Forward by Roshi Joan Halifax: On and the Buddha

“Even though I am already here, millions of footsteps separate me from this place - footsteps I’m still not sure how many I will be able to take.” Maarten Olthof

“The Buddha probably traveled no less than on foot. He must have known fully well what a cathartic, meditative effect walking can have. And so my journey is a timeless one.” Says Maarten Olthof. “Taking it on foot, I want to follow the instruction of the Buddha and discover why he recommended visiting these four places in particular. I want to taste the atmosphere and find the source: the source of Buddhist pilgrimage, the source of and the source of Buddhist scripture. Somewhere deep within I feel the urge to roam, the call of homelessness. After all, it is not just the destination but the journey itself that involves us. Moreover, in making my journey, I’m hoping to contribute to the revival of a once-busy pilgrimage route that, for over seventeen centuries, was to Buddhist Asia what the trek to Santiago de Compostela in Spain had been to Christian Europe for the past ten centuries.” Maarten Olthof

The practice of pilgrimage is a rite of passage, a way to mark deep change within the human heart. It is a practice that is as old as humankind, for moving from place to place ritually brings us into the deep sense of the truth of , the power and beauty of change. The mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote that pilgrimage takes us to our burning point, the place where we can awaken in the fire of groundlessness, as we make our way across landscapes that are holy and fraught. For the author of this marvelous book, Maarten Olfhof, this pilgrimage offers a life-changing, mind-altering experience that is about embodiment, the heart, and being a student to the moment.

Few if any humans have recently followed the footsteps of the Buddha on foot! But our Dutch author and wanderer takes on this practice with such dedication that the reader is able to meet the Buddha and his great teachings through the marvelous dedication of the author, who has the fortitude and courage to be thoroughly grounded on the dusty roads of the great Gangetic plains, and to meet the life there courageously and vividly.

Pilgrimage frequently takes us to where others have trod, a path that is shared by seekers who seek to awaken. was established during the sixth century BCE. In the course of his dying, the Buddha encouraged his followers to go to the places associated with his life: the place of his birth, awakening, first teaching, and dying. By visiting such places, as pilgrims, we can touch into those experiences in our own life, which somehow mirror or are in contrast to the Buddha’s life.

Pilgrimage is also about entering into a liminal state, betwixt and between the past and the future, between your life and the life of the great teacher, between the brightness of day and the darkness of night. It is not just one step but many steps into the unknown and into “not knowing.” And it opens the threshold between worlds in a powerful way, so that on the ground, we discover essential groundlessness. It is also a time of bearing witness giving rise to compassionate action.

I believe that Maarten has lived in this pilgrimage what are called “The Three Tenets of the Peacemaker Order”, the tenets of Not Knowing, Bearing Witness, Compassionate Action. He has been taken into the heart of the tenets through this extraordinary practice.

I recall a from Case 20 of the “Book of Serenity”. In China, there was a great teacher named Dizang. In his early monastic years, he studied and faithfully followed the or precepts. As time when on, he felt that adhering strictly to the precepts and studying them was not serving him, so he left his precept teacher and began his study and practice of .

Although he was to receive transmission, Dizang did not seem interested in being a “high ranking” Buddhist. In spite of this, he was becoming well known and people began to gather around him. Soon he was asked to become the abbot of a named Dizang, Earth Store , which is how he got his name

The other person in the koan I am to share is Fayan, who also had studied with a vinaya master, and earlier he had studied the Confucian classics. Both Fayan and Dizang were literate in a time when that was not so common.

Fayan was dressed in his traveling clothes, with straw sandals, staff, and a

backpack. At this time in China, monks did angya, pilgrimage, from temple to temple.

Dizang asked him, "Where are you going?" Fayan replied, "Around on pilgrimage." Dizang said, "What is the purpose of pilgrimage?" Fayan said, "I don't know." Dizang said, "Not knowing is most intimate." (Not knowing is nearest) On hearing Dizang’s words, Fayan awakened.

What is Fayan's "not knowing"? It is an example to us to be open to and really interested in what is happening. It is being careful, and about becoming fully human by being dust on the road. Fayan obviously is not caught in automata. I remember words of Shunryu Suzuki: “wisdom is a ready mind.” This is one of the great gifts of pilgrimage, a quality of mind that the author of this book grew day by day as he walked in the footsteps of the Buddha; he walked like Fayan, quality of mind that one would call “not knowing” and most intimate.

Maarten Olthof begins his journey with a heartwarming visit with Tatsuma, a Japanese Tendai monk who has walked thousands of miles of pilgrimage himself. Armed with advice from him to “Go without fear,” Maarten heads out in the footsteps of Faxian and Xuanzang, two Chinese monks of the fifth and seventh centuries respectively, whose accounts of their own are shared.

In Maarten’s courageous account, one gets the sense of how the act of pilgrimage is about cultivating great faith and courage. Whether 1500 years ago or today, the need to nourish endurance, to overcome physical, mental and spiritual obstacles, to touch into the truth of suffering, and yes, even exaltation and wonder is the very heart and ground of pilgrimage. And in the midst of all this to be guided by humility, recognizing that the outer journey takes us to sites of profound practice, reminding us of who we really are.

The outer journey is about cherishing geographies. The inner journey takes us around the human heart, around our own heart and heartbreak. Finally, there is a secret journey when we discover that all of life is a holy journey, a

pilgrimage that takes us deeper and deeper into “not knowing” so every step is a threshold, is new, takes us to our edge.

Maarten describes his time in , the birthplace of the Buddha, using the place to tell the story of , the “butcher turned buddhist saint”, who spread Buddhism throughout India in the 3rd century BCE.

In Lumbini, where Maya gave birth to Siddhartha, who would become the Buddha, Maarten also recalls his mother, her own painful labor, and the gratitude he owes to her, and we all owe to our mothers.

Between Lumbini and Kapilavastu, where the Buddha grew up, Maarten introduces the sutta, or the on of breathing, which has become one of the most important in modern times, practiced by thousands and used as the initial practice of meditation by many people. The sense that breath by breath, the thread of the breath is also a pilgrimage across the landscape of time, and is conveyed in Maarten’s text, as he moves across the landscape of Buddha’s life, breath by breath, step by step.

Since the early 1980’s, I’ve traveled on medical pilgrimage in the Himalayas of Tibet and Nepal. Pilgrimage for me has always been an essential part of my practice, a way of getting back in touch with my deepest intentions, and re-awakening the spiritual heart of our vow to alleviate suffering for all beings. While the Nomads Clinic (as we call our annual medical expedition) is externally about bringing medical aid to remote parts of the Himalayas, it is also about bringing healing and awakening to the hearts of those who take the journey.

As we walk over long stretches of trail between the medical camps we offer, we visit , hermitages, and sacred places that have been essential to the spiritual life of the traditional peoples for centuries. We pray and chant in shrine rooms, meditate in caves, and lay our minds to rest under the vast expanse of sky and stars. The many people we meet along the way in pilgrimage become our teachers, as well as our fellow travelers with whom we share the experience. With our intention to walk safely for ourselves and others, each moment of the journey becomes a lesson in interdependence and trust. We put our lives in the hands of our support

community and each other, while also lending our own support to those we serve,

As with all pilgrimage, particularly Maarten’s, we walk with a mission, a place on the map to which we are heading, as well as the villages along the way that we will serve and people we will treat. However, as Maarten Olthof reveals time and again on his journey, it is the experiences along the way that he does not plan for that are the most meaningful.

On his journey of a thousand kilometers following the ancient path of the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, Maarten brings to life the meaning and purpose of Buddhism itself, to wake up to the truth of reality, and see through the suffering of delusion. His vow in doing this journey has been to end suffering for all beings, and to bring peace to Nepal.

He shares why this pilgrimage is so important to him: “Here I felt the need to share with him my motivation for pursuing this pilgrimage. So far I had only shared my feelings with a select few people. My motivation is one of the heart: it speaks without words because it wants to reach other hearts directly. But Tatsuma had grasped my intention already, enabling words to flow from my mouth quite freely: I have dedicated my journey to peace, I said, peace in Nepal.”

This pilgrimage that Maartin takes is also about connection, relationship, friends who share the way with him, those he meets along the way, and also friendship with himself. Like Maarten’s vow to dedicate this pilgrimage to peace in Nepal, the journey also points to the moral significance of such a journey, for peace is Nepal is also peace in the traveler’s heart, and peace in the world. Peace points toward the ending of suffering, and Maarten’s long and precious relationship with Nepal reflects his deep dedication to the people of this nation. In fact, he has done so much physically to aid Nepal, and the pilgrimage is just one way he has “walked his talk”, made his prayers and his intentions visible, palpable, real.

Pilgrimage is mentioned in the Tripitaka where the Buddha says that one should try to visit at least once Lumbinii, Bodhgaya, Risipatana, and Kusinagara. The Buddha said that if such a journey is undertaken with a “devout heart”, it will be profoundly beneficial for one’s spiritual

development, and will reinforce positive emotions like faith, determination, and humility. These very qualities strengthen one’s practice.

Such a journey is not just about one’s personal enlightenment. Pilgrims share a bond with others who journey on the same path. As one great teacher said: “There is great companionship on the road. And yet each pilgrim is utterly alone, because a pilgrimage is a journey not just to a physical place but also to one’s very soul.”

I recall in Chaucer’s Cantebury Tales, the Prioress wears a brooch inscribed with these worlds: Amor vincit Omnia (Love conquers all). This is the kind of love that springs from faith, from the unwavering belief in the transcendent power of the human spirit. So a pilgrim is no ordinary traveler. The map is the human heart. The obstacles along the way are the very human obstacles that foster depth of character, greatness of vision, and generosity of spirit.

Maarten opens the book exploring the great Faxian’s account of his pilgrimage, and later reflects on the sixteen-year long journey of Xuanzang along the Silk Road. He writes about Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and reflects on his own mother in this chapter. The next chapter Maarten writes about the great teaching of the Buddha on the mindfulness of breathing.

Maarten then explores Kapilavastu, where the Buddha spent his youth, and then the Buddha’s departure from his homeland, to his journey of enlightenment. Maarten walks the dusty road to Kapilavastu, where the Buddha grew up, and once there describes the controversy of “the two Kapilavastus,” i.e. rival claims of India and Nepal for hosting the true location of Siddhartha’s upbringing. In any case, the place provides Maarten an opportunity to tell the story of Siddhartha’s youth, and how after poignantly witnessing sickness, old age, and death, he decides to head out in search of the end of suffering. Following Siddhartha’s footsteps on his journey to homelessness, Maarten stops back in Lumbini for a cheap haircut as the Buddha had shaved his head on his way out of town, and recalled the many steps it took to get to the beginning of this pilgrimage, including delaying the beginning for

several weeks when his mother almost died and his partner suddenly had a heart attack. But upon seeing them both through the difficulties and with their blessings, Maarten set out on his journey, and we join him again as he makes his way to the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment, Bodhgaya. Maarten tells the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment, followed by the interesting history of this most important of Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Maarten has studied his history well, and Bodhgaya comes alive from multiple perspectives of Faxian, Xuanzang, and the many others who have visited this place to honor the enlightenment of Gautama, who on that spot became the Buddha. Maarten then opens up the wonderful teaching of the Buddha on the chain of dependent origination. We then travel with Buddha and him to Rajgir and Rajagriha, the first monastery and the first council, and on to Nalanda, the great center of learning and first Buddhist university.

Maarten then explores how Buddhism began to spread, and as well the entrance into Buddhism of women. Maarten’s chapter on the Varanasi and the Ganges is rich with deep experience related to mortality. Maarten visits and Rishipatana, and explores the first sermon of the Buddha, and then takes a deep dive into the teachings on the and the Eightfold Path.

The book’s conclusion takes the reader to , where the Buddha died, and the great practice of reflecting on the body. He concludes the book with a chapter on peace.

Through this inclusive and expansive book, Maarten’s metta, lovingkindness, shines through the pages. He makes many friends along the way, shares temple time in many places, does puja’s, meditates, learns, and also struggles. The precious intimacy of his text brings us along on his journey. We can feel the pulse of the Ganges, the dust of the Gangetic plains, the decaying walls of a bungalow, the flashing color of saris, and even the vision of a water buffalo being shaved!

Throughout the journey, Maarten keeps the words: Go without fear, as his touchstone, his ballast, his inspiration. We as readers begin to know how

important courage is in our world today, as well follow not only the Buddha’s footsteps, but we also follow Maarten’s.

I am very grateful for Maarten’s courage in making this journey. I know this part of the world well. To do this with the power of his heart and power of his legs is admirable. But the greatest feat is how he opened to every moment of the way. He turned away from nothing; he embraced everything. I am grateful for the chance to learn from him, as the landscape of the Buddha’s life is expressed through this great endeavor, vividly shared in this marvelous book.

Finally, some words from Maarten Olthof: “What does is the realization that in this place a man has come to understand how reality unfolds and how suffering can be reduced. It is knowing people have been coming here for 2500 years to strengthen themselves with the insights acquired here. It is the devotion of people from so many countries that is fully present here. And on the wave of their bows, I bow with them. I bow to the insight – that also lies within me, I bow to the life I am connected with in countless ways. I bow to the past of myself and of all that lives, that the present has brought forth, I bow to the present and to the future. I bow to the Buddha-nature, that is present in each of us. It is the Buddha in me that bows to the Buddha. Briefly, giving and receiving are in equilibrium and everything falls away from my mind. What remains is best described as ‘gratitude’. Yes, gratitude, I am grateful that this journey of the heart can be share through this marvelous book. Each time I have read the book, I have found the landscape a little different. So it is with a book like this, a kind of magic that restores human dignity and the promise of liberation. I feel ever grateful to this book’s brave and gifted author. Roshi Joan Halifax Upaya Zen Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico