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PILGRIMAGE, A JOURNEY ON FOOT

On the bank of a great river, on a steep mountain trail, through giant trees in a quiet forest, or between the aisles of a crowded shopping area, each place is still us and our consciousness, so why not make each moment sacred time on the infinite trail, our life.

While walking with gentleness and respect, we progress on the inner journey and arrive to the sacred location, the center of our heart. Rather than rushing to reach the goal, each step is an arrival at our true destination. This is real pilgrimage.

There are so many places to visit, pay respect, meditate and make gifts to the needy. A particular location and its history may attract more than another. We visit the one that inspires us to realize our full potential, like millions have done before us.

While walking, we can dissolve the boundary, gently, between us the perceiver and the scenery around us, so that walking is an exercise in nonduality, a walking within the open mind.

Often it’s said that physical hardship during a pilgrimage should be welcomed as an inner challenge. We can overcome the resistance and stubbornness of ego-mind, so each moment of yielding gives space to tolerance and perseverance. Each step can turn into an act of giving, making room for compassionate awareness. This is how to make trekking into a sacred journey, this is a walking meditation.

In this atmosphere, a lightness may fill us, perhaps due to the extended periods of aloneness, perhaps due to the community spirit of joy and reverence. A heightened sense of perception may bring forth a wider spectrum of colors and sounds we don’t normally notice and a natural scent of humor from deep within. Let’s not be afraid to make offerings on the shrine of hungry beggars and animals, our gods in disguise.
Photo by Morquefile