"Kang Rinpoche": The more vicissitudes of the process, the brighter the eyes

I didn’t watch "Kang Rinpoche", because I was afraid that after watching it, I would stir up that turbulent heart again. A few days ago, I saw in my circle of friends that a young couple who graduated from Wuhan University resigned after working for six years and started traveling around the world with their young daughter. I was so envious that I wanted to resign immediately and pursue my dream as a horse, but I still gave up. Working from eight to six, how could I have the courage to leave just now? If your body can't be on the road, let your mind wander.

This is a movie about a Tibetan pilgrimage. Although I have never been to Kailash, luckily I went to Tibet before graduation. Two years later, I feel a little confused when I think of those pilgrims walking around mountains, rivers and pagodas, kneeling every three steps and falling to the ground. I feel awe, curiosity, and confusion about people who bow their heads long before making a pilgrimage. I feel that pilgrimage is a matter of faith for men and women. I just learned some time ago that more than 500,000 people make the pilgrimage to Graceland, Elvis Presley’s former home, every year. I carefully examined the complicated feelings in my heart about pilgrimage. It’s not that I don’t understand the act of pilgrimage, I just have reservations about the methods and rituals such as prostrating myself during pilgrimage. Today, no one will make irresponsible remarks about travel. In fact, pilgrimage is a difficult version of travel and the most primitive existence of travel.

The word travel comes from travail (hardship), which means to endure hardship and trek. A pilgrim's journey often means facing challenges at an important stage in one's life and gaining spiritual insight through an ascetic journey. Pilgrimage has a sacred end and a difficult but potentially life-changing journey. In the 16th century, Matsuo Basho made several pilgrimages to Japan, carrying only his pen, ink, paper, inkstone, and coat. When explaining the purpose of his trip, he wrote: "Traveling thousands of miles, I don't want to be completely prepared, don't care about my pre-planning, I just want to achieve a state of selflessness under the pure moonlight." Pilgrims walk towards their destination, and the regular rhythm of their footsteps can easily bring people into a state of meditative tranquility, allowing people to gain a certain balance and tranquility and no longer be a prisoner of worries and anxieties. At the same time, hiking is more conducive to appreciating the beauty and sadness of the scenery.

We are all wanderers in essence. We wander in the womb of our mother, and we wander in the wilderness of time and space. Only on the journey of wandering can we feel the completeness of life. Human beings have been practicing the same traveler lifestyle for millions of years before. Both hunting and gathering groups followed the migration routes of bison or moved their camps with the seasons. Gradually settled only with the rise of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, the desire to settle down and the act of having a permanent home and filling it with personal belongings was a novelty in history. You have a house and a home, but the restlessness in your heart has not completely left. Your feet will still be ready to move. According to Hindu tradition, when a man reaches the age of 40, once he has completed his family responsibilities, he can leave home forever and become a wandering ascetic.

Tourism in Europe appeared in the 17th century. When aristocrats, especially British aristocrats, began to travel across the European continent, this activity was called a grand tour. They embark on a cultural journey that lasts several years as they pursue the relics of the Renaissance. They see travel only as an art into the past rather than a journey into the human present.

Tourism experienced a rapid expansion in the 19th century with a growing middle class and the latest railway network. In 1839, German publisher Carl Baedeker began publishing a series of best-selling and graphic travel guides to help people travel completely independently. The tour focused on those works of art and architectural masterpieces considered by Europe's upper classes to be the appropriate embodiments of cultural education. Despite Karl Baedeker's desire to foster independence in our travels, tourists are still herded around like a flock of ducks by travel guides. On July 5, 1841, more than 500 people (poor working people) boarded a train rented by Thomas Cook and completed the 22-mile journey. This was not a simple journey, accompanied by a brass band and organized Picnics, group dances, cricket matches and other activities. Thomas Cook thus became the inventor of package tours and established his position as a pioneer in modern tourism. Cook's ideals are quite grand. He believes that "travel can dispel the fog of legends, eliminate prejudices instilled in children from infancy, and promote human understanding of each other and reach consensus on perfection" and "travel can create world harmony." Cook's vision never materialized.

The transportation that extends in all directions has broadened our travel boundaries. We are fully armed, we arrive early and late, we go sightseeing, we follow the flow of people, we are busy taking photos, and we rush from one scenic spot to another. Another attraction. The ancient Roman scholar Horace once wrote this poem: "Those who rush across the sea change their climate, not their souls."

Today, travel is just an escape In the current way, we long for a vacation where we can leave temporarily so that we can get temporary relaxation and pleasure from the tedious work and monotonous life. We want to relax, close ourselves off for a while, and not be trapped in the routine of commuting to get off work or cooking for our kids every day. Travel is a form of regulation of survival mechanisms, and the meaning of travel is escape.

Escape is shameful but useful, we need our own gap years. When we feel that we must go out, even if we don’t know the exact goal, we have to tell ourselves: it doesn’t matter where we go, what matters is where we go.

We have no other time except this life, so we can go as far as we can, because children who have seen the world are stronger. We have to allow ourselves to get lost. That is the best way to find ourselves. Just follow the old map to find the new world. We need to get out of our comfort zone, stop rushing, feel the road, and tell ourselves: the more vicissitudes of the process, the brighter our eyes will be. We must keep an open mind and embrace the different ways of life and thinking that we may encounter. The innocence in our eyes may be other people's dreams of running wildly. When we return from a trip, we are no longer excited just because of the fresh mountain air or the beautiful scenery of the desert, but because we have discovered a novel perspective on the world.

Coming to your city and walking on the road you have walked, this is my pilgrimage.

The more vicissitudes of the process, the brighter the eyes.