Learn from a brochure that Gapsa offers a templestay program and one of its activities includes walking meditation. Suppose the route for this includes this narrow path that leads past a small bamboo grove.
Next, I find Jeontongchatjip, a traditional style tea-house beside a quiet stream, as promised by the Lonely Planet. It’s too early in the morning for tea. Besides, it’s still early days in this trip, I’m not splurging on a pricey cup of green tea (nokcha) or jujube tea. Am content to browse around the shop for awhile before returning to the main temple.
The sounds of the Dharma instruments ( drum, bell, wooden fish and cloud-shaped gong) signal the start of the ceremony. Didn’t expect to hear them as I thought they were only sounded before dawn and dusk. Although the size of the instruments here are impressive, the daytime atmosphere with all the crowds here detracts from its usual magic. Give me any day the Dharma drums in a remote hermitage in the evening darkness with the surrounding mountains as silent witnesses.
The call to enlightenment represented in the percussion music is followed by a short procession from the temple to a nearby shrine. Young men in military style uniforms carry solemnly out from the temple the portrait of the patron monk. When the VIPs, head monks and devotees are settled in chairs placed outside the shrine, there are speeches followed by a band and choir performance. A little too staid for me. Guess the more exciting performances are reserved for the evening but am not prepared to hang around Gapsa for so long.
If I had been better prepared and fitter, could’ve tried to do the 4-6 hour walk across the mountains and follow the trail which leads to Donghaksa. But I wasn’t, so I don’t and that climb past Gyeryeongsan ( 845m) will have to wait another time.
from my travel notes - October, 2005
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