(Lesson learned after the visits of the Meteora’s Monasteries)
In the few days of the pilgrimage to Greece, the CSS pilgrims visited several monasteries in Meteora (dubbed the Spiritual City in the Sky), beginning with the smallest monastery and ending with a visit to the largest of the monasteries, the Great Meteoron.
At its peak, about 400–500 people lived and carried out their activities at this location. It resembled a village with the distinct features of a community. In terms of organization, there were work facilities, kitchens, places for sewing and embroidery, areas for pottery, woodwork, or making wine containers, etc.
During the pilgrimage to Meteora, gazing at the ancient architectural works left by those from over a thousand years ago until today, thinking about the glorious days of life, seeing traces of the activities from that time, and witnessing the silent, quiet, desolate scene in front of me, Thay’s heart stirred, feeling an indescribable sadness!
Thay said:
If someone were to ask me, ‘After visiting this place four times, what have you learned?’
Then I would want to use the example of visiting a terminally ill patient. They cannot speak, merely lying there barely alive, with some having to be fed through a tube… it is truly painful! Recently, there was the case of Dũng Đoàn, who still had some life in him. If he had been left on the ventilator, he could have remained in a coma for several more months, perhaps. When visiting Dũng, I held his hand, spoke to him, sent him love, and finally placed a kiss on his forehead, shared a few words, and recited the Blue Lotus mantra for him. (Đoàn Chí Dũng was a member of Compassionate Service Society, always present in the photographers’ team during World Peace Gathering, and he is the one who uploaded the TV shows to Youtube).
Similarly, when visiting this place, it feels like visiting a terminally ill patient. Perhaps most people do not have the same feeling, as they only see the crowds of tourists cheerfully going up and down, or they only see the beauty and appeal of the place without understanding the depth of the story of a culture that is nearing its end. The golden era of Greece and Meteora has passed!
In the past, Greece was the cultural center of Europe, home to many great scientists and philosophers, and Meteora was a place that produced many outstanding religious leaders for the entire Orthodox Church, not just for Greece. Today, there are still a few monks living in the monasteries, but visitors do not have the opportunity to meet, interact with, or learn from them. These churches are like a patient on life support—still existing, but no longer sacred, merely a place for tourists to visit, admire, and hear stories about the past.
From a broad and deep perspective, we can see that the culture here seems to have reached the final stage of the ‘formation-existence-deterioration-destruction’ cycle, even though there are still large, bustling crowds of visitors. Therefore, during the few days of our visit, each afternoon we went to the mountains, sat in silence, placed our hands on the ground to allow the energy of heaven and earth to flow, and sent words of gratitude, comfort, and love to the universe and to those around this place.
Returning to the story of Dũng Đoàn. At his funeral, Compassionate Service Society gave the visitors the opportunity to perform a small ceremony involving three drops of fragrant oil: The first drop was to express gratitude for what he had done; the second drop was to untie the knots in his heart, and the third drop was to send our love to him. In a similar spirit, when we visit the monasteries in Meteora, it is not just for enjoyment, but we must recognize that this place holds a culture that is fading, and our hearts should express love through silence, appreciation, and the dedication of our kindness or spiritual practice.
In this way, our visit will have meaning and reflect the spirit of true friends who have a heart for the place, not merely as ‘mindless’ tourists. Wherever we go, we practice the Bodhisattva path. That is why I enjoy traveling with you, practicing together, talking, sharing, and introducing our role on this journey to a place where the culture is gradually dying. We may not meet or interact with the priests, and it feels like we cannot find the soul of this place anymore, so the only way to support the church is by, for example, buying entry tickets or purchasing items from the gift shop to somewhat help them sustain their living. Items like honey and books are not made by them, but they sell them to make a small profit. It’s quite sad. Clearly, there is a faint pulse of life, no longer the prosperity of the past!
In its heyday, the monks here were exceptional, spiritually profound, and they went out to teach and had a significant influence on the Orthodox Church and its leadership, but that is no longer the case. I feel deeply moved: the universe revolves through the cycle of formation, existence, deterioration, and destruction. The exceptional people are gone, and the number of practitioners has dwindled, like birds flying without leaving a trace, like the sun and moon moving without leaving a mark, like lotus flowers rising above the water without holding a single drop of water. We come here and cannot find any traces. The scenes here only help us reminisce about a glorious past, but the true spirit is no longer present.
It is like entering that church and finding nothing to learn from. There is nothing left! That is the concern of a leader: there must be a Dharma or culture to teach. If, for example, every 10 minutes, someone gave an explanation, like the meaning of the cross or the significance of the Greek phrases displayed there, then one would surely feel the living essence of the teachings.
After this pilgrimage, when we return home, I hope that each person will remember the images from this place. The more we travel, the deeper we understand and realize our responsibility, just like when visiting a patient. Let it be etched in your heart: our mission is to continuously change and improve so that we are not cast aside, as future generations may think we are irrelevant, impractical, and unworthy of being learned from. That would be truly sad!
To change, we must constantly elevate our consciousness, so that our vision continues to expand. After my teachings are delivered to you, I hope that each person will open their heart to receive and understand more deeply, as I always includes a life guiding message (indication) in the lessons.
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