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PILGRIMS ON THE PATH:
REFLECTIONS ON BUDDHISM
AND THE JOURNEY
John Peacock
Lecturer in Philosophy,
Bolton Institute of Higher Education
Ananda, there are four places the sight of which
will arouse strong emotion in those with faith.
Which four places? “Here the Tathagata was
born”-this is the first. “Here the Tathagata
attained enlightenment”- this is the second.
“Here the Tathagata set in motion the Wheel of
the Dharma”- this is the third. “Here the
Tathagata attained final Nirvana without
remainder”-this is the fourth. And the monk, the
nun, the layman or the laywoman who has faith
should visit these places. (Digha Nikaya 11:141)
The pilgrim, across the world and throughout all ages,
has been a constant figure in both religious life and
literature. Those on the road to the holy sites and
shrines of the various religions often confronted, and
still confront, hardships and difficulties which were
deemed to be an integral, and necessary, part of the
journey. Moreover, the religious life itself was often
conceived of in terms of roads, paths, and journeys.
This more intimate journey was to be undertaken in the
midst of the joys and frustrations of daily life and was
also characterised by its arduousness. Both the interior
and exterior journey demanded stamina and exertion.
The figure of the pilgrim and the pilgrimage became a
central motif for many of the world’s religions. Within
these religions there could be perceived a dynamic
interplay or tension between the metaphorical and literal
conceptions of the journey. Taken in terms of Buddhism
all this appears to be fairly unexceptional.
The predominant motivating conception of Buddhism
has always been that of the Buddha’s Way or Dharma.
Buddhists since the time of the Buddha’s final Nirvana
have been urged to follow this way and undertake the
journey to enlightenment. This injunction was
perceived, throughout the differing schools of
Buddhism, as requiring a thorough examination and
exploration of the Buddha’s teachings - for Buddhist
monks of all traditions this represents a lifetime’s - or
many lifetime’s - work. The individual’s examination
and contemplation of the teachings is considered now,
as then, to be both the path to self~development / selfunderstanding as well as liberation.
Just as one would examine gold through burning,
cutting, and rubbing, so should monks and
scholars examine my words. Only thus should
they be accepted; but not merely out of respect
for me. (cited by Tsong kha pa in Drang nges
legs bshad snying po, Collected works Vol pha,.
p 482)
In undertaking such a journey the Buddhist aspirant
requires not only the physical and mental stamina of the
literal journey but also the power of imagination to
embark on a visionary journey which opens up entirely
new vistas and horizons within what is conventionally
perceived as familiar. As with all journeys this is, above
all, a process of learning.
Let us return to where we began. The Buddha, in the
quotation cited above, enjoined his followers, “those
with faith”, to travel to the sites associated with the
main events in his life and teaching. Can such journeys
and pilgrimages, in the Buddhist context, represent
externally and graphically the inward journey
undertaken by Buddhist practitioners? In what way can
the external pilgrimage be seen to inform and balance
the inwardness of the Buddhist aspirant’s journey to
enlightenment? It is here I think we begin to observe the
dynamic interplay of the literal and the metaphorical to
which I adverted above. The pilgrim on the road to
Bodhgaya or Sarnath is undertaking a journey within a
journey. When aspirants journey to the four holy sites
of Buddhism - Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and
Kusinara - they do so in the knowledge that for
thousands of years pilgrims from all the Buddhist lands
have been making the journey to celebrate the life and
inspiration of the Buddha. However, the path to be
traversed is an individual one. No matter how many
pilgrims, Arhats and Bodhisattvas have passed along
the Way this way is never the same for any traveller.
The Buddha, it is said, can show or direct but can never
walk the path for the individual. It is from the individual
alone that aspiration and effort must stem. This is not to
say, however, that the Buddhist is wholly alone in
his/her endeavour. The touchstone or ground for this
journey into the depths of the unknown remains the
three principle objects of refuge: the Buddha, his
teaching and the community of practitioners. No matter
how difficult the Way or path becomes these three
objects provide at all times refuge and shelter for the
Buddhist practitioner. The Buddha, Dharma, and the
Sangha represent both a goal and a ground. These
‘Three Jewels’ represent for the individual practitioner a
shift in concern and a fundamental reorientation of their
lives around a telos of ‘enlightenment’ and away from the
habitual facets of ‘everydayness’ perceived, and
conceived of, in terms of desire and grasping; stimulus
and response. Concern is now directed into the task of
liberation and away from a life dominated by habitual
and destructive patterns of existence. This habitual
patterning is conceived of as a cyclical pattern of
activity known as Samsara. Samsara is traditionally
conceived of as the cycle of birth and rebirth. What
keeps beings tied to the wheel of rebirth and in
enslavement to habitual responsiveness is karma.
Karma is a word which has found its way into Western
languages but is much misunderstood. Karma, rendered
simply, indicates action that brings about either
wholesome states of being or further states of
frustration and misery (duhkha). Entry into the arena of
karmic activity occurs through a loss of intrinsic
awareness (avidya, usually termed ‘ignorance’).
Freedom and happiness is only to be found outside of
the wheel of constant becoming fuelled by karmic
activity. In terms of the metaphor of the journey,
Samsara is a journey that takes us nowhere. Samsaric
activity has the propensity of delivering us back to
positions we have already found ourselves in; it is this
sense of having been in exactly the same place before
that we all seem to catch glimpses of from time to time
in the ‘everydayness’ of Samsara. It was the well
choreographed and ultimately predictable activity of
Samsara that the Buddha renounced at the outset of his
journey towards enlightenment. It is with renunciation
that the journey begins. To turn away from Samsara
requires a fundamental re-attunement that goes by the
name of renunciation.
Renunciation. All journeys begin with some form of
renunciation, the Buddhist way is no exception. This
journey (the Buddhist journey towards enlightenment)
begins with the renunciation of an unsatisfactory
‘known’ and the movement towards the freedom of an
‘unknown’. The Buddha’s life exemplifies the life of
renunciation, of what must be ‘given-up’, for the journey
to be a journey ‘towards’ enlightenment rather than
simply a repetition of the circumlocutary nature of
Samsara. The Buddha’s journey begins historically with
his birth/rebirth at Lumbini in what is now Nepal.
According to the legend the Buddha’s journey began
perhaps in the year 563 BCE, on the full moon of May.
Although the Buddha was born at Lumbini he seems to
have visited there on only one other occasion in his life.
The birth of the Buddha is an awe-inspiring moment,
representing not just the birth of a unique human being
but an auspicious juncture and opportunity for human
being in general. It is this intertwining of the birth of a
particular human being and its implications for
humanity in general that is celebrated at the birthplace
of the Buddha.
Just as the Buddha’s journey begins with his birth so the
traveller/pilgrim on the path must be born ‘anew’ for the
journey to become meaningful. For the journey to be
exciting and meaningful prejudices and presuppositions
have to be dropped: renounced. If this necessary
renunciation does not take place then the journey
becomes a mere confirmation of what was already
anticipated. The Buddha’s own unique renunciation is
represented by his withdrawal from the life offered to
him by his Sakya heritage, notably the material and
sensual pleasures of life in a ‘palace’, and his turning
towards the existential problems of birth, old-age,
sickness, and death. To engage fully with these
questions required of the Buddha a renunciation of the
familiar, and the known. The path the Buddha and the
pilgrim on the Buddha’s Way encounter is fraught with
difficulty and hardship; there appear to be no ‘easy’
answers to existential questions. The hardship and
austerities that the Buddha endures through his initial
act of renunciation, bring him finally, through yet
another act of renunciation, this time of the ‘pain’
associated with the ascetic life, to the unique site known
as Bodhgaya.
Bodhgaya is both place and site. It is the site of the
historical Buddha’s enlightenment and the place wherein
the pilgrim celebrates the Buddha’s achievement and
simultaneously affirms or re-affirms his or her own
commitment to the path of Dharma leading to the
cessation of suffering. Bodhgaya as both place and site
reflects fully the ambiguous nature of the pilgrim’s
journey conceived of in terms of both the inward and
the outward. The Buddhist pilgrim who pauses for some
time in Bodhgaya will undoubtedly perform ‘religious
acts’ such as the circumambulation of the central stupa
of the Mahabodhi temple. However, these acts whilst
both physical and outward are also representative of the
inward journey conceived of in terms of meditation,
effort and devotion (faith).
Bodhgaya has been a pilgrimage centre for Buddhists of
all persuasions probably since the death of the Buddha.
Much of the history of Bodhgaya is known from
inscriptions and grafitti left by pilgrims who visited over
a period of many centuries. The first shrine at Bodhgaya
would have probably consisted of the Bodhi tree (the
tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment)
with a stone slab at its base surrounded by a wooden
fence. The building of the first substantial temple is
attributed to the Emperor Ashoka. Whilst there is little
or no evidence to support this claim it is highly probable
that a devout Buddhist like Ashoka would have built a
temple upon one of the most sacred sites of Buddhism.
Many of the buildings to be seen in present-day
Bodhgaya were, however, contributed by visiting
pilgrims. These pilgrims, over many centuries, built
lasting monuments to the expression of their own
inward journey with the desire that their acts of devotion
and renunciation should benefit all other beings.
Bodhgaya remains, for all Buddhists a symbol for the
task ahead and the attainment or completion of that task
in the life of the Buddha. It is, therefore, both a symbol
of inspiration and urgency: enlightenment, with its
attendant cessation of suffering, can be achieved, the
Buddha has shown this. However, one should strive for
this goal now not leave it until some future time. The
exigencies of human life are such that in its finitude
there might not be any future time.
The juncture we have reached so far in both our literal
and metaphorical pilgrimage/journey is the affirmation
of our separateness, our aloneness. The task of
enlightenment and the overcoming of pain is our task
and no one can undertake this task for us, not even the
Buddha! The journey, as has been said above, is our
journey in so far as it remains firmly in our hands as to
its outcome. However, this journey is not undertaken
alone. At all times on the path we find ourselves in
situations in which we have to take cognizance of
others. The new vistas and horizons that are opened up
to us on our journeying are to be shared with others.
Crucially, the insights gained cannot be for ourselves
alone. The journey is a shared journey and our being
with others is an ineluctable part of the process. After
his enlightenment the Buddha exemplified this by
offering teaching to five monks at Sarnath. These five
monks had been companions of the Buddha during the
period when the Buddha practiced the austerities of the
wandering ascetic and had abandoned him when he had
renounced these practices as a means to gaining
enlightenment. It is in his teaching of the five monks at
Sarnath that the Buddha shows his compassion and his
recognition of the importance of the other. Sarnath is
not simply the place where the Buddha delivers his first
discourse (“Discourse Setting in Motion the Wheel of
Dhamma”-Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), it is the
crucial recognition of the other as being the site for
ethical action.
The Buddha, above all, offered his teaching as a means
by which others could overcome their suffering and
pain. Buddhists who undertake the path outlined by the
Buddha similarly seek to help others overcome the pain
of Samsara. This perspective has become particularly
identified with Mahayana Buddhism and the figure of
the Bodhisattva. Here, at Sarnath, the gesture is one of
compassion. Yet, this compassion is not to be confused
with a shallow sentimentalism or a wallowing in the
problems of others but is a compassion that flowers
upon a stem of wisdom. The gesture of compassion
enacted at Sarnath follows upon the enlightenment of
Bodhgaya. Equally in the journey of the Buddhist
practitioner compassion can only arise from wisdom.
Compassion without the attendant wisdom is
necessarily misguided and may have the effect of
increasing rather than decreasing the pain of others.
In the years following the Buddha’s final Nirvana
Sarnath grew into a centre of Buddhist scholarship and
art. Even today Sarnath continues to be a centre not
only of pilgrimage but of Buddhist studies. At Sarnath
we reflect upon the two-fold nature of the Buddha’s
discourse: the teaching itself and the compassionate act
of teaching others. Message and intention find a
concordance at Samath that remains the leitmotif for the
rest of the Buddha’s life.
The Buddha’s life like the journey his followers embark
upon is marked by finitude. The finitude of the
Buddha’s life finds its culmination at the place known as
Kusinara. It was here, at Kusinara, that the Buddha
entered his final Nirvana. The pilgrimage or journey
must end and the wanderers must finally rest like their
teacher. However, the teaching itself remains
inexhaustible and acts as a spur to practitioners to
commence further journeys, further explorations of the
Buddha’s teaching. At Kusinara the pilgrim will perhaps
experience some of the sadness that the original
followers of the Buddha experienced. The Buddha was
a mortal and as a mortal he died. However, the teaching
remained and remains crucial to each Buddhist’s
journey.
Ananda, you may think: ‘The Teacher’s
instruction has ceased, now we have no teacher!’
But it should not be seen like this. Let the
Dhamma and the discipline that I have taught
and explained to you be your teacher after my
passing. (Digha Nikaya 11:154).