“Take a Break: The Equivalent of 20 Squats 5 Times for Your Mind” – Joongang Ilbo

At 6 p.m., the sound of beating drums, drums, and wooden fish echoes in the quiet mountain temple at the foot of Mt. Then, the heavy ringing of the bell fills the temple.
It is a sound wishing for all things to be happy and for the whole world to be peaceful. The deep resonant sound of the temple bell dies down as it surrounds the thousand-year-old zelkova tree. The day at Daeheungsa Temple ends with the gentle sound of Buddhist prayers coming from the temple hall.
More and more people are looking for a temple stay to take a break from their busy lives and to heal. Temple stay is to indirectly experience the life of an ascetic and experience meditation and meditation. Beginning with early morning prayers to open the day
It is filled with time such as 108 bows, bowing (walking), balwoogongyang (meal), tea ceremony, and making prayer beads and lotus lanterns. Why is the experience of a mountain temple surrounded by nature healing and comforting beyond simple rest?
Let’s look at the health points of temple stay.

Stop busy thoughts and take your own time
Relieve stress with a short experience
Light temple food relieves the burden on the stomach

Sansa, located in the midst of the clear and tranquil nature, is a space for resting the brain. I just look at the flowers and trees that bloom and wither according to the season, and pass the time. This kind of rest becomes a time to focus on me. Monk Beop-eun of Daeheungsa Temple said, “Spending time in meditation, 108 bows, and tea ceremony while listening to the sound of Buddhist prayers is one of the ways to take a good rest.” said.
Zen meditation begins with stopping troublesome thoughts and stopping at this moment where I am now. Having a quiet cup of tea and having my own time is itself a Zen meditation. Venerable Beop-eun said, “There is a saying called Seon Da Il Mi (禪茶一味), which means that Zen (enlightenment) and tea are one. Even the moment you drink tea can be a time to look at yourself.”

In fact, resting in a mountain temple gives the brain a deeper rest than simply taking a break. The brain interprets and processes signals as various parts work together as a network. Among these, the association of brain regions that are activated only when resting is called the ‘default mode network’. When not working, the focus of consciousness is directed to oneself rather than the outside, so it is called the default mode in the sense of being in the earliest state. There is a research result (Professor Junsu Kwon, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, 2019) that the temple stay participants have a deeper brain rest than simply taking a break as the default mode network connectivity of the brain is more strengthened than the control group.

Giving your brain enough rest is one of the ways to unleash the creativity within you. The late Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, said, “If you observe your mind, you become calm, and then your intuition blooms.” Venerable Beop-eun said, “In temples, we use the word silence, but if we talk less, we can have more time to focus on ourselves.” inconsistent If you don’t say more than necessary, it’s good to spend my time as it is.”

At Sansa, you can experience various forms of meditation. It notices me by going for a walk and walking and walking again. During the prayer time that marks the beginning and end of the day, we pray for peace and enlightenment. Like a lotus flower blooming in the mud, I hope that my heart will bloom cleanly, and I can make a lotus lantern that lights up the world. In addition, they make rosary beads with the hope of calming down the mind disturbed by anguish.

108 times is a practice that not only strengthens the lower body and helps blood circulation throughout the body, but also makes the mind healthy. Venerable Beop-eun said, “If you lower your body and bow down with your heart every time you do one boat, many conflicts disappear along with repentance.” It’s the same, so don’t be too scared and try it out.”

Various meditation, physical, and intellectual activities at mountain temples have the power to increase resilience against stress in everyday life. It regulates the autonomic nervous system, which is disturbed by stress and shock, and helps to relax the mind and body. Previously, in a related study, Professor Junsu Kwon’s team at Seoul National University Hospital found that the connectivity of the white matter bundle between the frontal lobe and parietal lobe of the brain and between the left and right hemispheres of temple stay participants was improved through brain magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The research team said, “Even though the experience was short for one or two nights, it was confirmed that the brain was changed to increase mental strength against stress and help maintain mental health.” It seems to be because I practiced it in my daily life,” he explained.

One of the ways to bring the temple stay experience into everyday life is through breathing. There is a certain formula to keep your mind healthy, just as you warm up your body with stretching before a full-scale workout. The basic posture is to focus on your breathing while emptying your thoughts. Monk Beop-eun said, “One way to pause the constant running of your thoughts is to observe your breath. I recommend inhaling and exhaling one breath, counting to ten, and counting one more breath as you come back.” . He continued, “In between thoughts, they may bounce to other places, but you just have to bring them back to their place through breathing. Bringing your thoughts to where you are at that moment is the basis of practice,” he explained.

In Balwoo Gongyang, the meal method of practitioners, the key is to be grateful to nature and to those who worked hard until the food came to you. Also, eat only the right amount and do not leave food behind. It becomes an experience of enjoying healthy food with a restrained mind.

In temple meals, local seasonal ingredients are mainly used, so there is little loss of nutrients because they do not go through long-term storage. Seasonal ingredients increase immunity by containing antioxidants and antibacterial substances so that our bodies can adapt well to changes in nature. Each temple has a unique recipe and storage method that has been handed down using ingredients and medicinal plants from each region, giving it a unique taste.

A stimulating taste interferes with meditation because it makes one seek stronger tastes and arouses a desire for food. That is why temple ceremonies are soft and plain. For flavor, natural seasonings such as mushrooms, perilla seeds, kelp, and raw soybean powder are used to ease the burden on the stomach.

Minimizing the wasted portion of ingredients is also one of the wisdom that has been handed down in temple meals. You can consume nutrients more efficiently without wasting food. It is also recommended to eat fruit with the peel if possible. In fact, the key to eating healthy fruits and vegetables more nutritiously is in the peels, roots, and seeds. This part sprouts, absorbs nutrients, and is rich in immune substances that protect the fruit from the external environment.

Reporter Lee Min-young [email protected]