The Road to Emptiness: Zen Travel
Imagine being discontent with life working in X humdrum job in X corporation and deciding to leave your whole life behind, walking out the door with only $150 to your name, and never looking back. For two plus years, the only life you’ll know is the road, hitchhiking your way from place to place, friendly strangers who change your life, a mix of couchsurfing experiences and different cultures along the way.
With a dream to one day set foot in India, Artyom, a fellow traveler in the Buddhist monastery retreat, has done just that. His story starts from Russia, into the harsh, unforgiving cold winters of Siberia, crossing the border into China, and receiving $100 from a helpful stranger which would be the exact cost of a ticket to the Philippines. With details aside, his story can be echoed in the past with the beatnik generation, a la Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, or in the wanderlust and adventure of Alexander Supertramp (of Into the Wild postmortem fame). Many have felt the call of the road or the nomadic call for travel, and many will continue to as job security continues to fail and global technologies and location independent careers make long term travel more accessible. Whether you are a hitchhiker, couchsurfer, backpacker, flashpacker or location independent professional nomad, the seeds of dissatisfaction from the status-quo bind together as the impetus for change; a change of scenery, sights, sounds, smells and people.
Travel, in and of itself, has a very Zen-like quality. The impermanence of travel teaches us to be aware of our constantly new surroundings and live more easily in the moment, but travel on the road adds a whole new dimension. Leaving all wordly possessions behind, even selling all your furniture as I’ve done, marks an emptying of your self; a letting go of your past life as you once knew it. Being able to “lose yourself” to find yourself. It is a road–a journey–into emptiness.
Emptying Your Cup
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.” – Zen Koan
Emptying your cup means letting go of all past knowledge and perceptions and allowing yourself to look at life and experiences with fresh “new” eyes. It is not a negation of the self, but a full embracing of the self and humanity. Be like a sponge to new experiences, places, and people. Realize that all people are mostly good, and have faith in humanity. The road to emptiness is a minimalistic approach to a Zen lifestyle and the road an excellent Zen teacher. It takes a complete leap of faith to trust in the kindness of strangers, and the randomness of the Universe. Hitchhiking is the “hardest” form of travel, but in many ways can also be the most rewarding.
Sometimes You Have to Lose Yourself to Find Yourself
Getting lost is all part of the journey. When I broke up with an ex almost 2 years ago, we co-habited together and shared a mortgage. I moved out, and he kept most of our acquired furniture and possessions. For me, letting go of the possessions was liberating myself from a past life. I didn’t want to deal with “fairness” and equal splitting because I came in with little possessions and left with less. For me, It only solidified the fact that I was the drifter coming into his life. When I sold and gave away most of my remaining possessions to help get me to Asia, it was another load off my proverbial chest. I was prepared to get even more lost than ever before. I guess popular culture calls this the “quarter-life crisis” (I’m past the quarter century mark but it’s been building up since then) but for me, life is no longer a state of crisis. I’m enjoying every minute of being “lost” and I don’t want to be found!
Letting go of my possessions and of my self, “emptying my cup”, has been essential in helping me find out who I am, what my passions are and what drives me. It’s been nearly two months at the monastery. Two months of seeing transcendence in the mundane. Two months of routine in the presence. Two months of a vastly different life. Two years ago, I was living in my own house. A year ago, I was living with two gay guys and their three male cats and a whole new group of friends. Who am I? Am I lost? I don’t even know what my “real life” is anymore because each year is so vastly different. Empty my cup. Live in the moment.
The Road to Emptiness
My own journey is still at the monastery, but in August, I will be going to Taiwan for another monastery stay at their headquarter temple. After that, my wanderlust soul is tempted to walk the entire island of Palawan, Philippines with a local. The journey would be 280 miles of jungle and beaches. Since Palawan is the least developed island of the Philippines, it is also one of the most gorgeous. The vision is that we would journey on a “peace walk”. Traveling, teaching and exchanging our various skills to the people we meet along our way. He is skillfully trained in Kali/Eskrima, a Filipino Martial Art style that was most notably used for the training of Matt Damon’s role in the Bourne Identity trilogies. Learning Filipino martial arts was also part of my bucket list for the year and he’s mentioned that we could train. If this is the Road to Emptiness and learning how to let go of the self, it sounds good to me! Experiencing culture in an intimate way, on foot, with cool, clear night skies and the stars as our blanket is something no tourist rarely sees.
One thing Artyom lives by when on the road is the philosophy that asking for help is completely OK and necessary. What’s the worst that can happen when you ask for help? Either they say yes and you get what you want or they say no and you carry on as before. You don’t lose anything with the no but you gain so much with a simple yes. Faith is tested while you’re on the road. The age old rules of “do unto others what you would have them do unto you” and “you sow what you reap” is part of the exchange. Being on the road is a karmic system. Do good deeds and treat others kindly. If you give genuine kindness without expecting anything in return, situations will start turning in your favor. This is the Zen lessons of the road.
Leave a Reply
22 Responses to “The Road to Emptiness: Zen Travel”
TrackBack URL :
Wonderful post. I can feel the peace flowing through your writing. Very calming. Glad you’re enjoying your temple stay!
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Traveling Savage at Bay to Breakers 2010 (Video) =-.
It’s always hard for me to “empty my cup”. Glad to know your monastery stay is getting more rewarding.
Nice one, Floreta.
.-= nashe´s last blog ..“The most astonishing thing about miracles is that they happen.” =-.
I will have to think about the cup part a little longer. A very powerful perspective for sure.
But I will use this opportunity to confirm your experiences with the kindness of strangers. “Most people on earth are mostly good” is what accompanied me on all my travels so far, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. I also hope I was able to give something back, even though it couldn’t be money in most cases…
.-= Fabian | The Friendly Anarchist´s last blog ..How to Live Life at Your Own Pace (Part 4): Travel =-.
This all sounds wonderful – I’m so happy this is working out so well for you.
I’ve been thinking a lot about basically just this lately. I never imagined that living at home again would lead to the accumulation of so much baggage. I am dying to “empty my cup” and fill it with a new experience and a new self.
you should definitely consider revamping and getting rid of some stuff. it’s so freeing!
“Sometimes you have to lose yourself in order to find yourself” – so simple, but so very true. I’m loving reading about this experience – you can tell already how liberating and free you feel, and how it’s pushing you to grow. Emptying your cup is such great advice, too
.-= Emily Jane´s last blog ..Tattoo: The Results (AKA: Epic Fail) =-.
Even just reading this made me feel a little more at peace. I don’t think I could ever embark on the journey that you’re on, but baby steps.. I have to tell myself babysteps. Even just emptying my cup a little feels good so I can imagine how it feels to let everything in life just go.
.-= carissa´s last blog ..Late Last Night While You Were Asleep…. =-.
aw, i’m glad to hear that! My journey definitely isn’t for everyone and I think you really have to be at a certain place in life to embark on it. Single for one.. But not attached to anything either..
I love that…”sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself,” and I think almost everyone has been there.
Over a year ago I felt like I lost myself, like I lost all sense of strength that I always pride myself on having. I was so angry I stripped myself of that independence and dignity, then I realized to soften the blow, not be so hard on myself and began healing. This often happens with breakups, depending on the situation of course, but you find the light at the end of the tunnel and remember that emptying my cup allowed me to fill it back up and my cup is even stronger, this time around.
Beautiful post
.-= Grace Boyle´s last blog ..How To Be Liked When You’re The New Kid On the Job =-.
Two years ago I felt I really lost myself.. Probably at my pinnacle. What I mean by “losing myself” now is just acknowledging I really have no clear idea with what I want to do or where I want to go with my life, but being able to roll with it and have fun rather than make it about anxiety. And yep, two years ago was my big break up.
I know I am guilty of having a full cup at times, unwilling to let go of what I think I know. I really admire you!!
.-= Holly Renee´s last blog ..You Can’t Move Forward on a Seesaw… =-.
aw thank you! I admire you as well from your writings.
“Being on the road is a karmic system. Do good deeds and treat others kindly. If you give genuine kindness without expecting anything in return, situations will start turning in your favor. This is the Zen lessons of the road.”
This applies to daily life too.
I wonder how it’s possible to “empty your cup” with responsibilities of a family. Or maybe it never empties but just gets less full from time to time.
Good luck on your travels. Sounds liberating!
Oh, of course it can apply to daily life. I just think the road seems to be an ultimate test of fate, patience, karma, etc. All very “zen” lessons.
Hmm, I wonder the same about the family situation. I certainly have never experienced anything like that (yet)! If you figure it out let me know..
Meditation is a great way to “empty your cup”.
Zen is so interesting. So cool that you’re learning and experiencing these things.
There’s an award for you on my blog:
http://rpgcalledlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-first-blog-award.html
The whole “Rules” thing to do a post of your own and give it to more people is completely optional
.-= Eleni´s last blog ..My first blog award! =-.
aw thanks for the award! I definitely like a good writing prompt!! <3
I can’t tell why bing sent me over to your but I might as well say I have become certainly interested by the information you have sourced together. How many week did it take to start getting this many users showing up to your site? I am rather new to this web thing.
One of my favourite quotes is “If I lose myself, I find myself”. I think it’s an essential part of discovering who we truly are as is touching the void or emptying the cup. I enjoyed reading your perspective on this.
thanks for your comment! That is a great quote, and I enjoyed your post about the void as well!
[...] Solidary Panda made a great point in a recent post when she recommended to have confidence in the kindness of strangers. While you don’t want to exploit them, strangers often can give you a ride or will happily invite [...]
Chiyono the nun drops her pail.
In this way and that I tried to save the old pail
Since the bamboo strip was weakening and about
to break
Until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!
Thanks, Floreata!
Hey – nice blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a pretty nice platform you are using. I’m currently using WordPress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?