Buddhist spiritual treks?

[pinknic38]

I was reading April's National Geographic Adventure mag last night and they did this piece onf travel/adventure for the 7 stages in life which was pretty cool, but oneof the 7 stages was like, spiritual or whatever and they offered this like 11 day trek through Tibet to Buddhist temples.

I liked the concept and it's somethign I'm definately interested in, exploring Buddhist temples/spiritual traveling. Do you all know of any similar programs that focus lesson the hiking part (I am not interested in hiking 70 miles... I am active but there's a line you must draw somewhere lol) and more on the spiritual part? Just wondering...

Nicole

[Dig]

Well it isn't in Tibet, but in Colorado there are buddhist monasteries hidden away in the mountains. It would be different in many ways, but the spiritual part would probably be exactly the same. And you would already be in Colorado... plenty of hiking on your own.

Just a thought!:D

[freespiritz]

I know in China you could just show up at a monastery and they'd provide cheap food and lodging if you wanted to just chill, check things out and meditate. I'm not sure what they offer in terms of instruction, but if you just want to do your own personal exploration in that kind of environment it's not difficult to find a place to stay for a little while.

[Elixir]

I think that part of the spiritual journey would be the physical exhaustion, but that's just me. My favorite stories are of the old monks crawling across China on their bellys, things like that.

I would love to travel to China or somewhere and hang out in temples. For a while I was considering going to China to live and study in one of their temples, they have a trip where you pay, I believe, $1500-2500 dollars and you stay for so many months, learning Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and meditation. They also teach you about herbology, religion, and anything else you may be interested in.

[Majestic58]

Originally Posted by pinknic38

I was reading April's National Geographic Adventure mag last night and they did this piece onf travel/adventure for the 7 stages in life which was pretty cool, but oneof the 7 stages was like, spiritual or whatever and they offered this like 11 day trek through Tibet to Buddhist temples.
Nicole

I am SUPER interested in this, did they give a website or anything where I can get more information?

[pinknic38]

I will grab the mag when I grab dinner in a few hours and bring it back here and let you know! I know you have to pay, and it's like 11 days. They did give a website but I'll get it to ya in a bit!

[patchouli Lover]

Originally Posted by Elixir

I think that part of the spiritual journey would be the physical exhaustion,

i'm with you on that. I'm reading the book The Way of the Wanderer and David Yeadon talks about his spiritual travels. His book is all about self discovery thru travel. In one chapter he goes to Tasmania and hikes a deserted trail for a week. The book first opens up with him spending four days by himself on a deserted island. Great book if you are looking to combine spirituality with travel.

Originally Posted by pinknic38

I will grab the mag when I grab dinner in a few hours and bring it back here and let you know! I know you have to pay, and it's like 11 days. They did give a website but I'll get it to ya in a bit!

yeah I'd like the website too that would kick ass.

I once read a short story by Jennie Peabody called "Wagamama." It is from the book A Woman Alone. The story is about the author's experience in Japan on the island of Shikoku. There are 88 buddhist temples honoring holyman/scholar Kobo Daishi. You hike during the day then at night stay in the temples. This trek is definitely on my to-do list!

[Majestic58]

Originally Posted by pinknic38

I will grab the mag when I grab dinner in a few hours and bring it back here and let you know! I know you have to pay, and it's like 11 days. They did give a website but I'll get it to ya in a bit!

Yay! Thanks.:D

Originally Posted by patchouli Lover

I once read a short story by Jennie Peabody called "Wagamama." It is from the book A Woman Alone. The story is about the author's experience in Japan on the island of Shikoku. There are 88 buddhist temples honoring holyman/scholar Kobo Daishi. You hike during the day then at night stay in the temples. This trek is definitely on my to-do list!

That sounds fantastic too!

[longshot]

A big part of the trip I'm going on is going to be visiting Buddhist spiritual sites.
I'm going to be visiting China, India, and Thailand, so there will be plenty to visit.

A lot depends on the form of Buddhism you are interested in. Vajrayana I would want to hit Tibet and Dharmasala, Zen/Chan Japan/China, and Theravada Thailand. The sites in India apply to all forms of Buddhism e.g. Bodh Gaya(the site of the Buddha's enlightment).

There's a company that does tours through China(and it's lead by a Zen Teacher) http://www.southmountaintours.com/pa..._gen_intro.htm

Hope that helps

[marc873]

Sweet, thanks for the link. My wife is all over this one.

[pinknic38]

Okay here's the website:

www.tashidelektravel.com

It's 15 days, in Nepal, and $4785 including routdtrip airfare, meals, yada yada yada.

It sounds amazing!

[Majestic58]

Originally Posted by pinknic38

Okay here's the website:

www.tashidelektravel.com

It's 15 days, in Nepal, and $4785 including routdtrip airfare, meals, yada yada yada.

It sounds amazing!

Wow, that actually doesn't sound bad at all price wise!

[buzzingtalk]

ahh id love to do soemthing like that but i dont have the money and my asthma would cause chaos with that altitude.

[voyd]

What would make it cooler is if you started some practice on your own so when you do go to such places, you won't be a noob and can appreciate them a lot more.

You may also eventually find that the real temples are living masters...