“In the late nineties, a small group of us took a pilgrimage to Arizona and New Mexico in the USA and camped out at a few different sites such as Canyon de Chelly. It is one of those places that takes your breath away—you might call it a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. A lady from the Navaho tribe accompanied us as a guide. We did a Tibetan Buddhist practice called chod, which means “cutting through ego-clinging.” During the trip I offered a talk to the group every day. The Navaho woman overheard the discourse while she was busy doing her chores nearby. One time I was talking about the Tantric Buddhist notion that everything is sacred. Toward the end she approached me and said that these ideas were similar to what her tradition teaches and is called “walking in beauty.” In my understanding, walking in beauty entails being in harmony with the people of the world and all living things. It also signifies internal wholeness, a feeling that we are no longer fragmented and we have a benevolent relationship with the universe. Seeing the sacredness in everything is a way through which we can experience such goodness.”
Excerpt From
Choosing Compassion
Anam Thubten & Sharon Roe