Greetings travelers,
It has been some time since I have kept you up to date with my adventure! I write to you now after further discovering the significance of religious pilgrimages, as I came across an article entitled, Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road. The tale of Xuanzang and his sixteen-year migration across the Silk Road illustrated a key influence in the spread and acceptance of Buddhism, and the fight needed to pursue such a mission. Events such as this one made me realize how a single idea could manifest into a nation-wise mission,taking the ideals of Buddhism by force and spreading them across both the northern and southern silk routes. However, keeping this in mind, have our methods of spreading religious thought and ideals changed like many other traditions, or, have they continued through to the twenty-first century?
The development of technology continues to baffle and amaze us, as it has evolved so much so fast. It can take a minute to send an email, and it can be said that since everything has been made so easy for us, we are forgetting about history and the significance of such. Xuanzang dedicated his life to the spread of something he truly believed, and yet we can send our thoughts to anyone around the world in a minute. Does this, however, mean that technology is a bad thing? Can an idea be more important if it it took an individual a minute to come up with rather than a lifetime?
Tune in next week as I continue my adventure along the Silk Road.
~A.V.
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