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| Mount Everest (Artist unknown) |
"Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage,
places where people have been humbled and strengthened.
They are symbols of the Sacred Center.
Many have traveled to them in order to find the concentrated energy of Earth
and to realize the strength of unimpeded space.
Viewing a mountain at a distance or walking around its body,
we can see its shape, know its profile, survey its surrounds.
The closer you come to the mountain, the more it disappears.
The mountain begins to lose its shape as you near it.
Its body begins to spread out over the landscape, losing itself to itself.
On climbing the mountain, the mountain begins to vanish.
It vanishes in the detail of each step.
It's crown is buried in space.
It's body is buried in the breath."
places where people have been humbled and strengthened.
They are symbols of the Sacred Center.
Many have traveled to them in order to find the concentrated energy of Earth
and to realize the strength of unimpeded space.
Viewing a mountain at a distance or walking around its body,
we can see its shape, know its profile, survey its surrounds.
The closer you come to the mountain, the more it disappears.
The mountain begins to lose its shape as you near it.
Its body begins to spread out over the landscape, losing itself to itself.
On climbing the mountain, the mountain begins to vanish.
It vanishes in the detail of each step.
It's crown is buried in space.
It's body is buried in the breath."
~ Roshi Joan Halifax, from her essay, "The Way of the Mountain"
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