I N THE FOOTSTEPS OF PILGRIMS HISTORIC TRAVELS OF FAITH. Z. Smith Reynolds FOUNDATION. Center for Diversity Education Asheville, NC.

Transcription

1 I N THE FOOTSTEPS OF PILGRIMS HISTORIC TRAVELS OF FAITH Until modern times, travel was only undertaken for commerce, war, or as a religious pilgrimage a journey of the soul. Even the great explorers journeyed to search for valuable commodities to sell such as gold, spices, or sources for human labor. Rarely known was the idea that one would travel as a form of pure recreation, as in a vacation. Leaving one s home leaves many overlapping impressions on commerce, culture, and politics. The wars of the Christian Crusaders are just such an example. Was their intention to liberate the Christian holy lands, to gain a foothold in the commercial crossroads, to gain access to scientific knowledge, or to exert political dominance? Whatever the intent, the consequences reflect each of these. The challenges of modern conflict carry the same complexities. This exhibit will examine relationships from the standpoint of pilgrims whether Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, or Muslim and the travels undertaken centuries ago and still today. In so doing, the exhibit will also look at spirituality an intensely personal matter. Nonetheless, we all tend to share some common responses to certain experiences and situations that affect us at a gut level. What moves one, may not affect others; yet we all share a need to be moved. Or, as in the case of pilgrimage, a need exists to move oneself. Some seek these experiences far from home. Others caution that the obligations of home should move us first. Local businessman Ahmet Ihmen states, In the Muslim Hajj, you may not travel until the needs of your neighbors are supplied. And in the world of the Global Village, aren t we all neighbors? Across our differing religious lines, denominations, sects, and spins on orthodoxy, we share a need to walk across some holy land. It might be the woods of Western North Carolina or the islands of western Japan. Our journeys forever alter commerce, culture, politics, and faith. But as local restaurateur, Farouk Bader, points out, The greatest pilgrimage of all is that of the human spirit that we all walk together. May this journey teach us understanding in that which drives us apart and that which binds us. Underwritten by Presented by Z. Smith Reynolds FOUNDATION and the Beattie Foundation Center for Diversity Education Asheville, NC

2 Christianity Dr. Tom Sanders, pictured far left, began walking the El Camino de Santiago alone, be he didn't stay by himself for long. To do the Camino is sort of like a rite of passage in Spain. You ve always got folks in front of and behind you. Dr. Sanders fell in with a mixed group of pilgrims comprised of Spanish, Dutch, and French people. Although they walked at different paces, each evening they met up at a hostel, where they enjoyed each other s company. He cites the fellowship of other pilgrims as one of the aspects of the journey that most impressed him, yet he commented, I like being alone. That s part of the purpose. The walking can be exhausting. Although pilgrims don t carry much a sleeping bag and a few clothes days tend to stretch out. A fifteen-mile day isn t unusual. Fortunately, most of the hostels have many amenities, including washing machines. The path is generally well-marked yellow arrows in Spain, red and white horizontal stripes in France but pilgrims do occasionally take wrong turns. There are lots of other walking trails, Sanders pointed out. Along the way, Sanders enjoyed the charm of the country and the historic Catholic culture. At each hostel, pilgrims can have a booklet stamped, marking a record of their journey. David DeFerie from an Italian family, moved to Asheville after having grown up in New Jersey in a majority Catholic culture. In the Catholic tradition, a holy year is called for every 25 years. The last one was in 2000 the Jubilee Year. Catholics from all over the world traveled to the Vatican City on Pilgrimage. That year David and his wife Suzanne were in Rome for their marriage at the Cathedral of Suzanne, the home church for Americans. Although David and Suzanne were on a honeymoon rather than a pilgrimage, they witnessed many pilgrims in prayer. The view from their hotel room included St. Peter s Basilica. While with an audience to see the Pope in St. Peter's Square, David looked out at the more than 10,000 people in attendance. It was amazing to look out at this sea of people and see so many different countries, races, and heritages all there as one people. Pilgrims and tourists had come from all over the world. Christians from around the world who make a pilgrimage to Rome stop, at least, at four of the major pilgrim churches the Basilica of St. Peter, St. John the Lateran (the home church of the Bishop of Rome), St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Wall. Each of these churches plays a major role in the history of Catholicism and sit alongside roads that trace the development of commerce and trade. I took this one picture of Suzanne [center in bridal gown] with a group of Pilgrims from Germany. We also saw other pilgrims from Africa who were walking on their knees towards the pilgrims sites. Many of the Pilgrims also brought (the Pope) gifts beautiful oil paintings and other magnificent items.

3 Judaism Pictured on the right is a view of the Old City of Jerusalem with the courtyard of the Kotel in the foreground. There are several places that stand out in my memory. Definitely the Kotel, the wall still standing from King Solomon. This is the direction that all Jews face in prayer. We all went there and left our prayers, both spoken and in the traditional way of writing on slips of paper, and placed them into the crevices. - Alison Gilreath Alison Gilreath, bottom row fourth from left with hat, is the Director of the Jewish Council on Aging at the Jewish Community Center in Asheville. In April 2001, she traveled with twenty members of her congregation, Beth HaTephila, to Israel and shared these memories. Near the Kotel is an excavation the Israelis have done in the last few years that uncovered the steps that the pilgrims would have walked up during the days when the Temple stood (before it was destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago). It is the site where the Dome of the Rock now stands. We sat on those steps and Rabbi Ratner led us in the song Shir ha Mahalot (Song of Praise to the Above). We sing it all the time in Temple, but I did not know it was the song of the pilgrims when they would come with the offerings at Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. It was a very connecting experience to have returned to continue that melody. - Alison Gilreath The holiday of Sukkot brings the pilgrims to the Kotel with their Lulavs and Etrogs, biblical fruit and branches, to sing the songs of the harvest festival. The word pilgrim in Hebrew translates to go up with food, describing the pilgrims offerings when the Temple stood. In Jerusalem, there is a law that requires everything to be built out of the same kind of stone. They call it Jerusalem stone. This stone seems different in every kind of light. Some folks describe it as having nerves as if it could feel things. They also say it has the ability to emanate light from within. For me, the stone itself seems sacred. Dr. Rick Chess, standing with his family, traveled to Israel twice once for a three year period from where he lived in Safed for a year and in Jerusalem for two years and again with his family for a two month sabbatical from UNCA in Jerusalem stone is the only stone that can feel pain. It has a network of nerves. From time to time Jerusalem crowds into mass protests like the tower of Babel. But with huge clubs God-the-Police beats her down: houses are razed, walls flattened, and afterward the city disperses, muttering prayers of complaint and sporadic screams from churches and synagogues and loud-moaning mosques. Each to his own place. - Yehuda Amichai, from Jerusalem, 1967 There is a picture of Gabe, age four, standing in front of the Kotel. You can see the scraps of paper stuck in the cracks between the stones of the wall. Prayers are written on those scraps. Gabe saw the people go up to the stones and kiss them as they prayed. Just as we were getting ready to leave Jerusalem to return to America, we were in the German colony (a neighborhood) where he saw a wall also made from Jerusalem stone, and Gabe walked right up to it and kissed it! Jerusalem stone: kissing it is like kissing the face of your child, or parent, or partner. - Rick Chess Dr. Chess s family is pictured on the left with the walled city in the background. Jerusalem is such a chaotic, crowded modern city. There is a new city of Jerusalem, and the walled Old City. Coming from West Jerusalem, you descend to the Jaffa Gate and the Citadel of David and this ancient walled city. You see it and it feels like a magnet it pulls you toward it.

4 Hinduism The ceremony central to a pilgrimage to Varanasi is a bath in the Ganges. Along the banks of this ancient river are 51 ghats (piers). These ghats are steps leading to the waters edge. Each ghat is named for central figure in the Hindu faith. Mr. Patel explained how he performed the pilgrim s central act of bathing in the Ganges, I went into the water of the Ganges, fully clothed, facing the sun. Three times I dipped my cupped hands into the water and held them up to the sun and then poured the water over my head. I also chanted the mantra Om Namah Shivay. Om is the fundamental sound of the Universe. Namah is bow or I pray and Shivay (or Brahman or Vishnu) is the name for the central force in the Universe. Shashikant (literally Moonface in Sanskrit) Patel grew up in the western part of India called Surat, Gujarat. He came to Asheville in the early 1980 s to begin a hotel business. In 1997, he made a pilgrimage to Varanasi, India to the Ashram of his guru (the dwelling of his spiritual leader) a farmhouse on the rural fringe of the city. As is traditional, the stay at the Ashram includes a place to sleep and simple food for no charge, and one can stay as long as one likes. Varanasi is also known as Benares, the City of Light or Kashi, the Hindu holy place of worship. At night, pilgrims will come to the edge of the Ganges and purchase a small cup of leaves from a special tree and then fill it with ghee (clarified butter). They will take the cup to the Ganges and light it in memory of a loved one who has died. "The spirit of that person s soul is present in the flame," Mr. Patel explained. He also described that the bamboo in the picture is the limit to which those that are doing the sacramental bathing in the Ganges may walk before they have gone too deep. Its placement is a safety precaution. Many years ago, when one reached the age of 51, the job of raising a family and working was finished. Mr. Patel explained, They would repeat a mantra and walk to the Varanasi with only God on their minds. It was time for them to leave behind the material world of acquisition and obligation and concentrate on the connection of their soul to the world of the spirit. Traditionally, this was accomplished by going to Varanasi. Varanasi is home to one of the twelve Jyotirlingam, or Holy Places of worship, that according to Hindu tradition are not made by humans but rather spring fully complete from the earth. The pilgrims would leave their homes and all belongings and begin the walk to Kashi. If they were fortunate they would reach Kashi and be able to say a prayer in the Ganges, the river that flows from heaven. If they were most fortunate they would die there. Central to their actions was the belief that the body is just like clothing for the soul; while the body deteriorates the soul never dies but is reborn many times in the life cycle of birth and death called reincarnation.

5 Buddhism and Shinto Dr. Peter Gentling is a graduate of Carlton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He has stayed in touch with the alumni association which offers out of the ordinary trips for graduates. His wife, Jasmin, and he (third and fourth from left) went on a pilgrimage to the island of Shikoku, Japan in the early 1990 s. Seven people from the US and five from Japan participated in this 14- day walking pilgrimage. Sometimes the road would be through a forest. Other times it was along side a busy highway. There were shrines all along the route. These shrines might be from the Buddhist tradition or the Shinto you could tell by the entrance and how it was fashioned. At the larger shrines, there would be a priest overseeing everything. There is a particular prayer that is said at each place the same one. Basically, it translates as here I am before you. First you clap your hands and then say the sutra in a staccato rhythm. As you leave, your book is stamped and signed to verify that you have been there. Some shrines and temples have a particular purpose. One shrine we went to had thousands of tiny Buddhas clad with bibs. That was the shrine for babies that women had lost in childbirth or miscarriage. It was very powerful to see all these Buddhas wrapped in little bibs. It was interesting. Sometimes I [Jasmin] felt like the folks from Japan saw it as more of a trip than a pilgrimage. I thought they didn t have the same spiritual intent as others did. We were the only group walking the trail. Lots of pilgrims would travel around the Island by bus. When they arrived at a temple they would say their sutra and then get back the bus and head to the next shrine. But after a few days on a walking trail you do get to know folks even if you can t speak the same language, and I realized they were truly on a spiritual pilgrimage as we were. I remember coming down the mountain just as we were ending the pilgrimage. The Japanese began a tune that we all soon picked up. We came through the forest path with nothing but this melody hanging in the misty air. I still get chill bumps thinking about it.

6 Islam The Steps of the Hajj Ihram (purification): Before entering Mecca (or Makkah), men don a garment of two seamless pieces of white cloth called ihram, which they wear for the duration of Hajj. Women wear modest and unobtrusive dress of any color, and cover their heads. This special clothing is a symbol of devotionand purity for the journey. Tawaf at the Holy Mosque: Pilgrims walk seven times counterclockwise around the Ka bah, the cubical structure at the center of the Holy Mosque in Mecca. Afterward, along the eastern side of the Holy Mosque, pilgrims perform sa'y, running seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This ritual commemorates a passage in the Koran about the plight of Abraham's wife, Hajar, as she desperately searched the area for water. The spring that appeared for Hajar still flows today and is called ZamZam. Encampment at Mina: Pilgrims gather in the flat valley of Mina, about five kilometers (3 miles) east of Mecca, meditating and praying in preparation for the next day. Wuquf (standing) at Arafat: From noon prayers until sundown, pilgrims stand or sit - some for minutes, some for hours - and before God reflect on their lives and pray for mercy and renewal. Muzdalifa: After sundown at Arafat, pilgrims turn back toward Mecca and stop for the night at Muzdalifah. There, most pick up 49 stones that they will throw at the three pillars of Jamarat over the next three days. Stoning at Jamarat and Id al-adha: Pilgrims they throw seven pebbles at the first of three pillars which have come to represent Satan. This symbolic repudiation of evil commemorates Abraham s three rejections of Satan when God asked him to sacrifice his son. Afterward, pilgrims further commemorate Abraham s faith by sacrificing a sheep, as God commanded Abraham to do. Thus this day is the first of the three-day Id al-adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice", when meat is distrubuted to those in need. Id al-adha and tawaf al-ifadhah: Pilgrims return to the Holy Mosque in Mecca at any time during these days, again circle the Ka bah seven times and perform sa y again. Text courtesy of Saudi Aramco World, May/June 2002 Asheville resident Zacharia Abuasba grew up in Saudi Arabia. He made Hajj with his family in the early 1970 s when he was ten years old. Since then he has twice returned for umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, most recently in His visits to Mecca frame the period of that city s greatest changes. Imagine squeezing three million people into Pack Square from all walks of life, different countries, different languages, different colors. That s Hajj. And yet they are all Muslims, identical as they will be on the Day of Judgment. In the 1970 s his family drove their station wagon from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Mecca, putting on their ihram in a small metal building. There weren t many hotels then in which pilgrims might stay, so the Abuasba family camped instead. He remembers the experience vividly: On the second or third day we were visiting some family. I wandered off and got lost. I remember walking and seeing one house in streets of emptiness. When I returned in 1992 I went back there. I took a cab because I was worried about getting lost this time because of all the growth. Huge buildings had been built around Mecca. Tunnels were dug to move people. Compared to my first hajj, it now seems like a tourist vacation not to belittle the experience. But it s different now.

7 Other Holy Sites in Israel Israel is a nation with numerous holy sites for Christians, Baha'is, Jews, and Muslims visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year. The business of welcoming visitors is Haifa, a Mediterranean port city in northern Israel, is the world center for the Bahai faith with its beautiful gardens and domed Temple (pictured here). Established in the mid 1800's, the Baha'i faith is practiced around the world and teaches the importance of unity and peace in a global society. And then they brought him to the place of Golgotha, which is translated, the place of the skull. Mark 15:22 For thousands of years, Christians have identified the site of the crucifixion of Jesus with the Church of the Holy Sepluchre (pictured here) within the ancient, walled city of Jerusalem, the City of Peace. a central element in the economy of this region that is sorely tested during times of strife. So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Anipatris. When he had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him giving orders for him to be kept in Herod s praetorium. Acts 23:35 Caesarea (Ceasar s City), was designed as a model Roman city on the shores of the Mediterranean, complete with aqueducts, sewers, and an amphitheater larger than the Coliseum in Rome (pictured here). In Christian scriptures, it was here that the Apostle Paul was imprisoned for two months before being taken by ship to Italy. Glory to Allah who did take his servant for a journey by night from the sacred mosque to the farthest mosque. Surah 17:1 In the Islamic tradition, the farthest mosque referred to in the Night Journey of Mohammed was the site where the Dome of the Rock now stands. It is also believed to be where Mohammed ascended to heaven and is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. In addition to Jerusalem and the Kotel, Jews on pilgrimage to Israel visit other sites that have religious significance including Safed, the northern village associated with the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. Pilgrims will also make their way to Masada (pictured here), the fortress on a hilltop by the Dead Sea. It is believed to have been the last stand for a group of Jews, who were surrounded by the Romans in 66 CE. The Holy Land, as Israel is often referred to by Christians, holds many sites of importance to pilgrims. Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:18 The Sea of Galilee, pictured here, continues to be a major body of water in Israel. It is fed by the Jordan River and is a much visited site for pilgrims to the Holy Land. According to Christian tradition, it was during a storm on the Sea of Galilee that Jesus calmed the waves and walked on water. In more recent times, the rights to water are a central political discussion for the peoples of the region.