The Current Status and Challenges of Templestay Programs in Korean Buddhism

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you for your thoughtful review. Your suggestions have without doubt made our paper more robust. Please find a point-by-point response to your comments written in bold, below.

• A references section should be added. This paper does not have a References section. The note section at the end of the paper is titled “References”, whose title should be changed to “Notes”.
• Please note that according to the template provided at the MDPI website (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/instructions) the bibliography is entitled with the heading “References.” As our paper does not include any footnotes or endnotes, we have decided to leave the final section entitled as “References” and did not add a “Notes” section.

• Korean romanization, such as yebool da-seon, and cham-seon, except for proper nouns that begin with a capital letter, should be in italics throughout the paper. And it should be romanized coherently using either McCune-Reischauer Romanization or Revised Romanization of Korean. A hyphen is unnecessary between the syllables unless there are specific reasons. If the author is unfamiliar with Korean romanizations, this converter would be useful: http://roman.cs.pusan.ac.kr/input_eng.aspx)
• As the reviewer rightly points out, our romanization needed editing. We have referred to the tool provided and updated the romanization of the Korean terms. We have also italicized these terms and removed hyphens throughout.

• The last sentence of the Abstract “Furthermore, critical considerations regarding over-commercialization is warranted insofar as it compromises the sense of authenticity participants seek.” → Please rewrite it so that the readers can understand the meaning of the sentence.
• This sentence has been rewritten as:
  “Furthermore, critical concerns about over-commercialization are warranted insofar as marketing compromises the sense of authenticity sought by participants.”

• Page 1 - For foreign visitors, Templestay has provided an opportunity to experience various elements of Korean Buddhist cultural, including first-hand experiences that go beyond viewing-oriented tourism. → For foreign visitors, Templestay has provided an opportunity to experience various aspects of Korean Buddhist culture, including first-hand experiences that go beyond viewing-oriented tourism.
• Corrections made.

• Page 3 - Considering the number of yearly participants, there was a total of 11,714 visitors in 2002 . . . → As for the number of yearly participants, there was a total of 11,714 visitors in 2002 . . .
• Corrections made.

• Page 3 - It would be helpful for readers if the author can provide a chart (or a graph) that visually shows the numbers of yearly participants of Templestay.
• Please note that a table has been inserted on page 4.

• Page 5 - Romanizattion is missing in (眞性, 진성).
• Corrections made.

• Page 5 - “Next, consideration is given to what motivated visitors to participate in Templestay. For this analysis participants were divided into two groups, domestic (Korean) and international participants.” → Rewrite these sentences to clarify who conducted this analysis. These sentences give the impression the author of this paper conducted the analysis, but the following sentences imply that this paper cited the analyses conducted by previous scholarships.
• Corrections made.

• Page 6 - While the motivation to enroll in a Templestay program tends to be either to learn about a new culture or to unwind from the stresses of daily life the level of satisfaction had during the program is an important factor in determining the rate of return visits. → While the motivation to enroll in a Templestay program tends to be either to learn about a new culture or to unwind from the stresses of daily life, the level of satisfaction had during the program is an important factor in determining the rate of return visits.
• Corrections made.

• Page 6 - This study categorized the satisfaction factors of Templestay experiences into four categories including interaction with nature, self-growth. . . then analyzed the degree to which Korean and foreign participants were satisfied with their Templestay experience. The results showed . . → Please clarify if the author of this paper made this analysis or cited other research.
• Corrections made.

*Personally I wonder if diversifying the Templestay program may help attract more participants. If all the temples offer the same experience program, people will attend one or two Templestay programs and then stop attending more Templestay programs at other monasteries because they are repetitive. If some temples develop unique experience programs and advertise them well on the booking website, it may help continuously draw more Templestay participants. It would be helpful if the author interviewed people who attended Templestay in the early stage and then stopped attending it to figure out why they did not return.

This is a good point, and it speaks to the concerns of commercialization addressed at the end of this article. While the Templestay program is made novel to attract/suit lay practitioners it can also contradict (at least some aspects of) Seon practice, which is often a repetitive practice indeed.

For those practitioners looking for a “real” Seon experience (living as the monks and nuns do) without actually becoming a monastic they may be disappointed by a Templestay program which caters to a more lighthearted and tourist driven experience. While this tourist experience may be exactly what some are looking for, in my opinion, most people interested in Templestay are interested in challenging themselves with necessarily repetitive practices such as chamseon meditation.

To some degree these issues are addressed with the three types of stays that are available. The shorter, one-day stay is ideal for the tourist-inclined while experience-oriented and especially longer-term stays (rest-oriented stay) can accommodate those looking to delve more deeply into their dharma practice.

In the case of a program that accommodates to the needs of the tourist, a variety of practices are sure to be helpful in garnering return visitors, as you rightly point out. In the case of the more serious meditation practitioners’ additional activities may be less welcomed and even considered as a distraction from attaining deep concentration.

Reviewer 2 Report

I found this paper very interesting and well-conceived. The paper is well organized and the information sound. The paper details the history of temple stay in Korean Buddhism and the contents of the program. In addition, by closely analyzing the population and trend of participating temple stay until recently, the number of participating people has increased for 10 years since 2002, but has decreased since 2012, and advice for recovering the participating population of temple stay was presented. In particular, the paper pointed out that the background of the decrease in the population participating in Temple Stay has changed the public's needs such as the increase in the non-religious population and the increase in healing culture such as meditation and yoga over the 20 years. Most notably, many studies on temple stay have dealt with only the positive aspects of temple stay, but it seems to be meaningful in the paper that they have dealt with negative aspects such as temple stay's excessive participation in the pursuit of commercialization for quantitative growth only. Namely, it has well established the critical points of it. As a reviewer, I am confident that this paper will be an appropriate study for the field.

Author Response

Thank you for taking the time to read and review our article. We appreciate your consideration and support.