Reflections on Pilgrimage to Burma with Ven. Robina, September 2013

UPCOMING...

2017 Nepal and India Pilgrimage
Oct. 23 to Nov. 13, 2017

By Janice Polizzi

I retired from a long teaching career in June 2013 and was delighted to find that Ven. Robina was leading a pilgrimage to Burma in September. This was the perfect way to transition to the rest of my life! I had not previously travelled to Asia and appreciated that the trip was well-organized and would cover many Buddhist sites in Burma. We stayed at lovely hotels and had time for individual rest and reflection. Our meals were delicious!

Photos Ven. Katy Cole.

In general our days on pilgrimage were spent visiting amazing holy sites, making offerings, praying to the Buddhas and listening to Venerable Robina’s insightful teachings on the Buddhist path. Practices included prostration and circumambulation, meditation, reciting lam-rim prayers and praises, purification and dedication. I found our daily group practices inspiring and my personal practice was rejuvenated. I loved be part of the “water bowl team” at each site. The trip was also facilitated by a Burmese guide who was very knowledgeable about the history of the places we visited.

I was amazed by Shwedagon in Yangon particularly when we visited very early in the morning. Ven. Robina provided wonderful teachings under a Bodhi tree at Shwedagon. The many temples and pagodas of Bagan were varied and beautiful. We spent several days on retreat here listening to Ven. Robina’s teachings on the Bodhisattva path, karma, the mind, dependent arising and emptiness. Our group discussions helped clarify what we learned.  Other Bagan highlights included a very moving morning at Shwezigon Paya and the visit to the Ananda Pahto.  

Photos Ven. Katy Cole.

In Mandalay we spent time at Kuthodaw Paya known as the World’s Biggest Book. The site has 729 small stupas each holding text-inscribed marble slabs. The entire Tripitaka is represented. The view at sunset from Mandalay Hill was breathtaking. There were many young monks here wanting to practice their English with us! On another day we made offerings to Sakyadhita Nunnery School in Saigaing which houses 700 young nuns. Ven. Robina and the abbess of the nunnery enjoyed their time talking together.

Another highlight for me was climbing the many stairs (took about an hour) to get to Schwe Oo Min Natural Cave Pagoda in Pindaya. These caves contain over 8,700 Buddha statues left there over many centuries by pilgrims. Our group was able to find space in the caves for teachings and we returned for a second day as this was a very special place. From Pindaya we moved on to Inle Lake where we travelled from place to place by boat. One amazing day we travelled by boat for 45 minutes then hiked into an area with many stupas that have not yet been restored. This area is home to the Pa-o people. We did Medicine Buddha practice at a nearby temple for the benefit of all!

At the end of the journey we returned to Yangon then took a bus to Kyaiktiyo, the Golden Rock that is said to hold a hair of the Buddha. This huge boulder sits on the edge of the mountain and like many of the holy sites in Burma it is covered in gold leaf. Here Venerable taught about Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows and offered these to those wishing to take them. We returned to Yangon for our last day and farewell dinner.

Photo Ven. Katy Cole.

I feel that I benefitted immensely from going on this pilgrimage. Spending three weeks with Venerable Robina reminded me of the importance of Buddhist practice for daily life. Hearing her insightful teachings was a wonderful introduction/of the lam-rim for those new to Buddhism and a great review for those already familiar with it. Ven. Robina was also available to meet with me and others to discuss personal questions and issues that came up for us. She is an amazing guide and her deep knowledge and years of practice are evident in her teachings.  

I look forward to future pilgrimage opportunities!

2018 Lawudo Trek
Mar. 14 – 28, 2018

From Ven. Robina, Sep 26, 2017: "With Sangye-la, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s brother, who runs Lawudo Gompa, in the Kopan Monastery cafe, discussing next year’s trek, in March - “Bring 100 people!” he joked, when I told him that we’ve already got more than half our planned group of 32 people booked up. As usual I’m trying to get fit by walking up and down the 99 steps - I counted! - between the gompa and my room several time a day."

... ABOUT

Since 2001 Ven. Robina has been leading pilgrimages to holy sites in India, Nepal, and Tibet. One of many both spiritual – the pilgrimage are authentic and led by practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche – as well as commercial endeavors, to help bring in funds to support the work of Ven. Robina's teachers Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Ven. Robina's work for them. In 2013 she led her first pilgrimage to Burma; in 2016 to Borobudur; and in 2017 she began leading pilgrimages to raise funds to support Lawudo, Lama Zopa Rinpoche's hermitage, in the Nepalese Himalayas.

“People are so moved by the experience; it always amazes me. Going to these holy places touches people deeply, transforms them,” says Ven. Robina.

The India & Nepal, and Tibet pilgrimages are organized by Effie Fletcher via her organization Dharma Journeys. Effie has helped bring in over $100,000 to support FPMT and Ven. Robina's work.

Bodhgaya's Mahabodhi Temple. Photo stubbornmuletravel.com

“The idea originally came from former Tse Chen Ling director Peggy Bennington," says Ven. Robina. "'A good way to raise funds,' she said. I asked Effie if she’d like to run them. She didn’t hesitate!” 

Effie has been leading treks to Bhutan, India, Nepal, Tibet and Southeast Asia via her Himalayan High Treks for over 25 years. In 2001 she started Dharma Journeys (originally Chasing Buddha pilgrimages) to help raise funds first for Liberation Prison Project, which Ven. Robina was running at the time, and later for other charitable organizations and projects.

“I am so grateful for her efforts,” says Ven. Robina.

Kopan Monastery. Photo kathmandu.im

Boudhanath stupa. Photo stubbornmuletravel.com

The pilgrimages are authentic: in India, they trace the actual steps of the Buddha; in Tibet pilgrims visit holy sites and monasteries where Tibetans have prayed and paid homage to the Buddha for more than 1000 years; and in Burma they do retreat at Bagan where over 10,000 monasteries, temples and pagodas were constructed between the 11th and 13th century.

Pharping Village. Photo flightster.com

Kathmandu Valley. Photo friendlyplanet.com

All of the pilgrimages are led using the practices given to Ven. Robina by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, spiritual director of FPMT.

“Normally when people go on pilgrimage, they are just like tourists; maybe they take some pictures, and that’s it,” says Rinpoche. “They don't use the places to collect merit or to meditate or to get some benefit for their minds. If it’s just like sightseeing, then it won’t be that much benefit.”

“The point is to use the pilgrimage to purify our mind and collect as extensive merit as pos- sible,” says Rinpoche. “By doing pilgrimage, we receive blessings from the holy places where enlightened beings, great yogis, and bodhisattvas, have practiced.”

LINKS
• Dharma Journeys
• Lawudo Trek
• Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche on pilgrimage
• Pilgrimage in India: Stories and Allegories
Ven. Robina shares her own experiences on pilgrimage with students at Tse Chen Ling, the FPMT center in San Francisco, and explains the real purpose of making such a journey. December, 2008.

PHOTOS FROM PILGRIMAGES OVER THE YEARS