Buddhist pilgrimage 2022

Dear Fellow Pilgrim!

Since 1998, the Tibet Aid Society has established a tradition of “Buddhist pilgrimage” and, in collaboration with the Tan Kapuja Buddhist College, is organizing a Buddhist pilgrimage for the twenty-fifth time this year to commemorate the day of Buddha’s birth and enlightenment, Vesak. This auspicious day is an inspiring time for all Buddhists, and a pilgrimage intensifies and heightens its momentum. If you feel the desire and strength within yourself to pay homage to the Enlightened One in this way, join us. The journey is approximately 108 km (possibly a little less), and walking for about 8 hours a day deepens your concentration and helps you find the Buddha nature within you on your inner journey. To facilitate all this, during the pilgrimage, participants should refrain from consuming meat, alcohol, and other intoxicants, smoking, and sexuality, as much as possible, in order to maintain external and internal purity. Before setting up camp in the evening, we hold a silent meditation session. In addition to the above, on the last day of the tour, it is recommended, but not mandatory, to observe fasting and silence so that we can arrive at the stupa in an even purer state of consciousness. Until the Tibetan people can exercise their right to self-determination, our pilgrimage has another goal: namely, that this peaceful march will draw the attention of our country and the world to the oppressed Tibetan people living on top of the world, deprived of their freedom, who perhaps most faithfully preserve the teachings of Buddha to this day. In addition to all this, we are also dedicating our pilgrimage to the health of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. This year’s destination will once again be the stupa in Zalaszántó, but we will be taking a new route, for which we are grateful to Yoscha.

The pilgrimage will lead from Veszprém through the Bakony Hills, and the planned route is as follows: Budapest – Veszprém – Szentgál – Úrkút – Halimba – The pilgrimage will lead from Veszprém through the Bakony Hills, with the planned route being: Budapest – Veszprém – Szentgál – Úrkút – Halimba – Sümeg – Zalaszántó. The Tibetan Buddhist calendars set Vészákhá for June 14, and the pilgrimage will start on Thursday morning, June 9, from the Déli railway station (meeting at 5:45 a.m. in front of the ticket office; if possible, please purchase your ticket in advance), but the walking part of the pilgrimage will only start from Veszprém. The pilgrimage will be led and supervised by Botond Szathmári.

The pilgrimage is open to everyone, but advance registration is required, so if you wish to register, please contact Botond Szathmári in person or by phone in advance, or send an email to botond@tkbf.hu. For those participating in the pilgrimage, we will hold an information session on Tuesday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at the Sambhala Tibet Center. (123 Attila Street, District I, Budapest.) For those on their first pilgrimage, attendance is strongly recommended.

We thank all compassionate people for their willingness to help!

Szarvamangalam asti. Peace to all beings. Tashi delek! (t: bkra-shis bde-legs)

Botond Szathmári