that doesn't always happen. I'm trying to make the classroom environment more enjoyable for the kids as well as for me.

Plus I see that it's really a good idea for me to be able to speak Korean. Wow. So often I want to explain to them but just can't. I don't want to ask for help from others but have on rare occasions. Things would go so much more smoothly if I could communicate a bit in Korean. This is one of the things I've just started to learn: classroom Korean. Things like "Please read" and other things. I want the kids to understand these simple things in English though. But when I speak English, many of them just don't pay attention. Speaking Korean gets their attention much more. I suppose even that though, will wear off as they get more accustomed to hearing me speak Korean!

Enough, I'll write more about teaching in the future.

Troy.

HIYA!

I've been going to a temple nearly every evening, after work, from about 8:15 to 10:00 for meditation. There's a small group who go just about every night from 8 to 10 for meditation. I joined them. Sit from 8 to 9 then walk or relax for 10 minutes, then sit again until 10. It's a Seon (Zen in English / Japanese) temple.

We sit in Seon style. There are so many styles of meditation that you couldn't count them all. Adherents of this style, like adherents of all styles (and of probably anything you can imagine, not just meditation), say this is the best style. They say this is the most direct way to realize the truth of existence. The shortest, surest, most direct way for enlightenment. I don't have any opinion regarding this. I just want to try out Seon (Korean Zen). So I'm glad to do this.

The thing to do while sitting is ask over and over again, "What is?". "What is?" "What is?" "What is?". Well, I still don't know but it takes most people years and years and years to get it. Years and years and years. Most never get it, I'm sure. Maybe some get an inkling. I think most get an increased sense of peace, are better able to deal with various "difficulties" in life, and other benefits. These are benefits that people get from all styles of meditation, or so they say.

But really, I don't know yet how Seon differs from Japanese style Zen. Or from any other style of Zen. The monk from the temple where I go has said it's unnecessary to read books! So I haven't read any. He's got a book in English by a respected Korean Seon monk, a book that I've read is a great book, but which I haven't read. I'm interested really, but he says that he doesn't follow, or teach the same style. I haven't asked why he has the book. Who knows, maybe someone gave it to the temple. But just recently a lady that I know at the temple suggested a website that explains lots of things. I've started reading it. I haven't gotten around to much of it yet but it looks good so far.

The purposes of Buddhist styles of meditation are two. One is to become more calm and peaceful. The other is to realize the truth. Once you realize the truth, so they say, you automatically let go of all attachments. You cling to nothing. This realization of the truth is the most exhilirating thing that can come into a person's life. So they say. By saying that a person automatically let's go of all attachments, stops cling to anything, is not to say that a person becomes cold, callous, indifferent, and uncaring. Just the opposite, in fact. Once you see that there is "no self" then you stop going after things in life that don't contribute to the real quality of life, and aren't important. You start contributing more to the well-being of others. I won't describe any more than this. I don't have any insight into this other than what I have read and heard. I myself cannot say that I have ever experienced this feeling.

Having said that, I'll say that there was a moment, many years ago, long before I ever learned of Buddhism, I may have gotten a glimpse of what it's all about. There was a moment, I don't know what precipitated or led to this moment, but there was a mild, moderate feeling of nothing. It lasted only a moment, and really, I don't know what else to call it. I don't know how else to describe it but feel that to say that it was a feeling of nothing, doesn't really describe it very well. It was a fairly profound moment, unlike any other that I can remember ever.

Back to the temple, I go every Sunday. I've gone for the ceremony, then for lunch, and then for some chit chat and tea with the monk and other lay people. Usually I arrive just after the Dhamma Talk (teaching / preaching / sermon) has ended. Join everyone for lunch. I like the people and the atmosphere there well enough. Everyone's congenial and friendly. I feel they're genuine.

Last Saturday, some people went for lunch and an informal meeting with the monk. Lunch was in his meeting room, a small room big enough for about 10 people to sit on the floor. This is where we go after lunch for tea and chit chat. Not only chit chat but also for some real talk. Last Saturday there was a guy who came who, it seems, likes to talk about Buddhism. I really couldn't say what the content of what it is that he talked about with the monk, but I get the feeling that he likes to think. This is a no - no in Seon. It seems ridiculous to say thinking is a no - no, but I won't get into this. Never mind. It was entertaining to listen and watch the other people. The room is this intimate little place to sit and talk. In the past, I'd feel stifled, and really uncomfortable. But these days, I feel just fine sitting there with people that I don't know well at all, listening to people speak in a language that I do not know. I can laugh and smile enough. I feel okay actually. It's enjoyable, in a way. Of course, the thing to do is not pay so much attention to what others are doing, but to what my reactions and responses are. How am I? What am I doing? What am I thinking?(!) What am I feeling? Know, then let go. Be okay with whatever appears within. No judging, no holding back, no prohibiting, no anger, no nothing negative about what emerges from within. Just be okay. And just know "What is".

Of course, this word meditation is not just about sitting, or walking meditation. But it's the way to live all the time, all day, every day. Ask "What is?" all day every day. As much as possible. The place in life where I most often am not okay, hardly okay, is whenn it comes to food cravings. There are times, for sure, like just yesterday just before going into school. I let go of the craving, and actually felt better for it. It was a really really nice feeling to have let go. But it didn't last. About four hours later I appeased the craving! And it didn't end there. But at least I don't kick myself for appeasing those cravings and eating as I do. I never kick myself anymore. Can't say that I feel good about it, and often enough feel sort of bad about it, but I don't hate myself and get angry at myself. That's a positive.

The temple, again, quickly. I have been thinking for a long time to stop going to this temple. There are three temples really close to my apartment. I want to go to one of them to see if there's a group of people meditating every day. I don't like getting home so late, between 10:15 and 10:30 every night. My boss gives me a ride home out of the school every night, takes me to a place where I walk a few minutes to the temple. It's really just that I don't like getting home so late. So if there's a group of people meditating at a temple near here, I could just go there. But I feel strange about the idea of not going to meditate with the group that I've become friends with. I intend to go someday.

I'll just stop here.

Troy.

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