in our world, seasons come and go. with fall comes happiness, as the advent of maple leaves and warm hues brings about a paradoxical hope one wouldn’t regularly associate with fall’s withering nature. winter, then, is the saddest season, for its harsh cold and relentless demands take a heavy toll on anybody with enough will to bear it.

there’s something more beyond our world. the universe too has seasons. we live now in a fiery world, a world that flaunts its gems: greed, money, comfort. what comes after?

I’d like to focus this one on a recent turn of events, one that’s progressed to a point others might rightfully call something out of a Korean drama.

that woman? 황성진? I couldn’t have been more wrong about her—she’s a complete angel. she was never out to get me, and I dare say I’m even developing the tiniest semblance of a crush. that’s obviously unfeasible, of course, so let’s get to the meat of this whole thing.

with some assistance from my roommate, 치호, I decided that I’d meet this woman again and see what she’d say.

I trusted her, and we entered this locked building, going up to the fourth floor alone together. the place seemed legit enough, but I was still ready to haul ass out of there at any moment. veins popping, blood rushing, eyes watching.

instead, she put on a beautiful 한복 and set up all this elaborate food for what was to be 효도, a ceremony for one’s ancestors—namely mine. she asked me for my personal information—birthday, parent’s birthdays, their names, when I’d return to the US—it suddenly felt strange again. I lied completely, but in hindsight, I wish I’d trusted her.

she wrote this info on several pieces of real parchment with various Chinese characters all over them. we knelt down and bowed at the altar, and as she burnt those pieces of parchment, she chanted something hauntingly beautiful, melodically. that ceremony was meant as a sendoff to my ancestors who had died unjustly and were still wandering this earth. again, not something I seriously believe in, but I appreciated the ceremony, and wish I’d told the truth.

it was all smooth sailing from there.

we’ve been meeting regularly since then, maybe twice or thrice a week, to talk about philosophy, life in South Korea, and the attitudes of modern urbanites.

the vocabulary through which she conducts our meetings is a lot to take in, but I’ve learned so much. 욕심, 불세상, 지옥, 천국, 현재, and so many others have flooded my mind. you see that prologue up there? that’s only a fraction of what we’ve talked about so far.

the next time we meet—this Thursday (7/27)—will involve Buddhist prayer. I’m not quite sure what that entails, but we’ll see.

this was one of my goals for the summer abroad: to immerse myself culturally and absorb as many different worldviews as I can possibly manage. it’s working out.

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