Exploring the Meaning of Traveling in Daily Life

not just a walk. On the other hand, travel is a way for humans to re-tie the ropes that link the present and the past. This is supported by the old adage that an adventure of a thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books.

It is said that a Zen monk once made a pilgrimage with seven friends to visit a lake near Mount Fuji called West Lake. The beauty of that place was so amazing, that he and his friends felt that they were in the “world of the Dao” (out of nowhere). They rented a fishing boat there to take them to the middle of the lake.

They started to go deeper. The more they headed to the middle of the lake, the more beautiful the natural beauty they saw, the stranger and the more beautiful. Unable to contain their emotions, the monks began to weep with joy. Meanwhile, the fisherman was astonished to see the behavior of the monks.

The fisherman has lived around the lake since childhood. He had seen the scene from morning to night. Because of this, he had a hard time understanding and feeling the joy that pervaded the monks. He asked them, "What made you cry so much?" They replied, "We are fascinated by the beauty of the mountains and the view of this lake". The fisherman could not understand it and a skeptical expression appeared on his face. He replied, "So you guys walked all this way just to see this sight?"

The Zen monks said among themselves, “If the fisherman asked us to explain what prompted our admiration, what should we say? If we pointed our fingers at the sight, surely the fisherman wouldn't have caught him, because he's been here all his life. However, if we say that what drives us is something different, then he can think that we are deceiving him, because what we see is a different view, far from the lake."

More or less, this is the difficulty of Zen masters explaining Buddha's teachings to students who sometimes fail to understand. Their teachings are not meant to reveal mysterious principles. The disciples may think that "mystery" or "enlightenment" is somewhere far away. In fact, the mystery is close in everyday life.

The experience of a disaster can make a place that was originally familiar to us in an instant turn into a place that is completely foreign. The experience of mourning a destroyed house and the loss of a loved one makes people more appreciative of everyday experiences that are often neglected and taken for granted.