1. The Role of Pilgrimage in World Religions: Medieval Buddhism,Christianity, & Islam

2. What is pilgrimage?
A journey out of one’s everyday life to a sacred site and return home, during which time a transformation has taken place.
“one of the great common experiences of mankind”
“a natural activity”
The impulse to travel to holy sites appears to be a nearly universal component of human spirituality

3. A Journey. . . A physical journey through space and time. . .
across significant frontiers or localized routes
where exertion and sacrifice bring merit/grace
Quotation One: (Coleman 6)
Quotation Two: (Wiesner)
(3)Quotation Three: Wiesner, 302
Tibetan Buddhist pilgrim prostrates at Mt. Kailas
Pilgrims on knees to Santiago de Compestela
Trekkers to Mt. Wu-tai
Muslim on hajj to Mecca
Some focus on the journey that will bring some long-desired or needed healing of a physical or spiritual ailment through a) increased self-knowledge or b) through the braving of physical dangers
Tibetan Buddhist pilgrim prostrates at Mt. Kailas

4. To a sacred space/site
associated with nature or presence of living or departed spiritual leaders
associated with the founding of a religion
Ka’ba, center of Islamic hajj
Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha
Quotations, Wiesner, 302
Focus here is on the destination – the Sacred Site . . .
Jerusalem

5. To make direct contact with the divine. . .at the Sacred Site
sensual experience
emotive environment
Some pilgrimages focus on reaching the SITE:
Tibetan Buddhist
Buddhists laying gold leafing on Buddha
Woman bathing in the Ganges
Christians bathing in Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized
Christian touching the pillar at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
All of the pilgrimages include encounters with Nature, RELICS, HOLY OBJECTS, and SACRED ARCHITECTURE,
providing tactile spiritual experiences that REPRESENT or INVOKE the spiritual encounter within (providing grace) “a physical manifestation of the CHARISMA of a sacred center” (Colemena 6) - baraka = grace; pilgrimages to Rome = indulgences; bathing in Ganges =

6. A communion of pilgrims
Christian pilgrims in Jerusalm, Good Friday
Buddhist pilgrims at Labrang Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet
Muslim encampment outside Mecca
Chinese pilgrims and monks in Baima Shi

7. Encounters with relics, holy objects, and sacred architecture
Rosaries and Virgin Mary statues
Talismans, Amulets, Images, Texts
That . . .
Represent or invoke
Transfer
Remind
Provide individual and /or social recognition
Tibetan prayer flags
TRANSFER the spritiual encounter to self and others: holy water from Ka’ba or Lourdes/Fatima; Christian True Cross/relic;
or simply REMIND the pilgrim of their experience (medals, ???) - pilgrim accounts that map the journey
In this way, the sacred landscape becomes confused, permeating even the everyday lives of those who have never been to, say, Mecca or Jerusalem)
Sometimes, the focus or benefit of the pilgrimage is as much about RETURNING HOME as about getting to the site.
Holy water from Lourdes

8. Ashoka (r. 264-223 BCE): Buddhism as state religion
Buddhism – pravrajya
Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha Gautama
Uruvela – Buddha’s enlightenment
History - Buddha, in Mahaparinibbana Sutta 5, 8: to Ananda on four places for the faithful to see . .1) where the Buddha was born (Lumbini or Rummindei in Nepal), 2) where Buddha attained supreme enligthenemnt (Uruvela or Bodhgaya in Bihar, northern India), 3) where Buddha set in motion the Wheel of the Dharma (deer park at Isipatana or modern Sarnath near Benares), and where Buddha attained Nirvana (Kusinara or modern Kushinagar). "And, Ananda, the faithful monks and nuns, male and female lay-followers will visit those places. And any who die while making the pilgrimage to these shrines with a devout heart will, at the breaking up of the body after death, be reborn in a heavenly world." (Coleman 170) –
ii.When Buddha died, his disciples cremated his remains and scattered the ashes among the most important of their communities. Buddha's followers visited the sites of his life's most important activities. John Huntington, has claimed: "To visit the scenes of the eight great events is to experience in a direct way the life of the Buddha as both a demonstration of his perfection and the perfection of all Buddhas." (H, 48 in Wriggins, 82)
iii.Ashoka (r BCE) (first Buddhist pilgrim of whom we know for certain) performed this same pilgrimage & builds a commemorative monument at each, and at 32 other locations along the route  mapping the body of the Buddha for each man to follow to reach their own buddhahood. Height of popularity of Buddhism in India - Ashoka (ca BCE) who made Buddhism state religion and patronized its art and architecture [Slides of stupas and pillars]. Mapping the landscape of northern India with the Body of the Buddha & establishing more sites.
Sponsored missionary activities outside of India --> monasteries across C. & SE Asia & China (by time Hinduism re-established itself in S. Asia)
Kusinara, Buddha attained nirvana
stupas
Deer Park – Buddha’s first sermon

9. Chinese Buddhist Pilgrimages
Buddhist monks to India to seek pure Buddhism
Fa-hsien, 400 CE
Xuanzang, CE
Mahayana Buddhism & Local shrines
Chinese Buddhist monks (4th-6th c)  important to spread of Buddhism from India to China. By 13thc only Buddhist pilgrims in India would be foreigners.To gather material (sacred texts, relics, learned authorities, holy sites) to purify and rectify – returning to the source, they sought out original texts & learned to read them in original languages – to resist the numerous local adaptations throughout Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan
Fa-hsien (400 CE) – 14 year pilgrimage to India to look for purer form of Rules for Buddhist monks.. Connection with those in the past: "of those who had with like purpose traveled through a succession of countries with them, some had returned home, some were now dead"(Coleman 176): Fashien reproduced this sacred map for Chinese Buddhists.
Xuanzang, greatest of all Chinese pilgrims to Indai. Journey of CE resulted in a religious renaissance. Brought back sacred texts and relics to China which served as a foundation for further development of Buddhism in context of T'ang. Also composed a record of his travels , Record of the Western Regions that mythologises the pilgrimage through allegory. Since India is no longer aBuddhist country, it is subsumed in a divine world.
2. Mahayana Buddhism (in China) – local shrines replaced India as pilgrimage sites
a.Deification of Siddhartha Gautama – veneration of status of Buddha
b.Shrines to bodhisattvas
c.Japanese and Korean monks sought China's sites, as Chinese monks had once sought Indian
3. 7th c – Buddhism reaches Tibet: Established by 8thc. From 8th-11thc, ibetan scholar-mystics (Marpa the Translator) were visiting India to gather Tantric initiations and writings to diffuse in Tibet.

10. Buddhist Pilgrimage: Tibet
Mt. Kailas
Mt Kailas (over 22,000 feet above sea level in Western Tibet) represents the center of the world "a gigantic Mandala of Dyani-Buddhas and bodhisattvas" Sacred mountain was mapped onto a Tantric text, so that circumambulation was journey through a sacred space, a huge natural mandala which was held to be the abode of many gods. Traveling the mountains is a meditative as a well as actual journey. Its stages reprsent passages through abodes of different deities, like the quadrants of Tibetan mandala paintings: At the peak of Kailas is located the Tantric deity Demchog, whom the ritual of this pilgrimage celebrates. Kailas also famous for its historical saints (Gotsangpa and Milarepa, Tibet's most famous yogi and poet). They venerate the cave of Milarepa and the site of the lake (Manasarovar) in which Buddh'as mother, Queen Maya, was said to have bathed in a dream, to remove all human impuirities before the Buddha's conception. The physical and metaphysical center of the world: represented by the spinal cord (Kailas are also called Meru or spine) in our nervous system; and just as the various centers (chakras) of consciousness are supported by and connected with the spinal cord, from which they branch out like many-petaled lotus-blossoms, in the same way Mt. Meru forms the axis of the various places of the supramundane world.
mandala

11. Mt. Wu-Ta’i: China Ennin, 838-847 CE Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri
6th century  Translations made it to Japan and Korea.
Ennin, Japanese monk who made a 9-year pilgrimage to China between CE survived the persecution of Buddhism in 840s. Went to Mt. Wu-t’ai, sacred to the Boddhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. A complex of monasteries and holy sites, but the mountain itself is the residence of a Buddhist diety whose own life, powers or teaching can bring about enlightenment. Period when Japanese emperor interested in learning from Chinese examples in govt., culture, and religion, sponsered “embassies”. But official sponsorship was not enough to guarantee success of a pilgrimage. Chinese officials placed impediments in his path, but Ennin and his party made their sacred journey, learning from Buddhist monks in various monasteries and visiting holy sites. He had an internatinoal experience, interacting with Chinese, Korean, and Indian monks. His diary demonstrates that pilgrimages had cultural and linguistic as well as spiritual dynamics. Because of the diplomatic disputes, the Chinese emperor refused to grant Ennin and his fellow monks permission to travel. They went any way.. He was warned by the Japanese Consultant Counselor that he could be charged with the “crime of disobeying an imperial order.” To this Ennin replied, in a letter,” We monks, having in mind merely our longing for the Buddhist teachings, have come from afar to this benevolent land [China] with our hearts set on sacred places and our spirits rejoicing in the pilgrimage. It is said that Mt. Wu-tai and some other places are the source of the teaching and the places where the great saints have manifested themselves. Emient monks from India have visited them, crossing their precipitous slopes, and famous patriarchs of China have there attained enlightenment. We monks have admired these glorious places, and having chanced to meet with this happy destiny, have by good fortune come to this holy land. Now we wish to go to these places to fulfill our long-cherished hopes.”
Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri

12. mandala Hindu Tibetan Buddhist Right - Buddhist Manndala
Left - Hindu mandnala
Hindu
Tibetan Buddhist

13. Christian Pilgrimage Search for the “New Jerusalem”
A. Earliest Chrsitians not that interested in Jerusalem as a sacred place. First 3 centuries, Jerusalem seen as the "Guilty City" for its role in Christ's death or as center of Roman power. Early Church fathers put more emphasis on "the eternal", metaphysical Jerusalem
St. Augustine – "believers should seek the heavenly city in place of the earthly." – the "New Jerusalem" to replace the tarnished one
Only after Constantine's victory of 324 CE did public pilgrimage to Jerusalem become feasible for Christians. Some church fathers opposed the practice, but Constantine's mother, Helena, took a journey to the Holy Land: her discovery of the remains of the true cross and construction of basilicas in Bethlehem and Jerusalem provided inspiration for future pilgrims and pilgrimages. "Helena's trip was to have fundamental consequences for the history of Holy Land pilgrimage . . .and became the model for many." (Coleman, 79)
3. New religio-literary genres and practice - imitation of Christ through various kinds of sacred journeys, both physical and interior.
ii. Constantine: had great basilica built in 335 that incorporated the Rock of Golgotha. Other churches were built at sites associated with Jesus' life Jerusalem became the ultimate focal point of Christian pilgrimage. Karen Armstrong: "Pilgrims did not visit Golgotha and the tomb as modern travelers visit a historical stie: these earthlyl relics of Christ's life on earth introduced them to a transcendence the holy places were not mere momentoes but were experienced as earthly replicas of the divine."(A, 171). Earlier metaphysical notion of Jerusalem being replaced by a more "tactile spirituality" – relics carried back to Europe
4. Jerusalem under Islam: Christians even escorted by Muslims. When Charlemagne (r ) advanced Jerusalem as pilgrimage site, Abbasid Caliph Harun-al-Rashid exchanged gifts with him and allowed him to build a new church in the city and hostel for tranvelers – strong Christian/Muslim connections in Palestine
b.Crusades - With weakening of Abbasid caliphate (9th-10thc) – political turmoil in Palestine. Various Muslim forces fighting for control  Byzantine Empire launched a holy war against Islam (unsuccessful)  anti-Christian responses
i. In 938, a procession of Christians was attacked in Jerusalem
ii. Islamic rulers alternated between accommodation and hostility to growing European pilgrimages, esp. year 1000 when large number of pilgrims came to witness Second Coming of Christ.
iii (30 years prior to first Crusade): German pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Example of a mass pilgrimage during unsettled times. Agrressive attitude of Western Europeans is evident in example
iv – mass pilgrimage: Pope Urban II, responded to call for help from Byzantine Empire besieged by Muslim forces, declared the First Crusade. Framed as a pilgrimage. Crusaders took Jerusalem in 1099, retaken by Muslims for over 700 years. Christian pilgrimages maintained, but not the mass pilgrimages of medieval period.
Search for the “New Jerusalem”
mass pilgrimage to Holy Land --> interior pilgrimage
--> local pilgrimage
Labrynth - path of interior pilgrimage

14. Alternative Christian sites
Lourdes
Rome
Chartres
Canterbury
Lourdes
Fatima
To Rome: as an alternative and European sites:
a. Former pagan sites
b. saint veneration – to seek intercession; relics
c. Marien centers, relics,
d. Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain – By 6thc, tradition that body of St. James had been returned to Sapin after his executikon in Palestine. In 9th c, a church was built at the spot where he was said to have been buried. Pilgrims thronged, hostels built to accomdate them. Subsidary pilgramage spots developed along the different routes to Compostela
F. Church authorities:
Some worried about "moral mischief”
Avoiding responsibilities
Women often donned male garb (Margery Kempe)
Fatima

15. Santiago de Compostela
“Tomb” of St. James
Supsidiary Pilgrimage sites
Former pagan sites
Saint veneration
Marien centers

16. Muslim Pilgrimage: Hajj
The hajj in Islam:
“effort of proper worship”
Ka’ba
Islam is only religion that requires pilgrimage of its faithful Hajj to Mecca (Five Pillars: 1) daily profession of faith in Allah and Muhammad as last Prophet, 2) Daily prayer facing Mecca; 3) Almsgiving; 4) montly fasting during Ramadan, and 5)
Hajj = “effort” to give proper devotion to the will of Allah To return to the spiritual and physical CENTER of Islam with all believers in the Umma. Mecca as a PHYSICAL CENTER to which all believers turn in belief and in daily prayer.
Made to bring all Muslims BACK TO THE SOURCE (to purify diluted faith or keep it from becoming diluted by local circumstances, languages, traditions, customs, etc.). HAJJ SERVES as a CHECK:
HISTORY: Mecca: a haram, a protected or holy area (in the midst of warring tribal regions) designated as a place where no blood could spill. Mecca, important trading, center was one of these, located along the incense route. Pagan tribes worshipped at Ka'ba, a pre-eminent shrine, exchange goods at great fairs and compete in recitals of poetry (Coleman 55)  settlement of Mecca developed into an economic and political power, and religious worship, too, became centered there. One shrine gained importance, thus so did a single diety, Allah (the God in whose name people fulfilled contracts, honored relatives and fed guests.  Thus peaceful commerce and worship, trade and religion, reinforced each other. Muhammad destroyed the idols of Mecca and the Ka'ba purified for Allah. Muhammad himself made several pilgrimages from Medina to Mecca
Five Pillars of Islam:
daily profession of faith
daily prayer
Ramadan fasting
almsgiving
hajj

17. Pilgrimage and Collective identity: Hajj
The hajj in Islam:
“effort of proper worship”
haram
Ka’ba
circumambulation
Day of Standing Together Before God
Islam is only religion that requires pilgrimage of its faithful Hajj to Mecca (Five Pillars: 1) daily profession of faith in Allah and Muhammad as last Prophet, 2) Daily prayer facing Mecca; 3) Almsgiving; 4) montly fasting during Ramadan, and 5)
Hajj = “effort” to give proper devotion to the will of Allah To return to the spiritual and physical CENTER of Islam with all believers in the Umma. Mecca as a PHYSICAL CENTER to which all believers turn in belief and in daily prayer.
Made to bring all Muslims BACK TO THE SOURCE (to purify diluted faith or keep it from becoming diluted by local circumstances, languages, traditions, customs, etc.). HAJJ SERVES as a CHECK:
HISTORY: Mecca: a haram, a protected or holy area (in the midst of warring tribal regions) designated as a place where no blood could spill. Mecca, important trading, center was one of these, located along the incense route. Pagan tribes worshipped at Ka'ba, a pre-eminent shrine, exchange goods at great fairs and compete in recitals of poetry (Coleman 55)  settlement of Mecca developed into an economic and political power, and religious worship, too, became centered there. One shrine gained importance, thus so did a single diety, Allah (the God in whose name people fulfilled contracts, honored relatives and fed guests.  Thus peaceful commerce and worship, trade and religion, reinforced each other. Muhammad destroyed the idols of Mecca and the Ka'ba purified for Allah. Muhammad himself made several pilgrimages from Medina to Mecca

18. Hajj THE PILGRIMAGE RITUAL:
Where? Ka'ba (the cube) – Stories include where Abraham built a shrine after Allah commanded him to leave Syria (Coleman 52), kissed by the Prophet himself. An angel of Allah sent it to record deeds which will be examined on the Day of Judgment. One theory states that it was originally white but has been darkened by the sins of humanity.. A shrine to local gods filled with images and materials from different faiths (reflecting religious pluralism of 7th c Arabia). After Muhammad received first revelation and spread word about one true God, Allah, he condemned the polytheism represented at ka'ba. When he returned from his exile in Median, ordered it to be cleared and resanctified – reclaimed an already existing pilgrimage site. Now a black stone (meterorite), embedded in a wall about two feet from the ground.
When? – End of the Muslim calendar year.
How? Series of formal rites with specific injunctions
Only Muslims may enter Mecca, a sanctuary of their faith, a boundary of purity. As they enter, they change clothes, putting on special white garments, eliminate all distinctions of rank and status. Women who are in Mecca as pilgrims not veild, and men and women can mix freely. Ritual bathing prepares the pilgrims for the holy rites. No violent thoughts or actions and no sexual activity are allowed.
Circumambulate ka'ba 7 times with goal to touch the ka'ba – at the center. Go through different zones of sacredness leading in concentric circles toward the Ka'ba. Objects that touch the Ka'ba are imbued with its sacred power. Pilgrim kisses the black stone (parts of stone worn) or call out a salutation as they near it. Ritual of walking round it 7 times said to have been invented in imitation of the angels who circle the throne of Allah. Then pilgrims must run between two hillocks, commemorating the actions of Hagar (wife of Abraham), searching for water for Ishmael.

19. Day of Standing Together Before God
Journey to Mt. of Mercy at Arafat (12 miles east): After leaving Mecca, and after a night spent in desert tents, pilgrims move on to Arafat to perform the ritual known as the Day of Standing Together Before God, where Muhammad said to have given his last address to his followers. Then they quickly start gathering stones for next day. Another night in the desert, pilgrims participate in ritual stoning of the devil (at the pillars of Mina). Throw 41 stones over three days at 3 pillars (representing Satan).
Self-abnegation: Slaughter a sacrifice of sheep or other animal. Pilgrims have hair cut before returning to Mecca and repeating their circuit of the ka'bal. most will go on to Medina to visit the Prophet's grave.
Najaf

20. “This would be an anthropologist’s paradise
“This would be an anthropologist’s paradise Every specimen of humanity is brought together at Mecca during this pilgrimage. It’s probably the only incident and the only time and the only place on earth where you can find every specimen of humanity -- all cultures, all races All of everything!”
Malcolm X

21. Why study religious pilgrimage?
What do pilgrimages among world religions have in common?
Is pilgrimage a terrestrial or inner journey?
Are there formal rites: do they pilgrims dance, process, walk on their knees, prostrate? Is their journey linear, circular, spiral? Compare.
Are pilgrimages controlled by the state? By the institutional religion? Or are they a-institutional? Subversive?
Are they normative, obligatory, devotional? (Where) do they reinforce the existing order; (where) do they challenge it or blur boundaries?
Who are the pilgrims? Priestly class? Elites? Commoners? Sinners or those needing spiritual or social rehabilitation?
What motives do pilgrims give in their pilgrimage accounts? What transformations do they describe?
What does the study of religious pilgrimage teach us about cultural differences/similarities? What does it teach us about economic, political, social, and cultural processes in world history?