5. Eunghyanggak House of Seonamsa Temple

[Mother]
“Son! Son!! Don't run. You have to be quiet here!”

[Son]
"Mom, you always say that! You alway tell me not to run! Hmph.”

[Mother]
"You're not supposed to run round here! This is a study room for Buddhist monks."

[Son]
"A study room? Do monks study, too? Like Korean language, English language, and math?”

[Mother]
“It's not like a subject you learn at school. They are studying to be a monk. It's a place where they study scriptures and meditate.”

[Son]
"I see. Can I go inside and take a look?”

[Mother]
"We can't go inside. We shouldn’t go inside, and it's strictly for Buddhist monks only. That's why you shouldn't run or make loud noises here. We need to help the monks concentrate on their studies. Do you understand?”

[Son]
“I got it!”

[Mother]
"Shall we go somewhere else, son? To let the monks study. Come on, let's go.”

[Man]
The Eunghyanggak House of Seonamsa Temple is located on the west side of Daeungjeon Hall. This is Seonbang, standing towards the south. Seonbang means a room for doing Chamseon, or Zen meditation.

[Woman]
Chamseon and Seon carry almost the same meaning. If Seon refers to a certain state of mind, Chamseon is used to mean an active discovery of the certain state of mind, or the true nature of oneself. In everyday life, the word Chamseon means to engage in a religious practice to explore the ultimate truth.

[Man]
The Eunghyanggak House of Seonamsa Temple also serves as a storage facility for important relics of Seonamsa Temple. Thus, the Eunghyanggak House of Seonamsa Temple is closed to the public.

[Woman]
The Eunghyanggak House of Seonamsa Temple has single-layer eaves and a gable roof, and the house is surrounded by a wall. The rightmost roof is bent towards the north to form an L shape. The north side is a simple Mindori house with camber beams and square beams, and it is interesting to see that the ceiling is lowered and the crown post is raised to allow people to move between the rafters and the ceiling.