On March 28th, 2003 I walked from a Korean yogwan (travelers' inn) located near Haeinsa, up the path to the temple. I brought my two elementary school age sons with me to give them a feel for the Korean countryside, as well as the opportunity to see a Korean Buddhist temple and renowned collection of Buddhist literature. The inn itself was worth the visit for its wide "maru" porch and delightful dinner of "kimchee" dishes made from all kinds of roots, vegetables and seaweed. Sanjang Byeoljang is its name.

We had a brilliant cool day. The magnolia and cherry trees were not yet blooming at the temple's altitude, but the air was clear and there were only a few groups of visitors spaced out throughout the temple, so there was no crowding and everyone got a good look at the Buddha Hall and the wood blocks.

I visited the temple almost thirty years ago for the first time, and it is certainly in very good condition now. The monks on this visit were deep in meditation and conducting sutra chants in all the halls, even the smallest ancilliary buildings had a monk beating a wooden bell and chanting. An older monk came out of a small building just above the Buddha Hall and spoke with my sons. He made them promise not to fight and to treat each other with respect. He performed the promise handshake with each of them, linking little fingers and pressing the thumbs together. A promise not to be broken!

There is little effort to engage the casual visitor like us. It would be nice to have a little more interaction with the monks if you wanted to learn more about the woodblocks, the Buddhist philosophy written on them, or the ceremonies that were being held. More effort on our part might have gotten us that kind of audience. I visited Songgwansa, another major Zen temple, many years ago. There a novice monk from New Zealand gave us a primer in Buddhism. Maybe they maintain that approach there. Haeinsa might do well to introduce such a program, even with Korean monks.

We took the bus from the bottom of the temple path back to Daegu's Seobu Bus Station. The ride is comfortable and convenient, although finding the Daegu Seobu Bus Station is a $10 cab ride from the main train station.

It was a long trip from Seoul to spend the night and see the temple. When the fast train line starts operating it will cut the time from Seoul to Daegu. Nonetheless, Haeinsa is a splendid setting for a remarkable work of devotion.