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Jin-soon (aka Miss Moon) last week took us on a meditation retreat. Celeste was still fighting sickness and after her visit to the oriental doctor (see entry Zen On The Grass 12-3-02) we thought that a weekend away to do some serious relaxing of body and mind couldn't be more perfect. We rode up to Geryangson mountain with the fiance of the woman who works at the green world. He has a truck and we all crammed into the crew cab to head up the mountain. We laughed and joked all the way there. We talked about names. Jin-soon is thinking of Korean names for us--names with meaning. Jin-soon's name means tamed star. I found myself relating something very important to me--the Little Prince quote: "I wonder, he said, if the stars shine so that one day each person may find the one that belongs to them." The retreat was held at a hostel-type lodge, right at the base of Geryangson national park. The agenda was simple: eat, relax, light yoga, meditate, then bed. Wake up 6:30 for a morning walk, light yoga. Come home, relax, nap, breakfast, more relaxing, more light yoga, serious meditation, more serious meditation, relaxing, then leave when you want. The meals were great: rice, seaweed, kimchi, soup, exotic lettuce, nuts, and of course "the paste." We all assembled for the first time to start doing some light yoga. This yoga isn't like what you might think--it looks a lot like Tai Chi. It is slow martial arts. I was pleased by all of the symbolism and meaning of this type of yoga: with legs slightly bent, hands in front of the belly cupped and facing up, lifting life and energy up. Reaching out and grabbing life and energy then putting it close to your heart. Sending your energy out to the world. Shooting yourself like an archer aiming deep into a forrest to explore your possibilities. One young and baby faced yoga master kindly gave me a lot of individual attention to make sure I was doing every pose accurately. I felt important. After, we took a bath and went to bed. We woke up at 6:30 am, something we haven't done since our jet lag wore off. We stepped outside into the dark navy blue morning. The cold immediately bit through my gloves, stinging my fingers. I watched the cloud of my breath escape my mouth and float away. As a group, we walked up the trail of Geryangson to a small Buddhist temple. I looked up into the night sky. Most of the stars had faded into morning twilight blue. Only a few resilient stars shone brightly close to the moon. I wondered which star was mine. As I looked up into the sky, I saw the bare tree limbs, dark against the blue sky. They looked like scrapes of a lithograph, the twilight blue sky scraped away to reveal the metal black night beneath. The yoga master that helped me so much the night before led us up the trail to a small temple. We formed a circle and began our yoga, Yoga Master making jokes the entire time. I didn't understand but couldn't help from laughing. A monk belonging to the small temple slowly walked the periphery of the temple, sweeping the ground and steps. He dressed in a simple gray coat with knots serving for buttons. He looked like he had been doing this every day of his entire life, at 6:30 in the morning and couldn't be more calm and content with the fact. The rest of the day was more of a repeat of the day before. Beautiful and peaceful. After our time at the retreat was spent, Jin-Soon suggested that we go on a light hike up the mountain to her favorite temple (there are several on Geryangson mountain). We hiked, swimming in the warmth and light of the sun, especially after the biting cold of the morning. We came to a small temple and quietly, we took off our shoes and stepped inside. Already sitting inside the temple were 2 female monks, both with shaved heads, sitting on mats deep in meditation. I wondered how long they had been there or planned to be there. They looked as though they may as well have been permanent fixtures in the temple. Jin-Soon handed Celeste and me a mat, and we all sat down and began our own meditation. The sun shone through the window of the door in a perfect rectangle that surrounded my body like a picture frame. I was warm and quiet. I don't know how much time we spent there. Time just dissolved. Outside of the temple, I remembered the promise I had made to Lucy to someday light a candle for Ryan and his sister, who killed themselves in October. Ryan was one of Lucy's good friends from way back but also played a major role in my Juice and Java ritual to get gourmet hot chocolate. He worked at Juice and Java and was always very nice to me when I went in. When Lucy told me that he killed himself, It really shook me. Especially that his was a joint suicide with his sister. Tragic. I asked Jin-Soon how to go about getting candles lit in the temple. She kindly walked me to the main temple not far away and helped me buy two 14 inch candles. With them in hand, I walked to the main temple, took off my shoes, and reverently entered the door. Just inside the door was an old monk whose face was quite wrinkled, obviously from many smiles. He saw the candles in my hand and I motioned that I wished to place them on the alter. He beckoned me to follow his lead and performed a dramatic bow, lowering himself to the floor then standing up again with his hands together in a prayer motion. This I did. We walked together to the alter and placed the candles gently on the alter. I retreated slowly backward and made motions to leave. My monk, however, had more to teach me. He held up seven fingers and motioned that it was now necessary to complete seven more bows. Again, he made dramatic motions for me to see the precise motions to perform this rite. After many tries, and eventually seven correct bows I learned the process: Stand with legs together, hands in a prayer stance. Kneel down and cross the left foot over the right while placing the palms on the floor and lowering the forehead to the floor. The butt must come down and touch your ankles (which must be much easier for Asians that it was for me because my monk couldn't figure out why I couldn't get that right and corrected me repeatedly on this point). With the forehead on the ground, raise the hands off the ground, palms facing up. Replace the hands on the ground, palms down, uncross your feet, and press yourself to a squatting position. Then stand up, feet together. Finally, with hand pressed together in a prayer, make a deep bow toward the Buddha. With my every attempt at a bow, my monk hovered over me and corrected me (sometimes rather forcefully) where I forgot. When I completed my offering, my monk gave me a gentle bow and an enormous smile. I reciprocated in bowing and smiling my deep thanks to him. Ryan and his sister were sitting as angels in the rafters, laughing at my tutelage and grateful for my gesture. I'm sure of it. Angels in the Rafters [2001-01-06]
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