
[just get here?...you can read part 1 here]
So who are we missing?…
[counting heads...1...2...3]
And who was it that needed money for the pay toilets…Val, was that you?
It won’t take American, Chica…you’ll need 100 won. Here you go.

So while we wait on Val & a couple of others…check out the view.

I love the juxtaposition of this view….the over 600 year-old monastery on one hillside of the river…with modern skyscraper housing stacked back to back on the other side.
Although when you’re standing on this side it’s a little depressing to see all that steel & glass.
I’ve always pictured Buddhist monasteries & temples as far-away remote bastions of peace & serenity…surrounded by the sounds of nature. Places of complete & quiet contemplation – not in the middle of Korean suburbia with blaring Korean rock music coming from the other side of the river from Korean teenagers just learning the American fascination of jet skis.
(It’s a fad that’s just beginning to catch on here. Which is probably why the monks have the recorded chants & prayers playing over & over in the main square – trying to drown out the noise.)
[leading the way to the left]
Along this side are the monks quarters. They’re divided from the main compound by this old stone & roof tile wall.

But look at the low retaining wall it joins into…down there in the left corner…

See the miniature stacks of stones and Buddahs?
In Buddhism, stacking stones is a form of worship and a way of requesting good fortune.
(I looked it up.)
But if we peek just around the corner you can see their quarters.

Those pots below the clothes line are kimchi pots & I think they will be Lesson 2 of Life in Korea with Jenn.
But I think I really embarrassed Eric with this shot.
All I heard…whispered in anxious desperation…while I was trying to zoom in & focus was,Â
“Don’t take a picture of their tighty whities!”
I didn’t get caught taking this photo, but it turns out that those are linens anyway, not the monk’s under garments.
But let’s not sneak up any closer. I want to respect their privacy as much as I can & my luck’s bound to not hold up much longer.
So if we head around this way…
(Ooh!…Look at the pretty flowers.)

…you’ll see the work shed.

Looks like wood for the coming winter & a few straw brooms.

Since there’s still have a few more public buildings to tour, let’s head back.
Besides…I haven’t even shown you the insides of the temples yet. And those are really gorgeous!

We’ll just follow him.


























