Flying Monk
September 21, 2006

Late tonight after teaching one of my English classes, I got a call from Jin and her husband Yong Won.  They said they needed my help in translating an English document for a Buddhist Monk.  The Sojae Sa Temple was on top of Besul mountain about an hour or so away and I was very tired from a long day, but I agreed to help anyway.  I figured it must be something important to get such short notice and so late at night.

I traveled to the top of the mountain and arrived to see a star filled beautiful night sky with a few scattered clouds above me.  It was very dark with limited electrical lights around.  We walked into a very small room that I assumed was the monk's living quarters.  It was a simple room with a small TV, a few bookshelves, no chairs, and just a big blanket.  Traditionally, Koreans didn't sleep on beds.  The floor was heated from specially built stone fireplace like things under the house where they'd burn wood in the evening while everyone slept.  It was also common for people to sleep together for extra heat.  But I digress!

After sitting on the floor and enjoying some hot tea, I asked about the document.  Yong Won (who I call Hyung - which means big brother) said to wait a few more minutes.  After what seemed like an hour or so of sitting there shifting my weight back and forth numerous times, we began to leave.  It's very difficult for me to sit on the floor for a long period of time.  That's another traditional Korean thing that I can't quite get used to.

We entered another room and met a different monk.  This was the main monk of the temple and the gentleman who needed my assistance.  It turns out that it wasn't any official document or anything, it was a printout from the Internet about hang gliding that he wanted me to translate.  Now, of course, I don't speak or write Korean very well, so Jin did all of the work.  She speaks and writes both Korean and English very well.  I just read the document and helped her understand some of the more difficult concepts with the odd hand gliding language.

I also watched a short video on his computer where he was hang gliding.  So there you have it...I've met a flying monk...take that Sally Field!  I think he's a modern style monk.  He owns a computer and stereo, has a bed, his room is bigger, etc.  He's very kind and thoughtful, and I could sense an energy that he had older traditional values but he seemed able to alter them slightly to fit into today's society.

After chatting about many different things as well as life's philosophies, he gave me a bracelet of numerous skulls made from cow bones.  From the translation, I think the skulls on the bracelet are to remind you of death and to know that just living life trying to acquire earthly positions is a path of eternal sadness and you'll end up never being happy.  He also gave me a booked titled "The Teaching of Buddha."  I've read some of it and it's quite interesting.

What I learned today about Korea:  1)  A flying monk said my philosophies sounded Buddhist!.