1
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I have interest in mainly Eastern religions.

2
00:00:06,238 --> 00:00:10,944
Now I'm planning traveling as an ascetic, going on pilgrimage to holy places.

3
00:00:11,004 --> 00:00:12,566
Wonder what your opinion is about this?

4
00:00:20,295 --> 00:00:26,983
Well, I don't have much interest in asceticism myself.

5
00:00:29,393 --> 00:00:35,839
And traveling is often a hindrance to meditation practice.

6
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,454
Not to put a damper on your plans.

7
00:00:42,151 --> 00:00:54,133
I guess the real problem I see with that is the buffet style or the reinvent the wheel aspect of it.

8
00:00:55,355 --> 00:01:02,448
That sort of thing is the Buddha, the path of a Buddha.

9
00:01:03,469 --> 00:01:06,555
If your intention is to come to know everything,

10
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then it's a good path.

11
00:01:10,186 --> 00:01:16,634
If your intention is to become, to let go of everything, then it's probably a bad path.

12
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Or it's not a bad path, it's the long way.

13
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Because if you're just looking to let go, then your best bet is to follow the teaching of those who have let go.

14
00:01:29,530 --> 00:01:35,698
I suppose the difficult thing is for you to accept that

15
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This teaching or that teaching is the teaching of letting go.

16
00:01:39,264 --> 00:01:55,013
And I talked about this before, that if you're not sure which is the path, then picking and choosing or going and exploring many different religions is a good idea.

17
00:01:55,053 --> 00:01:57,838
But...

18
00:01:59,590 --> 00:02:07,500
If you're asking me, all I can say is, well, this is the path, and if you want to find peace and happiness, you have to follow this way, which of course everyone says.

19
00:02:08,421 --> 00:02:21,278
But regardless of whether you're going to go to many different holy places and so on, or many different religions,

20
00:02:23,367 --> 00:02:29,395
The point there is that you're not really practicing.

21
00:02:30,136 --> 00:02:34,362
A pilgrimage is for someone who is dedicated to a certain practice.

22
00:02:34,382 --> 00:02:44,616
If you're a Buddhist and your intention is to visit the Buddhist holy sites, I say, very good idea, wonderful thing.

23
00:02:45,397 --> 00:02:51,045
I've done it twice and now that I'm in Sri Lanka, I think it's probably a good chance to go a third time.

24
00:02:51,025 --> 00:02:55,794
But it should be for someone who is set on that practice.

25
00:02:56,355 --> 00:03:02,407
Otherwise, it's not likely to greatly benefit.

26
00:03:03,028 --> 00:03:04,631
Or it's just the slow way.

27
00:03:05,273 --> 00:03:09,841
It's not a substitute for actually practicing a path.

28
00:03:09,861 --> 00:03:12,747
It's not a substitute for actually practicing people's...

29
00:03:14,988 --> 00:03:17,934
and people's teachings, or the teachings of a certain religion.

30
00:03:19,417 --> 00:03:33,165
So, I guess, the final answer is your life, and it doesn't sound like an evil thing to do by any means, but not...

31
00:03:33,145 --> 00:03:35,688
Not what I'd recommend for my students.

32
00:03:35,768 --> 00:03:40,615
I would recommend them to cultivate their own minds.

33
00:03:41,776 --> 00:04:02,764
And once they get settled in that, then to consider augmenting their practice by things like pilgrimages and even teaching other people and so on, things that help you to develop your own practice in a more holistic or comprehensive way, which pilgrimage can do.