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Talk given by Diana Cousens to Interfaith Seminar held at Shiva Ashram, Mt Eliza, Melbourne, on Saturday, 26 October, 2002.

There is a story in the life of the Buddha that takes place near to the time of his death. Ananda, his attendant, asks him what would happen to those monks who used to come and see him and who will no longer be able to once he has died. The Buddha recommends that a pilgrimage should take place to four special places which should 'arouse emotion in the faithful'. The term 'arouse emotion' is also translated as 'feelings of reverence' or even 'a sense of urgency'. The four special places are the place where he was born, where he attained enlightenment, where he first taught and the place of his death. Ever since then these places have been major centres of Buddhist pilgrimage, particularly Bodhgaya, the place of enlightenment.

Buddhism in the West is often represented as an atheist moral philosophy that emphasises quiet meditation. However, in the text that records this event, the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, there is an acknowledgement of the importance of faith and emotion. Pilgrimage is not espoused because of its rational utility, but as a way of 'seeing the Buddha' after his death. So pilgrimage is a way of reflecting on the story of enlightenment, and of an enlightened person's life.

Of course pilgrimage became something more than that. Pilgrimage centres had and still have social and economic roles. They are meeting points where the faithful gather, where teachings may be given, and where, at least in the Buddhist system, it is meritorious to erect temples, stupas, statues and monasteries. Alongside that comes the need for dharmashalas ­ pilgrims' rest houses ­ cafes and small shops selling souvenirs.

From a Buddhist perspective, much merit or good karma can be accrued through pilgrimage. Interestingly, because a place is sacred through its consecration by association with an enlightened person, it then attracts more sacred places in the form of temples etc. These then add to the sacredness of the place and become attractions in themselves. So sacred space can be bestowed through the presence of an enlightened person, but it can also be created through the construction of what are considered ritually sacred sites, such as temples and monasteries.

A sacred space can also be very small. Most Tibetan and Buddhist homes have household shrines. These are a shelf or a bench top which hosts some pictures and statues and usually water bowl offerings and incense. Pictures of the Dalai Lama are very popular. I run a Buddhist meditation centre but we do not have any fixed premises because we are a small group. So I and my members routinely go into quite bland community centres and similar spaces and erect a shrine. Instantly, a sacred space is established. The other night I attended a performance by a Tibetan folk singer. Before the folk singer began the Gyuto monks chanted for five minutes ­ so as to consecrate the space. Sacredness, at least in Buddhism, seems to be very accessible.

But let's go back to the idea of pilgrimage, and going to a place with a strong association with an enlightened person as a way of developing faith. Within all streams of Buddhism there is an incredible variety of saints and enlightened beings. I can't guarantee that they were all enlightened, but that is how they are viewed. In addition to that, there is a strong sense of there being non-human beings with a real presence in different places. These include spirits in mountains, trees and rivers. There are also angelic beings called Bodhisattvas who are compassionately concerned with ordinary beings.

The Mahaparinibbana Sutta talks about earth gods and sky gods who have come to bid the Buddha farewell. The Buddha describes them as being present at his passing and weeping and tearing their hair because he is about to die. So the way that an ordinary space is viewed in Buddhism may be quite different to a conventional Western view. Any space may have this other dimension of invisible beings who are present. There are some kinds of invisible beings that are considered mundane, such as these earth and sky gods, but there are others, such as the Bodhisattvas, whose presence sanctifies the atmosphere.

Sacredness arises through enlightened presence, or through the appropriate arrangement of holy objects that represent enlightened presence. Sacredness is also created through ritual, through propitiation and invocation. Sacredness occurs when there is what we call in Tibetan, blessing, or byin brlabs. A more accurate translation than blessing would be, however, transforming power or supernatural means. There is a sense that the blessing has a powerful effect on the recipient. Pilgrimage to sacred places confers the blessing power of the place on the pilgrim. In Tibet, there are literally thousands of sacred places. These include monasteries, mountain tops, caves, temples, shrines and reliquary monuments called stupas.

In each sacred place there are stories attached of miraculous events that took place there, or of some interesting incident. In some places impressions on the rock are said to be hand or foot prints where a yogi has demonstrated his power over nature by pressing his hand into the rock. Pilgrims visit the sacred places of the saints and yogis whom they find the most inspirational. In that way they can see where he or she slept and ate. They can look out at the view over the mountain top from the position where the yogi used to meditate. The pilgrim can light incense or a candle at the cave door, or circumambulate the stupa that contains the saint's ashes. Pilgrimage provides an opportunity to reflect on the events and stories of the life of a holy person and possibly experience dreams of the same saint.

There are many ways of explaining pilgrimage activity and one of them is called, 'making a connection'. This means to establish a karmic link with that saint so that a sense of closeness is developed. For some mystics, the experience of pilgrimage gives rise to visions and dreams which are treated as real and authentic encounters with the great masters of the past. One of the great saints of nineteenth century Tibet was Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. He spent many years on pilgrimage throughout Tibet and recorded his experiences in an autobiography. One of his aims was to capture all the different teachings and practices that were in danger of dying out.

In Tibetan Buddhism, visionary experience can be a genuine way of receiving teachings. These are then written down and in some schools become canonical text and practice. For Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, the particular places that he visited became a catalyst for corresponding experiences. In one place he saw a statue of the famous yogini, Machig Labdron. The statue moved its body and there was an earthquake. 'At the time he received a shower of blessings and a burst of instructions came forth from his mind, at which point he spontaneously wrote songs'.

Another famous sacred place in Tibet is Lhamo Lhatso, the special lake where the person who is given the job of finding the new Dalai Lama goes to look for a vision of him. The lake is located ninety miles southeast of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. It is less than a mile in circumference and is the most important lake for obtaining prophetic visions. I will now quote from, 'In Exile from the Land of the Snows'. 'After spending some days in prayer þ [at a nearby monastery] the Regent's party rode their ponies to the base of the rocky slope overlooking the lake. Proceeding upward on foot, they reached the top of a sheer ridge, whereupon they dispersed in different directions, each to seek his own vision. Alone among the group, Reting Rinpoche witnessed a remarkable sight. On staring at the clear alpine waters, he discerned three letters from the Tibetan alphabet float into view: Ah, Ka and Ma. The image of a great three storied monastery, capped by gold and jade rooftops followed. A white road led east from the monastery to a house before a small hill, its roof strikingly fringed in turquoise-colored tiles, a brown and white spotted dog in the courtyard.'

The search party then travelled to the north east of the country and found the monastery and house as witnessed in the lake. They then found the next Dalai Lama. So within a sacred landscape there are special faculties and powers that individual sites have, and these can be utilised when approached with reverence by the appropriate person. Implicit in this sort of experience is a pre-understanding that prophecy is possible and that the natural environment can provide signs. It is somehow co-operating in our human projects. The sacred places of Buddhism are not confined to India and Tibet. As the Dalai Lama is considered to be an enlightened person and a Bodhisattva, all the places where he has taught could now be treated as holy places. Therefore, from a Buddhist perspective, it would be completely acceptable to do circumambulations of the Tennis Centre near the city and Kardinia Football Park in Geelong!

In conclusion, pilgrimage creates an opportunity to reflect on the life of an enlightened being. One of the most difficult things in religious life, in my view, is to maintain inspiration. It is very easy to feel a bit tired and overwhelmed and preoccupied with mundane life. A visit to a sacred space such as one of the four sites connected with the Buddha, or a beautiful temple, or even the construction of an elegant shrine with statues, flowers, candles and bowls of water, helps to provide inspiration. The idea of sacred landscape connects to a sense of the immanence of invisible powerful beings and forces. Visiting sacred places allows the possibility of being in tune with these beings and forces who may give mystical guidance and prophecy.