The Start of a Great Adventure
Hello Everyone!
It has been a long time since I last updated you all on the happenings of our village, but all has been well. The new library is coming along really nicely. I hear that in the village, the medicine factory has also been built successfully. In our library, we now have a good collection of books, including medicine, trade and other educational books for those who wish to learn more. The decorations have all been put up as well. There are tables and comfortable chairs, along with wall decorations next to the bookshelves. These decorations were selected because we wanted to make the library feel welcoming and like a good place to study. I was just there yesterday and the place does indeed, feel very cozy!
I was walking in the village the other day, when one of the women I know from the market told me that they had found a travelogue in a cave near our village! It had been left there by someone who went on a pilgrimage. I was intrigued by this tidbit of information and I wondered about who the mysterious person who had left it there was. After this, I went back to the library and while I was helping to put books into their shelves. I stumbled upon a book that I had read a long time ago! I remember when I was just becoming a scholar, I read this book on historical pilgrimages that Buddhists had taken to bring books back from their travels so that the people at home could learn more about Buddhism as well. Did you know that not only do pilgrimages play an important part in religion, but they also have significance in the economy? This is because pilgrims who visit areas such as the capital of Tibet (Lhasa, which I will mention more about later), need to be able to pay for their expenses during their journey. One of the ways that they do this is through trading items to pay for their trip and this also helps to boost the economy!
I did some research on two famous historical pilgrims who travelled from China to India. These were the pilgrims that I remembered from my studies from when I was younger: Faxian and Xuanzang.
I remember learning about Faxian, who was among the earliest pilgrims to travel to India. He was also possibly the oldest, as he travelled when he was older than 60 years of age. He returned to China when he was around 77! The texts that he brought back were very important as they were the Vinaya, which is the rules that monastic people follow. These were critical for starting monastic institutions in China.
Xuanzang was another famous historical pilgrim. He also travelled to India, although he did this illegally since he did not have permission from the ruler at the time. He did, however, tried to contact kings in the countries he visited, perhaps so that he would have support for when he returned to China (since he’d left illegaly) and also to show his king that he had made contacts with other kings of Central and Southern Asia. In Xuanzang’s record of his travel, The Records of the Western Regions Visited During the Great Tang Dynasty, he talks about the places he travelled to during his pilgrimage as well as the information he learned about the culture of the places that he visited. For example, he talks about his visit to the Nalanda Monastery, as well as local cultural aspects such as the manufactured goods and dining etiquette in India. His record of his travel was particularly important for telling us not only how life was before modern times, but also the interactions that different nations had with each other.
After reading from a couple of these books in the library, I was inspired to think about making a pilgrimage myself. Of course, it would not be as monumental as Faxian or Xuanzang’s, but I hope to learn more about Buddhism from these sacred sites and perhaps bring some books to add to our library. With the knowledge that I gain from the trip, I would be able to teach others in the village more about Buddhism. I thought this trip would not only be a wonderful learning experience for myself, but also be a nice addition to my job as a scholar. I know I that I definitely need to do more research, but my preliminary plan is to go to many of the places that Xuanzang visited. This would be a great guide for me to be able to figure out where I want to go. One of the places that Xuanzang went to on his pilgrimage was Nalanda. Nalanda was a learning site for almost 800 years, from the 5th to 12th century CE before it was destroyed by invading armies. Nalanda was made into a university again in the year 2006. I would really like to go, since Nalanda represents a lot of my job as a scholar. This is probably one of the newer places that I plan on going, though Nalanda historically-speaking, is very old and significant for Buddhist learners.
Before I get too ahead of myself in terms of finding places outside of the country, I thought I would start perhaps with places in Tibet, since it is closest to where I live right now. One of the places that I would really like to travel to is Lhasa, which is Tibet’s capital. I haven’t travelled much in my life so far, and I rarely leave our little village. I haven’t even been to the capital city before! There are religious shrines and temples in Lhasa that I know many people visit on their pilgrimages. One of the most famous is the Jokhang Temple, which has a picture (named the Jowo) of Buddha Sakyamuni. Another popular pilgrimage place in Tibet is Mount Kaliash, which is located in Western Tibet. It’s thought of as being compared to the axis mundi (world-mountain) so it’s popular for both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims.
Buddha Sakyamuni at Jokhang Temple
One other pilgrimage place is Crystal Peak of Rong, which is found in western Nepal. Crystal Peak has different levels of slopes, the upper, middle and lower with separate purposes. There’s also a “fortress” where there is Lord Amitāyu and the deities of his retinue. In addition to this, there’s also the “Iron-skillet Fortress” where there are the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi. This is only a very small description of Crystal Peak and there are many more different areas of that are important.
I also wanted to visit several places that have religious significance to Buddhism. In particular, I wanted to go to Bodh Gaya, which is where the Buddha reached englightment. The first pilgrim to Bodh Gaya was Asoka, who travelled there in 259 CE. Many more pilgrims soon followed. Among all the things to see at Bodhgaya, one of the most beautiful is the Mahabodhi Temple. There is also the Bodhi Tree, where the Buddha was enlightened. If possible, I would also like to see the places where the Buddha was born and where he passed away, Lumbini and Kusinara, respectively.
Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya
There are so many places that I would like to go! I need to plan all of these locations out before I go so that I have a good idea of the order of where and when I need to travel. I feel that Xuanzang’s route was a good one, since he travelled to many places without crossing back or going in circles.
I understand that my pilgrimage is not to be taken merely as a vacation. I have learned through reading that not only is a pilgrimage a great undertaking of time and effort, it also requires devotion and belief in the religion. Thus, before I leave for my journey I want to know that I am in the right mental state for my journey so that I can improve my practice of what the Buddha taught. This includes Right Thought, Right Speech and Right Action. I am really looking forward to my journey to these sacred sites, and hopefully I will be able to gain both knowledge and understanding of how these sites are important.
I have decided that I am going alone on my journey. My husband is still working in the village and it would be unfair of me to take him away from his work. The patients need him, especially the sick and elderly. I have not yet told him about my pilgrimage idea because we’ve both been quite busy in these past few days. I must remember to let him know soon! I will miss him dearly but I know that this would be an amazing trip to embark on. Many people regard a pilgrimage as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I hope that my journey will go smoothly. I want to come back with lots of knowledge to share and stories to tell. I also want to be able to bring materials back for our village to put in the library and also inspire others in the village to perhaps to go on a pilgrimage of their own. But first, I must take my adventure first and that involves planning it!
I should go and research some more so that I know the route I am taking. I will look for more information in our steadily growing library. There’s still so much to find out before I go on my trip!
See you all in the near future,
Tashi
