No, the sign isn’t pointing out a secret Nazi resort in the mountains, but the presence of a Buddhist temple. I discovered this completely by accident while wandering around campus the other day. Basically, it’s at the farthest point north on the campus (up hill) and then even more up hill until you come to a 200-year old temple complex nestled in among trees and lush vegetation at the edge of the mountaintop.

Some readers of this blog probably know a little more about Buddhism than I do (ahem…) but even without knowing much it was a rich and rewarding experience for me nevertheless. A Korean man visiting and paying respect to his mother talked to me in English and a Buddhist monk asked me where I was from and had a friendly chat with me while inviting me to stay as long as I’d like.

It was just what I needed to escape the sometimes crushing boredom of philosophical hair splitting and airy-fairiness.