Yongjusa Temple, a Royal Temple Built for King Jeongjo, the 22nd King of Joseon

Yongjusa Temple in Hwaseong is the head temple dedicated to the virtue of filial piety.
It embodies the filial piety of King Jeongjo, the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty,
who, at a young age, witnessed his father’s unjust death.
The temple was founded in 854 by Silla Preceptor Yeomgeo and named Garyangsa Temple.
It was later rebuilt by National Preceptor Hyegeo, the teacher of King Taejo Wang Geon of the Goryeo Dynasty.
Afterward, many practitioners stayed here and passed down the Buddhist teachings
until it was destroyed by fire during the Manchu Invasion in 1636.
Later, King Jeongjo rebuilt the temple and made it a “royal temple” by moving the tomb of his father, Crown Prince Sado,
to nearby Mt. Hwasan, known as the most blessed place in the world.

According to the story, King Jeongjo—who was suffering because he thought the vengeful spirit of Crown Prince Sado
was wandering in the underworld—heard a dharma talk by Bogyeong Seunim about the Parental Benevolence Sutra,
and was deeply moved. He decided to build a temple, and the night before the completion ceremony for Daeungbojeon (Main Buddha Hall),
he had a dream in which a dragon ascended to heaven with a wish-fulfilling jewel in its mouth,
so he named the temple Yongjusa (Dragon Jewel Temple).
Afterward, he often visited his father’s tomb and Yongjusa Temple,
and it is said that on his journey back to Seoul through the mountain pass,
he was always saying, “Let’s go more slowly, let’s go more slowly.”

“The Great Parents’ Benevolence Sutra enlightens us so earnestly and sincerely
that it seems to hold our hand and guide us to ascend to the Pure Land.”
– From Jeongjo’s collected works, Hongjae-jeonseo

The First Templestay of a Couple Who Loves Temples

“My wife is a wonderful person who sees things through to the end once she makes up her mind. I have a lot to learn from her.”
“My husband is a really kind person. He’s younger than me, but I have a lot to learn from him.”

Lee Min-young and Leo-Thomas seem to be a match made in heaven, praising each other for having a lot to learn from each other, but their personalities are polar opposites.
Min-young is logical and analytical, an engineering graduate who can complete even tasks she doesn’t like with persistence.
She has worked in the difficult field of subway maintenance for 10 years.
Leo-Thomas has a developed sensibility. He loves literature and is moved only when his values align with what he is doing.
He is a professional translator who especially likes Buddhist and historical books.
He majored in the Korean language at Canada’s prestigious University of British Columbia and graduated from the Translation Academy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
He speaks Korean fluently.

It was a hiking club that brought together these two very different people.
Leo-Thomas, who was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, was a young man who loved the mountains.
Even after settling down in Korea, he often went climbing and just naturally fell in love with the charm of Korean temples.
He said that it felt like he had traveled back in time whenever he entered a temple or hermitage,
drawn by the sound of a monk’s wooden handbell (moktak) resonating along the hiking trails,
where he discovered rock-carved buddhas that had been in the same place for over a thousand years.

Meanwhile, Min-young loved traveling and joined a hiking club to relieve the frustration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There, she met her destiny.
The two were attracted to each other from the first meeting, and their love grew as they climbed mountains all over the country every week,
even visiting Bongjeongam Hermitage together four times.
They also participated in Yongjusa’s Templestay because they wanted to properly understand Korean Buddhist culture and philosophy.

How a Curious Couple Enjoys Templestay

One dazzlingly blue spring day, this couple’s Templestay at Yongjusa began with great excitement.
On arrival, they quickly changed into the Templestay uniforms and set out on their first temple tour.
The Gate of Four Heavenly Kings greeted them first.
The Four Heavenly Kings might seem scary at first sight, but the couple offered a half bow as if it was familiar to them, after which they visited the abbot of Yongjusa Temple, Seonghyo Seunim.
After offering three prostrations to him, the abbot handed them the tea he had personally brewed and spoke to them in a warm voice.

“Our bodies and minds cannot be completely understood through just science, so we must practice diligently to find our ‘true selves.’”
The conversation continued for a long time, interspersed with laughter.
The abbot looked at the young couple, who told him, “We often talk about Buddhism and how to escape the cycle of transmigration.”
He advised them to “live compassionately.”

Leo-Thomas asked, “What is this pillar called? I don’t think I’ve seen one like it in any other temple.”
He had been looking at Daeungbojeon Hall for a long time and was pointing to the “hwalju” columns.
Yongjusa’s Daeungbojeon Hall has such splendid ornamentation, and hwalju columns had to be installed at the four corners of the roof to prevent the eaves from sagging.
It is a spectacular building and indicates that King Jeongjo fully supported Buddhist projects and employed only the best architectural craftsmen.

A temple guide gave the couple an explanation about the pavilion:
“When you look at the two-story pavilion from the front, the name plaque says ‘Cheonboru’ but on the back, it says ‘Hongjeru,’ which was derived from King Jeongjo’s nickname, ‘Hongje.’ Hoseongjeon Hall over there is where the memorial tablet of Crown Prince Sado is kept, and there is also a story that King Jeongjo placed the hall there so Crown Prince Sado could see his son’s name on the name plaque up close.”
“Even a simple name plaque can have deep meaning,” said Leo-Thomas.

It was a time to get answers to questions they had been curious about regarding the temple, and their eyes sparkled listening to the temple guide’s explanations.
“The fact that this temple was a place where Buddhism and Confucianism overlapped seemed particularly Korean,” said Leo-Thomas.
Leo-Thomas knew that Buddhism was oppressed during the Joseon Dynasty, but he was very surprised to learn that Yongjusa Temple was built by order of a Joseon king.
He also said that while there is no concept of filial piety in the West, seeing Buddhism coexist harmoniously with the Confucian teaching of filial piety, a primary virtue in Confucianism, caused him to rethink the Korean concept of filial piety.
He was able to feel the essence of Buddhism, which has since become the foundation of Korean culture.

“This soybean paste is really delicious! The scent of the sesame oil and perilla oil is fabulous!” Min-young exclaimed.
Such praise continued throughout the dinner offering, and afterward, they were able to experience creating a sand mandala and practicing meditation under the guidance of Sangbeom Seunim, the head of the training department.
As they swept into oblivion the mandala they had just painstakingly completed, they also cast aside the nameless emotions that burdened their hearts, and looked deep inside to face their true self.
They had taken the first step toward finding their “true self.”

A New Hwadu Never Considered Before

The next morning at 3:30, the dawn Buddhist ceremony began.
I bowed to the Buddha while listening to the clear sound of the temple bell and the monks’ chanting.
From the moment I was born, from leaving my parents’ embrace to becoming independent, to meeting someone I love and forming a new family, every moment of my life has been a miracle.
I am who I am today thanks to the relationships that helped me, either knowingly or unknowingly.

“I got to think about the spiritual meaning of Buddhism once again,” Min-young said.
Min-young had previously had little interest in temples because they were familiar to her from going on picnics and school trips.
She said that she now felt the influence of the lives and traditions of generations of practitioners as she experienced Buddhist rituals performed in a building that she previously considered “just an old building.”
Her new perspective discovered in a familiar place was both fresh and deeply moving.

“I think that a life without learning is meaningless,” said Leo-Thomas.
“Isn’t it a form of practice to challenge yourself, even if it’s something you don’t like?” asked Min-young.

After the breakfast offering, the Templestay ended by doing 108 prostrations, in which they threaded 108 prayer beads in time with a recording of the 108 vows.
It was a reaffirmation of taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), and living wisely and compassionately.
Although it was a short experience of 1 night and 2 days, things they had never thought about or experienced in their lives created new hwadus for them to ponder, along with the realization that life is a series of lessons to be learned.

“It was a truly special experience. I will strive to become a true practitioner who humbly seeks the Buddha within me in daily life,” said the couple in unison.

Min-young and Leo-Thomas looked at each other with smiles on their faces throughout their Templestay.
May the wisdom and compassionate light of the Buddha of Yongjusa Temple be with them for a long time.

 Kim Su-jeong majored in Buddhist studies in college. She is a member of the Korea Television and Radio Writers Association and works as a Buddhist broadcast writer. She always remembers and cherishes in her heart the stone Buddha statue she saw at a small temple she used to visit with her grandmother and mother at age 5.