After 5,000 Days of Prayer, One Step at a Time Feels Precious
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Venerable Cheonghak, head monk (juji) of Mugaksa temple in Gwangju, completes a 19-year devotion of daily prayer totaling 5,000 days. Starting when he took the post in August 2007, he prayed three times a day—each session 1.5 hours—doing 108 prostrations, striking a wooden prayer striker (moktak), and chanting the Diamond Sutra (Geumganggyeong). Mugaksa was in disrepair when he arrived; through his perseverance and cultural initiatives the temple became a religious and arts hub in the city center, hosting exhibitions and temple stays (temple stay) for young people. Cheonghak gave up phones and cars during long stretches of practice, paced his regimen to allow for administrative duties, and attributes his main insight to valuing each single step rather than expecting a sudden great awakening. For the 5,000-day finish he plans no grand ceremony but will print the Diamond Sutra in “Mugaksa style” to give to fellow monks and devotees as an offering (beopgongyang).
