Walk for Tibet!
Join us May 17, 2008 in St. Jean Pied de Port, France where we will kick up our heels and open our hearts to human rights around the world.

We will walk along the route to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. As a group of peaceful pilgrims, our aim is to honor the Tibetan refugees who walk their way to freedom and to protest the Chinese occupation of their homeland.

Show your solidarity and devotion to the Tibetan cause with peaceful action. Explore Spain while walking in support of human rights and justice. Together we will make a difference!

Participate in what will be a poignant and inspirational march across Spain. Now is the time to bring Tibet into the world spotlight and declare freedom for its people.

To get on our email update list or to sponsor a Tibetan pilgrim contact us: spain508@tibetactiongroup.com

Find out more about the camino by visiting their website: www.csj.org.uk as well as www.santiago-compostela.net

Check back for frequent updates and logistical information.
See BLOG below!

Thursday, June 5, Hospital del Orbigo
Well the name of the town says it all, hospital! I barely made it here due to some illness and an injured ankle. It is a sweet and lively village with a beautiful pilgrim´s hostel, San Miguel. As pilgrims we are welcomed with open arms and given a bed and a home from strangers. How nice to constantly experience the kindness of others.

In any case, the walk while suffering in body is an even greater teacher than doing it feeling healthy and well. How to find strength from deep within and call upon the emptiness luminosity inside?

While this walk is not the same at all that Tibetans undertake to escape to Nepal, I get a sense of what it is like to continue despite pain and fatigue. One must go on and complaining is of no use. The next town is a walk away. Somehow the feet must do the work. The spirit of these brave and strong people have carried me the last couple days.

When the going gets rough, I chant to Green Tara. There she is! And so it is that I continue to receive the blessings and offerings of Tibet, even as I traverse the countryside of Spain.

With a bandaged ankle and pockets full of cough drops, I will hit the road again tomorrow. Slowly, slowly I will walk to Astorga, the next home for a day. And there I will be welcomed by the next hosts.

Can we extend the same to our refugee friends? Can we give the Tibetans a home on this planet while they have none? Can we be kind to strangers today? We are all walking some path, let us be hosts for each other. Especially during the rough spots.

If you have time today, please visit www.studentsforafreetibet.org and sign up for their action list.

 

Saturday May 31, Terradillos
Today I walked 18km in a straight line on an old Roman road with no villages, towns, stops, change in scenery. It is interesting to see how the mind loves and seeks distraction and entertainment. My companions were two Swedish women. We chatted at times, but mostly there was silence. I dropped into a meditative pace while chanted my Om Mani. Somehow the syllables fortify my spirit and lift my feet.

So it must be for the refugees who have only their mantras as they flee Tibet for the foreign and dangerous walk to Nepal. The company and familiarity of an ancient mantra to keep them going.

I decided to dedicate my walk today to the Chinese Government, that perhaps they can find compassion and dignity in their hearts. For everyone in their own country and Tibet too. This dedication helped me find the way out of complaining about the boredom of the way.

What is boredom anyway? What is this need for entertainment? Are not the red poppies and skylarks enough? Can I breathe and find space for just being in this present moment? One step at a time.

As May ends I send a special prayer for a friend who has been in jail for a year now. A Tibetan refugee arrested in Dharamsala for trying to get papers. And still he sits in jail waiting for justice to find its way through the dusty streets and bureacratic nightmares of the Indian court system. What does boredom mean to someone who has sat in the same jail cell day after day for one year? How many times has he contemplated what it means to be born Tibetan? What it means to be a refugee? And what would it be like to be free? Not just free from jail, but free in the world?

If you have some time today, please send a blessing his way.

As for the Walk for Tibet, tomorrow I head through Sahagun and beyond. The next day to Mansilla and the next through Leon. If you live on the way please come out to say Buen Camino!!

 

Tuesday May ??? Burgos
The we has turned to just me on the camino now. Actually, we are spread out now walking along for Tibet. Hopefully we are touching more people that way. And honestly perhaps the camino is better alone. To feel the interior experience of the path. I spent a wonderful night in Atapuerca last night. A good hostel and a wonderful dinner with other pilgrims. Between us we covered 4 continents!! So the message of FREE TIBET is spreading on this solitary way.

Today I feel tired but I continue on for the people of Tibet. They are with me every minute. Especially friends who have spent time in prison for speaking their minds and voicing the cause of freedom.

I am just now passing through Burgos, where I thought I would spend a day. But the rhythm of the camino is in me and to walk feels better. Besides I cannot handle the noise and busyness of the city.

Wherever you are today may you have peace and happiness. May the thought of Tibet cross your mind. And if you have time, please check out www.savetibet.org.

Together we will have world peace. One step at a time!

updated tuesday May 27th 2008

May 21, Monjardin
Today we walked from our guesthouse in Cirauqui, an ancient town, to a small village called Monjardin. The day was full of impermanence. as we said goodbye to several friends who continued in different directions. Our hearts were heavy with the separation and yet we realize the truth of everything coming to an end. As we say adios to some friends we meet new people. It is good to practice on the path.

The landscape continues to change. We were fortunate to walk through many meadows of wildflowers today. Bright red poppies waving their heads. And the red earth under our feet as we traversed vineyards.

Chanting om mani padme hum, we make our way across Spain, spreading the wish of peace and freedom for Tibet. Everyone is interested and supportive. We feel motivated by the good hearts of the international crowd on the Camino. Can it be that perhaps we are making a difference?

At times our feet hurt, the sun is too hot, or we are tired. This is the time to remember our Tibetan friends. The time to remember the emptiness of our personal pain. The time to remember the power of a life without complaint. And so it is that we make our way through the villages and land of our host country. We say thank you to Spain! And long live Tibet!

Please take some time to look at www.thetibetproject.com. You can see a 10 minute clip of the movie and order your own copy. Thank you. Merci. and Gracias.

 

May 19 Cizur Minor
It h as been a beautiful journey to arrive in this small town outside of Pamplona. The auberge is full of people from all over the world. We spent the afternoon relaxing after our third day of walking.

The first was a magical pass through the clouds and high peaks to Roncevalles in the Pyrenees. Many pilgrims were drawn to our giant and colorful Tibetan Prayer flag. Some took photos and everyone was open to listening to our mission. A group from the Czech Republic took turns waving it in the air, spreading our prayers for peace on the high winds.

After climbing high and long we were happy to have a bed and meal in Roncesvalles. We started the next day eager and a little tired. Passing through the woods and over rivers we made our way once again along the famous path. Whenever we could we handed out FREE TIBET postcards and people seemed happy to hear of our cause.

We spent last night in a small village and had to walk 10K to our first coffee! With a fast pace we walked to Cizur Minor, determined to get a bed for the night. There are many pilgrims this year and we all need a place to rest.

It is a joy to share our story with people from every country. Perhaps peace is not too far away.

Tomorrow we will go to Cirauqi, never knowing what we will meet along the way. We take our journey step by step, lucky to be walking, and happy to walking for Tibet. As we lay down tonight to sleep we pray that all beings will be free from suffering. Viva Tibet!

May 16, St Jean Pied de Port
It is a rainy, cool day here in St Jean Pied de Port, France. After two long travel days we made it here. A few obstacles in train travel made us take a bus then a train then another bus then train and bus and train then sleep over in Bordeaux and then a train and finally the last train! We found ourselves looking out the window to beautiful scenery, green hills, luminous in the sun and rushing rivers.

Packing to get here was the first step of renunciation. I weighed my pack and then emptied it of 1/3 of the stuff. let go let go let go, the mantra of the pilgrim. And then, unlike our Tibetan friends, we have the choice to pack and the fancy clothes for trekking. Blessings galore.

St Jean is the most adorable town ever. Cute buildings and flowers. The slow train eased us into the journey. We had a lovely picnic dinner in the sun. This morning we met up with a woman from Spain who we met from Dharamsala. A true bodhisattva, she brought us Tibetan flags and stickers and postcards.

Today then we prepare in body mind and heart for the true journey which begins tomorrow. A walk across the Pyrenees into Spain. We hold the Panchen Lama in our hearts and we dedicate tomorrow to him and to all the prisoners of conscience. www.freethepanchenlama.org.

May you be well and happy. Merci and Gracias!

photos: Matthew French

May 13 2008:
Hello Dear Friends of Tibet...

Join the pilgrims of SPAIN508: Walk for Tibet as we walk for peace and human rights. This contemplative journey of five weeks begins on the anniversary of the Panchen Lama's abduction, May 17, 2008. With him in our hearts, we start the peaceful walk to Santiago in honor of Tibetans and in protest of Chinese occupation of their homeland.

Keep the TAG website as your homepage and follow our journey! Spread the word that Tibet will be FREE - one step at a time