In 1980. I jumped right into society after graduating from high school.
The 42 years I spent at POSCO and Hyundai Steel were not entirely mine, neither physically nor mentally.
I spent 42 long years going back and forth between home and work, and my youth passed by like the wind.
I don’t know what happened to that 20-year-old schoolboy, but I became a father in my 60s.
Intending to find freedom and enjoy life to the fullest, I retired, while people around me asked, “Aren’t you still old enough to work?”
Without hesitation, I chose retirement.
I have nothing to worry about, nothing to think about, nothing to interfere with me, no one to scold, nothing to worry about, and no reason to be pressed for time.
I will simply enjoy my life of leisure.
I decided to break free from the office life that had kept me tied down for so many years, and enjoy myself to the fullest without worrying or being concerned about others.

I first learned about Templestay when my spouse recommended it.
My first Templestay experience was in 1999, when I stayed at Ssanggyesa Temple for 2 nights and 3 days.
My first full-fledged Templestay was at Chukseosa Temple in Bonghwa in 2022 after I retired.
Since I love the mountains and traveling, I traveled around the Korean Peninsula with a tent.
Sometimes I slept in my car, and other times I stayed in a guesthouse or motel, but I always found one or two matters unsatisfactory.
Then, by chance, I discovered Templestay.
That’s when I experienced both comfort and peace of mind in my outings.

The experience of traveling to temples across Korea without worrying about accommodations, and enjoying sharing tea with monks, dawn Buddhist ceremonies, doing 108 prostrations, and meditation got me hooked.
I became addicted to going to Templestays every week.
It’s now been three years since my first Templestay.
During that time, I have visited 65 temples and done 94 Templestays, from Geonbongsa Temple in Goseong, the northernmost temple, to Yakcheonsa Temple in Jeju Island, the southernmost temple.
I usually stay for two nights, or sometimes as long as 17 nights.
As I write this, I am anticipating my 96th Templestay, which I have already booked.

I always have my luggage ready for my weekly Templestay.
I pack two bags with thermoses, emergency food, and daily necessities.
Every time I look at my bags, I feel excited waiting for the day of departure.
As I search for new temples every week and hit the road, I have developed my own criteria and know-how for choosing places to go and hike, places with low participation fees, places with convenient restrooms, and booking days that are not weekends or holidays.
In particular, Templestays have the advantage of killing five birds with one stone, as they not only provide me mental and physical stability, they also allow me to hike and travel all at once.
That’s why I highly recommend Templestays to the people around me who need mental and physical stability and relaxation.

Since I started doing Templestays, my body and mind have changed a lot.
In the past, I neglected my health due to drinking and an undisciplined lifestyle.
My spouse worried a lot about my health, and we sometimes fought because of that.
However, now it is different.
My body has become healthier and my eating habits have improved through Templestays and mountain hiking.
I often go mountain hiking near my house, but for some reason I have no appetite or taste for food when I do that.
But when I go to a temple, I feel hungry even though I eat regularly.
My constitution seems to have changed, and my eating habits have also changed.
I drink less, talk less, and my personality has become calmer.
I have naturally developed a mindset to want nothing and to live a life of generosity and humility.

I travel around the mountains and rivers with a free mind, stay at temples, reflect on myself, and think deeply about the future.
When my mind and body are ready for another Templestay, I am ready to go.
People often say that time passes too slowly after retirement and they get bored, but that’s not the case with me.
I’ve tried volunteer work, golf, playing the saxophone, traveling, cooking classes, lifelong learning centers, gardening, etc., but I think I’ve had the most benefit from hiking while participating in a Templestay.
Sometimes I get asked why I don’t go with my spouse, but such questions come from people who don't know that you have to learn how to have fun alone to enjoy your old age.
My spouse works during the week, so we can’t go together, and sometimes I want to give her time to enjoy herself with her friends.
During the week, we respect each other’s time, and on weekends, we sometimes enjoy traveling or going hiking with a hiking club.
We also enjoy leisure activities like bowling.

Sometimes we do things together, but sometimes we go our own way to enjoy life.
I also have special memories from my Templestays, like an incident at Geonbongsa Temple in Goseong, where I was questioned by soldiers while hiking because I didn’t know it was a prohibited area near the DMZ.
Then there was my hike near Muryangsa Temple in Buyeo, where I fell and got hurt in a valley after following a monk on a mountain trail and we had to part ways.
Then there was the time I almost fell on an icy winter trail near Seogosa Temple in Jeonju, and a similar incident near Cheongpyeongsa Temple in Chuncheon; then there was the night I spent with some unknown hikers in a small room at Bongjeongam Hermitage on Mt. Seoraksan, although it wasn’t a Templestay.
Although I’ve had some difficult times, all of these memories are precious.
Since I go to Templestays so often, some people say, “Just get your head shaved and live in a temple like a monk.”
I just laugh it off and say I can’t because I can’t memorize the Thousand Hand Sutra.

While staying in a temple, I am always deeply impressed by the monastics’ stable and disciplined lives, and the Buddha’s teachings.
When I go to a temple, I always feel at peace and have great respect for monastics.
What’s so special about life?
I think we should live without being stingy, eating what we need, spending money when needed, going where we should, and giving generously when possible.
We come into this world empty-handed and leave it empty-handed.
Let’s not complain.
Let’s not blame others.
My problems are due to my own shortcomings.
Let’s live with a relaxed, open mind.
Let’s live honestly like the wind, the clouds, and the flowing rivers.
Let’s clear our minds with the positive energy we receive from the temple, let’s get rid of distracting thoughts and delusions, and live with an attitude of practice.
Let’s live with a heart that forgives and desires forgiveness, a heart that apologizes, atones, and repents.
Let’s live with a heart that is sorry, apologetic, thankful, and grateful.
This is the prayer I write down at a Templestay every time I transcribe the 108-Prostration Repentances and the Thousand Hand Sutra.

Through Templestay, I am finding peace of mind and enjoying true freedom in life.
Is there anything special about life?
I think living a calm life by giving, and living a life with a forgiving and grateful heart is a happy life.
My weekly Templestays will continue in the future.
If circumstances allow, I highly recommend Templestay to anyone, because it will give them the opportunity to change their life like it did mine.

 Park Sang-gyo Born in Uljin in 1961, Park Sanggyo worked as a quality control expert at POSCO and Hyundai Steel for 42 years, receiving excellent employee awards and gaining much overseas training experience. After retirement, he became hooked on Templestays and now lives a more leisurely, healthy life by traveling to temples around the country through his “weekly Templestay” lifestyle.

Hyeonnmil Seunim completed the 4th Buddhist Content Creator Training provided by the Jogye Order’s Bureau of Dharma Propagation. He delivers comforting and positive messages to people through the character Mungmiri in the series Buddha Milmil.