Think about this: Set out on a pilgrimage from Toronto to Montréal on foot with no plans whatsoever. You might be sleeping outdoors, seeking the best shelter you can find– perhaps at the side of the road. You hope that people seeing you on your journey may offer shelter, food or a home-cooked meal. You will tell those who ask that you are walking and praying for peace.
Buddhist monk Kanshin Ikeda of the Nipponzan Myohoji Order did just that, after first completing a 38-day pilgrimage from North Carolina to Washington, D.C.
During his recent Canadian pilgrimage, Ikeda stopped for an overnight stay in L’Orignal at the home of Eva and Reginald Levesque.
We spoke with Ikeda at the Levesque home, while dinner preparations were underway. While language posed a bit of a challenge, Ikeda had one very calm and clear message: civilization is not about modern-day conveniences, or modern transportation. It is about not killing people, not destroying things and not making war. Civilization means to hold mutual affection and to respect each other. Ikeda says these are the words their teacher, Nichidatsu Fujii, the founder of Nipponzan Myohoji.
Wearing the orange robes that are a sign of the Buddhist order, Ikeda walked along the side of the road, praying and beating his drum. His walk for peace was aimed at bringing awareness to citizens. But more than that, he carried prayers for peace and reconciliation.
(The orange robes are reminiscent of the practice of early monks who made their clothes from rags, or discarded clothing and then used natural plant dyes to dye everything so that it was one uniform colour.)
A unique and challenging part of Ikeda’s journey was that there was no fanfare, no support team accompanying him and no advance party or pre-arrangements for his accommodation or food. Instead, he relied on the generosity and hospitality of people he met along the way.
He recalled that a few times, people motioned to him to move on, unwilling to even have him approach them. Ikeda was unfazed by this behaviour, smiling as he told us about it.
But for the most part, Ikeda is grateful for the generous support he received along his journey. He has travelled in other countries before, but said the support on this journey, including a website created by an American woman (Ellen) was wonderful.
What lessons did he learn from walking thousands of miles on foot?
“It was good to meet the people. It was good to experience sleeping outside, eating little and praying. Some people are very kind,” Ikeda said.
Like his words, Ikeda’s mission is simple. Or at least: it sounds simple. Believing that everyone has “one beautiful heart,” how do people learn to stop fighting wars, stop killing people and stop destroying things? Ikeda repeated that he is doing what he feels called to do.
In a message, Ikeda quoted the Lotus Sutra: “A person of transformation will appear and will surely protect the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra.”
“This time, I truly felt the truth of that message,” Ikeda said.
Background:
Fujii guruji met Mahatma Gandhi on October 4, 1933, at the Sevagram Ashram in Wardha, India, and together they prayed for India’s independence and world peace. Mahatma Gandhi embraced *Namumyohorengekyo*and, throughout his life, would begin his morning and evening prayers by chanting the phrase and beating a drum.
Venerable Kanshin Ikeda is a member of Nipponzan Myohoji, a Buddhist order founded by Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii and known for its commitment to world peace, nonviolence, and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Inspired by the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, Nipponzan Myohoji practitioners have undertaken peace walks and pilgrimages in different parts of the world, carrying prayers for peace and reconciliation.
Venerable Ikeda’s recent pilgrimage across Canada continued this tradition.
His journey was also connected to the memory of Hiroshima. Before beginning the Canadian pilgrimage, Ikeda met Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and later offered a prayer before the Flame of Peace that she had brought from Hiroshima Peace Park.
