So these two monks go out on a walk….
July 10th, 2007While some seek to find ways to divide us, others seek ways to bring us together.
COLLEGEVILLE — The Rev. William Skudlarek expects to be “humbled and embarrassed” when he sets off on a two-week walk from Brainerd to Bemidji on Wednesday.
“These walks are an exercise in faith and trust … that we can rely on the kindness of others in life,” said Skudlarek, who may also have to beg along the way for supplies.
The Benedictine monk from Collegeville will walk with a Buddhist monk along the Paul Bunyan Trail, dressed in their traditional habit and robes, respectively.
Skudlarek’s walking companion will be Jotipalo Bhikkhu from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, Calif.
“My primary reason in doing this is to walk with him, to share the spiritual practice of another religious tradition,” said the 68-year-old Skudlarek.
Buddhist
Last October, Bhikkhu was one of 12 Buddhist monks who came to St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville for an intermonastic conference on celibacy.
“Every morning they go out and beg for their food,” said Skudlarek, a St. John’s Abbey monk and priest who, like Bhikkhu, will eat a minimal amount of food on their journey.
“Eating only once a day means they only go out once a day to beg for their food and so it doesn’t provide too great of a demand on the lay people who are providing them with food.”
The planned walk with Bhikkhu has its roots in an ongoing Christian-Buddhist monastic dialogue in which Skudlarek has been involved with for 10 years.
Supplies
Besides individual tents, the men will carry a minimum amount of provisions, such as a first-aid kit, basic toiletries, mosquito repellant, a Swiss Army knife, water bottles and a journal.
“We’ve kind of agreed among ourselves that if we don’t get anything to eat in two days that on the third day, I can buy something to eat,” Skudlarek said.
Skudlarek serves as executive director of the North American branch of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, as well as the spokesman for St. John’s Abbey.
“I’m sure there are moments where I’ll be fantasizing about food, but I’m most concerned if my physical endurance is up to the challenge, whether I’ll be able to sleep in that little tent and whether my back will hold up,” he said.
Journey of life
The Paul Bunyan State Trail winds through a stretch of Minnesota’s lake country with towns sprinkled at five to 15-mile intervals along the way.
“I expect we will seek shelter along the way if it gets really bad … so if ‘worse comes to worse,’ it’s possible we will go to a motel,” Skudlarek said.
The men plan to walk as far as they can in two weeks, whether or not they complete the journey from Brainerd to Bemidji.
“We don’t have any goals in particular as to how many miles a day we walk … but we will have a cell phone for emergencies,” Skudlarek said.
“We go through life thinking, ‘I’m in control,’ but ultimately we are not in control. We depend on others all the time.”
