Monks' Quarters (Yosachae) — Bowl Meal and a Cup of Tea
The monks' quarters (yosachae, 寮舍) are the buildings where monks eat, sleep and live at a temple; unlike the halls that enshrine the Buddha, they are more like a home, with rooms, wooden floors and a kitchen. At Goyosa in Hapjang (합장), the browser-based online temple, you can learn the mindful bowl meal (baru gongyang) in the big room and sit on the veranda to share a cup of tea with a monk in silence.
- Where
- Goyosa temple grounds, the monks' living quarters
- Big room
- Mindful bowl meal (4 bowls, 6 beginner steps)
- Veranda
- A cup of tea with a monk (42 seconds, one person at a time); a wrist mala once a day
- What to see
- Dried persimmons, jar terrace, chimney smoke
- Together
- You stay with the monks without words
What are the monks' quarters?
Buildings at a mountain temple fall broadly into two kinds: halls that enshrine Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and quarters where people live. The monks' quarters often hold the gongyanggan (temple kitchen), the monks' rooms and rooms for guests, and some temples give them their own building names. This is where the everyday side of practice happens: eating, resting and working.
Scenes at the Goyosa monks' quarters
At Goyosa's monks' quarters, dried persimmons hang under the eaves, there is a terrace of earthenware jars (jangdokdae), and smoke rises from the chimney. With its big room and veranda, it has the warmth of a lived-in home, different from the stillness of the Dharma hall. Like the other buildings, it is an original structure inspired by many mountain temples.
The mindful bowl meal in the big room
Baru gongyang is the traditional way monks eat: they serve themselves only as much as they will eat into bowls called baru, finish every bit, and rinse the bowls with clean water (cheongsu). In the big room at Goyosa you lay out 4 bowls and follow a 6-step beginner guide to learn the order of rice, soup, side dishes and clean water. When you finish, the 鉢 stamp is added to your notebook. The full order is in Mindful bowl meal.
A cup of tea with a monk on the veranda
Sit on the veranda and a monk shares a cup of tea with you. You sit side by side and drink for 42 seconds without talking, and the monk shares tea with one person at a time. Once a day, the monk also gives you an 18-bead wrist mala (danju). You can read more about being together without words in With the monks and Together without words.
Leaving the monks' quarters, the path continues to the Slow Forest Trail, with its forest benches and stupa field.
Try it in Hapjang
Go to a bowl spot in the big room of the monks' quarters to start the mindful bowl meal, then follow the guide through the 6 steps in order. On the veranda, sit beside the monk to share a cup of tea. The monk shares tea with one person at a time, so if someone else is drinking, please wait a moment. You can receive the wrist mala once a day.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do with the monks at the monks' quarters?
On the veranda you can share a silent cup of tea (42 seconds) with a monk, and once a day you can receive an 18-bead wrist mala.
Can I try the bowl meal if it's my first time?
Yes. The bowl meal in Goyosa's big room is broken into 6 steps for beginners, so you just follow the order of rice, soup, side dishes and clean water.
How are the monks' quarters different from a Dharma hall?
A Dharma hall is where Buddhas and bodhisattvas are enshrined and services are held; the monks' quarters are where monks eat, sleep and live.
Related pages
- Baru Gongyang: Korean Temple Bowl Meal Steps & EtiquetteWhat the Korean temple bowl meal (baru gongyang) means, its order and etiquette with four bowls, and how to try it in six steps in Hapjang.
- With the Monks: Tea, Pagoda Circling, and a Wrist MalaSpend time with Hapjang's monks through gesture, not words: a cup of tea, pagoda circling, shared work, walking to the moktak, and a daily wrist mala.
- Together Without Words: Being With Others in HapjangThere's no chat on Hapjang's temple grounds. How to keep others company with half bows, breathing together, and the shared courtyard, incense and cairns.
- Slow Forest Trail — Walking Meditation and a Stupa FieldA slow forest walk at Goyosa in Hapjang, an online Korean temple. Try slow walking (pohaeng), loving-kindness on a forest bench, and pass the stupa field.
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