Pilgrimage is a very powerful practice. One’s world is turned upside down. One’s imagination is stretched. Sometimes one sees, experiences, or participates in amazing things.
"A Pilgrimage is a journey into a world of myth. Events which have seemed to be shut away behind the closed doors along time's long corridor become as alive and as fresh as if they had happened yesterday. To the pilgrim, everyday reality and imagination are no longer separate: a shape, a noise, an unexpected meeting, can be charged with significance, becoming a symbol of something 'beyond us, yet ourselves'. One dwells more intensely on how one acts within one's environment, and on the effect of that environment upon oneself. Such intense concentration, coupled with reflection on the life of the Buddha and on the lives of the great sages who followed him, brings about a deep sense of faith which flowers as inspiration. The pilgrim gives himself to the pilgrimage with body, speech, and mind, and the fruits of his devotion manifest as virtue. He comes to feel blessed; in the traditional phrase, he feels, 'richly endowed'." From Suvajra’s 'The Wheel and the Diamond
Your Pilgrimage
The more one takes on the practice of pilgrimage the greater will be one’s experience of it. A key element of preparation is to accept that it is a pilgrimage, and that it is a wonderful opportunity largely created by one’s own efforts. Decide to participate fully, co-creating the pilgrimage with one’s own imaginative engagement, active participation and whole-hearted aspiration.
Purification
A surprising many small things have ‘gone wrong’, during the first few days of almost all previous pilgrimages. Much of it was ‘chance’, much of it seemed karmic. Like all powerful practices pilgrimage does not paper over the cracks or sweep things under the carpet, it rather does the opposite. Pilgrimage tends to draw out of us emotional and karmic poison, so we can purify or release it. We can each do things to avoid or reduce such karmic obstacles. But whatever happens, we know the pilgrimage is not a holiday, and that we need to bring a spiritual attitude to whatever happens.
The Three Precepts of Dorji Drolo
Whatever way things go, may they go that way;
Whatever way things happen, may it happen that way;
There is no purpose.
The Shepherd Boys Song
He that is down need fear no fall
He that is low, no pride
He that is humble, ever shall
Have, God[s] to be his guide.
I am content with what I have,
Little it be or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave
Because thou savest such.
Fullness to such a burden is
That go on Pilgrimage.
Here little and Hereafter bliss
Is best from age to age.
From John Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress
There are various ways avoid bad karma popping up at unfortunate times. They all seem to come down to spiritual practice and making oneself empty and receptive. A few periods of enhanced or extended practice in the lead up to the pilgrimage can make a big difference. Traditional practices for preparatory purification include; ritual bathing, offerings, confession, mantra chanting, Sutra or Dharma reading, generosity, and meditation.
Loose Ends
Sorting out loose ends and unfinished business, as best you can before you go, is a good practice. Likewise, consciously deciding to leave unfinished ‘stuff’ behind, not to take it with you, may be right. If that is not appropriate, consciously decide to take it with you. Perhaps in a contained, symbolic or ritualised way.
Containment
The more you can contain the experience-that you hope to have, the more space you give that experience to unfold. The more you protect your pilgrimage the better it will be. A field of merit builds up, is not leaked away.
Imagination
I remember listening to Bhante describe how in the old days, people would prepare for an opera or concert months in advance. Having read about the composer, libretto etc, their experience of the Opera was greatly enhanced. Likewise we try to create the conditions for pilgrims in enter deeply the path and spirit of true pilgrimage. Partly we do this by introducing each place, each holy site; its history, and the people, events and spiritual energies found there. We do this on the ground, at the sites, but it really is best if these introductions simply bring to mind the reading, reflecting, and imagining that you have already done.
At most of the sites we will make offerings and perform meditation, puja and circumambulations, yet to really get into the pilgrimage we need to internalize it. The path of the true pilgrim leads inward. We use our outer journey to stimulate an inner pilgrimage.
The Imaginal is the doorway between the self-power of imagination, and the other-power of Vision.
We start with self-power; feeding our imagination with information images and stories associated with Sakyamuni and his immediate disciples. Then we reflect on these images and stories; offering them up again and again to our imagination. By engaging our imagination and letting it freely run, we create the conditions for the Imaginal to arise.
Through our Imaginal faculties we perceive the truths of the spiritual world. Perceiving the spiritual world-we begin to enter it. Thus feeding our imagination is of utmost importance. Any reading or stimulus to your imagination that you can do before the pilgrimage will have a very positive effect on it.
Preparatory Practices
As with meditation, the better we prepare ourselves for pilgrimage the more successful and fulfilling we will find it. Some of the following might be useful, but the secret is to find and explore you own ways of connecting with your pilgrimage.
Dedication
Like Chatral Rinpoche’s advice to improve one’s meditation by doing it for others, perhaps the best way to approach the pilgrimage is to dedicate it to benefit someone else.
Daily Practice
Integrate into your usual daily practice a special pilgrimage dedication. This could be in the form of recollection, visualisation, a verse of dedication, reflection or mantra chanting.
Visualisation
One can visualise anything that symbolises or brings to mind the people, places and events on which the pilgrimage is focused, such as the main events in Sakyamuni’s life.
Images
Find and contemplate images of Bhante and his Teachers, and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Devas, Dakinis and Dharmapalas that are associated with them.
Verse
Write a short verse of dedication and recite it daily or whenever you remember. Perhaps something like; “om ah hum, I dedicate my Pilgrimage to the benefit of ………” “May our pilgrimage be blessed by the buddhas and bodhisattvas.” “May I constantly recall the blessings of my teachers, practice, and friends.”
Reflection
Bring to mind the coming pilgrimage; recall, investigate and purify your motivation. We all have multiple motivations for attending pilgrimage, discover your best or highest motivation, and concentrate on strengthening that. If you uncover any less than skilful motivations, make them fully conscious and weaken them as one would work on the hindrances.
Recitation
Undertake to chant a certain number of mantras each day as preparation for the pilgrimage. This can be a very effective way of building up spiritual momentum before the pilgrimage. You may wish to chant a lot of one particular mantra or a smaller number of several mantras, perhaps last thing at night or as part of your morning practice.
Reading
Start reading around the pilgrimage. Facing Mt Kunchenjunga, In the Sign of the Golden Wheel, A Noble Friendship [Kantipalo], Bhante’s poetry, The Wheel and the Diamond [Suvajra], Dhardo Rinpoche: A Celebration, anything by Vessantara, The Way of the White Clouds [Lama Govinda], An Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Creative Symbols of the Tantric Path.
Pilgrimage Diary
Starting a pilgrimage diary in the lead up to the pilgrimage is another very effective way to build up spiritual momentum. You could make a record of your mantra chanting and other preparations, and keep an eye out for dreams and coincidences. A big part of entering into the Imaginal, and true pilgrimage, is becoming receptive to the threads of coincidence surfacing in our lives. Take seriously even the smallest thread, the least significant coincidence and the faintest intuition. By honouring them with attention and recognition, by recording and recalling them, they grow in strength and we start to see with pilgrim’s eyes. Seeing with pilgrims eyes, we start to enter the mysterious world of pilgrimage, and a world of mystery starts to enter us.
Offerings
In India, we will be able to offer butter lamps, Khata and incense. Flowers will be rare. You might wish to make a few special offerings to take.
Some people write out some verses or mantras on paper or card – to leave at some special place. Likewise short texts and images of the Buddha’s and bodhisattvas are much appreciated offerings. Also suitable are stones, pebbles, shells, old jewellery and redundant but significant mementoes.
In fact, please bring, 5 or more, small objects such as crystals, semi-precious stones or some small treasure. We will have the opportunity, ritually or informally, to leave these at a number of significant places.
Warning
It is foolhardy and dangerous to take things from holy places, even pebbles or leaves. Buying gifts outside is no problem, but taking anything from a holy site could be. If you do take something, leave a suitable offering, and treat the object like gold.
"A Pilgrimage is a journey into a world of myth. Events which have seemed to be shut away behind the closed doors along time's long corridor become as alive and as fresh as if they had happened yesterday. To the pilgrim, everyday reality and imagination are no longer separate: a shape, a noise, an unexpected meeting, can be charged with significance, becoming a symbol of something 'beyond us, yet ourselves'. One dwells more intensely on how one acts within one's environment, and on the effect of that environment upon oneself. Such intense concentration, coupled with reflection on the life of the Buddha and on the lives of the great sages who followed him, brings about a deep sense of faith which flowers as inspiration. The pilgrim gives himself to the pilgrimage with body, speech, and mind, and the fruits of his devotion manifest as virtue. He comes to feel blessed; in the traditional phrase, he feels, 'richly endowed'." From Suvajra’s 'The Wheel and the Diamond
Your Pilgrimage
The more one takes on the practice of pilgrimage the greater will be one’s experience of it. A key element of preparation is to accept that it is a pilgrimage, and that it is a wonderful opportunity largely created by one’s own efforts. Decide to participate fully, co-creating the pilgrimage with one’s own imaginative engagement, active participation and whole-hearted aspiration.
Purification
A surprising many small things have ‘gone wrong’, during the first few days of almost all previous pilgrimages. Much of it was ‘chance’, much of it seemed karmic. Like all powerful practices pilgrimage does not paper over the cracks or sweep things under the carpet, it rather does the opposite. Pilgrimage tends to draw out of us emotional and karmic poison, so we can purify or release it. We can each do things to avoid or reduce such karmic obstacles. But whatever happens, we know the pilgrimage is not a holiday, and that we need to bring a spiritual attitude to whatever happens.
The Three Precepts of Dorji Drolo
Whatever way things go, may they go that way;
Whatever way things happen, may it happen that way;
There is no purpose.
The Shepherd Boys Song
He that is down need fear no fall
He that is low, no pride
He that is humble, ever shall
Have, God[s] to be his guide.
I am content with what I have,
Little it be or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave
Because thou savest such.
Fullness to such a burden is
That go on Pilgrimage.
Here little and Hereafter bliss
Is best from age to age.
From John Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress
There are various ways avoid bad karma popping up at unfortunate times. They all seem to come down to spiritual practice and making oneself empty and receptive. A few periods of enhanced or extended practice in the lead up to the pilgrimage can make a big difference. Traditional practices for preparatory purification include; ritual bathing, offerings, confession, mantra chanting, Sutra or Dharma reading, generosity, and meditation.
Loose Ends
Sorting out loose ends and unfinished business, as best you can before you go, is a good practice. Likewise, consciously deciding to leave unfinished ‘stuff’ behind, not to take it with you, may be right. If that is not appropriate, consciously decide to take it with you. Perhaps in a contained, symbolic or ritualised way.
Containment
The more you can contain the experience-that you hope to have, the more space you give that experience to unfold. The more you protect your pilgrimage the better it will be. A field of merit builds up, is not leaked away.
Imagination
I remember listening to Bhante describe how in the old days, people would prepare for an opera or concert months in advance. Having read about the composer, libretto etc, their experience of the Opera was greatly enhanced. Likewise we try to create the conditions for pilgrims in enter deeply the path and spirit of true pilgrimage. Partly we do this by introducing each place, each holy site; its history, and the people, events and spiritual energies found there. We do this on the ground, at the sites, but it really is best if these introductions simply bring to mind the reading, reflecting, and imagining that you have already done.
At most of the sites we will make offerings and perform meditation, puja and circumambulations, yet to really get into the pilgrimage we need to internalize it. The path of the true pilgrim leads inward. We use our outer journey to stimulate an inner pilgrimage.
The Imaginal is the doorway between the self-power of imagination, and the other-power of Vision.
We start with self-power; feeding our imagination with information images and stories associated with Sakyamuni and his immediate disciples. Then we reflect on these images and stories; offering them up again and again to our imagination. By engaging our imagination and letting it freely run, we create the conditions for the Imaginal to arise.
Through our Imaginal faculties we perceive the truths of the spiritual world. Perceiving the spiritual world-we begin to enter it. Thus feeding our imagination is of utmost importance. Any reading or stimulus to your imagination that you can do before the pilgrimage will have a very positive effect on it.
Preparatory Practices
As with meditation, the better we prepare ourselves for pilgrimage the more successful and fulfilling we will find it. Some of the following might be useful, but the secret is to find and explore you own ways of connecting with your pilgrimage.
Dedication
Like Chatral Rinpoche’s advice to improve one’s meditation by doing it for others, perhaps the best way to approach the pilgrimage is to dedicate it to benefit someone else.
Daily Practice
Integrate into your usual daily practice a special pilgrimage dedication. This could be in the form of recollection, visualisation, a verse of dedication, reflection or mantra chanting.
Visualisation
One can visualise anything that symbolises or brings to mind the people, places and events on which the pilgrimage is focused, such as the main events in Sakyamuni’s life.
Images
Find and contemplate images of Bhante and his Teachers, and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Devas, Dakinis and Dharmapalas that are associated with them.
Verse
Write a short verse of dedication and recite it daily or whenever you remember. Perhaps something like; “om ah hum, I dedicate my Pilgrimage to the benefit of ………” “May our pilgrimage be blessed by the buddhas and bodhisattvas.” “May I constantly recall the blessings of my teachers, practice, and friends.”
Reflection
Bring to mind the coming pilgrimage; recall, investigate and purify your motivation. We all have multiple motivations for attending pilgrimage, discover your best or highest motivation, and concentrate on strengthening that. If you uncover any less than skilful motivations, make them fully conscious and weaken them as one would work on the hindrances.
Recitation
Undertake to chant a certain number of mantras each day as preparation for the pilgrimage. This can be a very effective way of building up spiritual momentum before the pilgrimage. You may wish to chant a lot of one particular mantra or a smaller number of several mantras, perhaps last thing at night or as part of your morning practice.
Reading
Start reading around the pilgrimage. Facing Mt Kunchenjunga, In the Sign of the Golden Wheel, A Noble Friendship [Kantipalo], Bhante’s poetry, The Wheel and the Diamond [Suvajra], Dhardo Rinpoche: A Celebration, anything by Vessantara, The Way of the White Clouds [Lama Govinda], An Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Creative Symbols of the Tantric Path.
Pilgrimage Diary
Starting a pilgrimage diary in the lead up to the pilgrimage is another very effective way to build up spiritual momentum. You could make a record of your mantra chanting and other preparations, and keep an eye out for dreams and coincidences. A big part of entering into the Imaginal, and true pilgrimage, is becoming receptive to the threads of coincidence surfacing in our lives. Take seriously even the smallest thread, the least significant coincidence and the faintest intuition. By honouring them with attention and recognition, by recording and recalling them, they grow in strength and we start to see with pilgrim’s eyes. Seeing with pilgrims eyes, we start to enter the mysterious world of pilgrimage, and a world of mystery starts to enter us.
Offerings
In India, we will be able to offer butter lamps, Khata and incense. Flowers will be rare. You might wish to make a few special offerings to take.
Some people write out some verses or mantras on paper or card – to leave at some special place. Likewise short texts and images of the Buddha’s and bodhisattvas are much appreciated offerings. Also suitable are stones, pebbles, shells, old jewellery and redundant but significant mementoes.
In fact, please bring, 5 or more, small objects such as crystals, semi-precious stones or some small treasure. We will have the opportunity, ritually or informally, to leave these at a number of significant places.
Warning
It is foolhardy and dangerous to take things from holy places, even pebbles or leaves. Buying gifts outside is no problem, but taking anything from a holy site could be. If you do take something, leave a suitable offering, and treat the object like gold.
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