Day 5: Pilgrims and Puja

Under a second morning of sunny skies we left Galway and travelled north to Donegal, a county in the northwest. Our bus criss-crossed the border of North and South Ireland, the language of the road signs the only indication of which territory we were in.

Following the footsteps of generations of pilgrims, we explored the grounds of Lough Derg, Ireland’s most ancient pilgrimage site. This famous destination is lush and majestic with its manicured landscape and stone buildings, all located on an island in the middle of an enormous lake. It draws more than 20,000 believers per year, mostly Catholic and interdenominational Christian.

(Photo: Rachel King)

The sky alternated between rain and sunshine as students walked the winding prayer paths, wandered through the great stone Basilica and snapped pictures of the penitential prayer beds. The waves of the surrounding lake rippled in circles around the island.

“I think even the dramatic weather had a good effect,” said Rachel Rosenthal. “It was very remote. There is nothing you can do except reflect there.”

Photo: Rachel King

Commonly known as St. Patrick’s Purgatory, where, legend has it, the country’s patron saint fasted and received visions of purgatory, this place has inspired centuries of pilgrims to flock to the island. They seek penance, divine intervention or simply an escape from worldly distractions of everyday life. Most come for the 3-day pilgrimage, a rigorous experience consisting of walking barefoot, fasting and staying awake for 24 hours. Lough Derg ground manager Deborah Maxwell explained that these physical sacrifices are spiritual disciplines that allow people to reach their spiritual core.

“Taking off shoes levels all people,” she said. “Fasting is almost like detox. Good things can happen to your body and mind.” Throughout a pilgrim’s waking 24-hours, they are constantly engaged in prayer.

Debra Katz was struck by the fact that “the pagans found this place holy. At some point it was considered too pagan that Rome had it shut down. To me, it was interesting to see the confluence of paganism and Christianity and where those two meet.”

Stained glass insided Basilica at Lough Derg (Photo: Sarah Morgan)

After leaving the island, we made our way to County Cavan, where our tour made its first step towards eastern religion. At Jampa Ling, a Buddhist center tucked behind woods with narrow gravel paths, crisp air and Tibetan Buddhists greeted us.

“Seeing people in these robes and speaking with thick Irish brogues kind of made me smile,” said Debra Katz.

Photo: Andrew Nusca

We shared a meal of fresh salad and steaming bowls of curry vegetable soup with monks and other believers, swapping stories of our faith journey through Ireland with their journey to Jampa Ling.

One monk, Lobsang Wangchuck – his ordained name – shared with two students how the sex abuse scandal that shook the Catholic Church and his life directed his path toward Buddhism. Raised in the Catholic Church, he faced abuse for nearly 5 years. He left the church at 17 and discovered Buddhism in his twenties. Two years ago, on his 60th birthday, Wangchuck became the first western monk ordained by the center’s lama, the Ven. Panchan Otrul Rimpoche.

After dinner everyone crowded into a small room for Puja, a practice of meditation and training of the mind. The lama, his followers and Columbia students sat cross-legged, eyes closed before a large red-painted shrine filled with images of deities, a large framed photograph of the Dali Lama, and Buddhist statues. Ani La, the center’s nun, led the meditation service in both English and Tibetan chants.

Photo: Pilar Conci

Photo: Andrew Nusca

Though it was new for many students, some earnestly embraced the experience. “I really did enjoy it, even though I had no idea what they were saying,” said Rachel Rosenthal. “I felt that the whole mind and body doing the same thing inspiring to me. Yay, Buddhism!”

Day 1: Travel & Roscrea

Technically it’s Friday, but it’s a little hard to tell where Thursday ended and Friday began. Maybe during our brief stay in the Dublin airport, or maybe somewhere over the Atlantic. A lot of confusing things happened in the gray area between Thursday and Friday: we flew from Dublin to Shannon with a Wisconsin high school marching band off to play in a St. Patrick’s Day parade, we saw pagan protestors on the front page of the Irish Times and some of us bought garish plastic watches in a fit of suddenly-it’s-6 a.m. hysteria.

Photo: Sarah Morgan

Most of us woke up for real when our bus arrived at Roscrea, the monastery where we’ll be spending the next two nights. We were just in time for a bountiful lunch at 1 p.m., after which we piled back on the bus for a trip into town.

Town consisted of a trip to Tesco and a quick glance at the local castle. Our tour guide explained to us how many of Ireland’s towns grew up around monasteries like the one at Roscrea. Monasteries, with their golden chalices and other implements for the Eucharist, were fat targets for the Vikings, and Ireland’s round towers – one of which we saw on our short drive – may have been built for Christians’ protection against Viking raiders. Their entryways stand several meters above the ground. They were also used as bell towers to chime the hours and call the people to their regular prayers.

A few Roscrea monks still structure their day around Vigils and Vespers and Compline. Father Nivard Kinsella gave us a tour of the church where they worship and the cloisters where they live. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1858 when the order bought its 500-acre farm from two elderly women in London. That farm, with its 250 cows, now provides the monastery’s main source of income. Most of the monks are too old to teach in the private school on the grounds.

Only 17 monks now live in the cloisters. The oldest is 94-and-a-half years old, and half of the community is over 80. Father Kinsella himself is 81.

"We’re a bit lost in a church this size," Father Kinsella said, gesturing to the empty cathedral around him. "There’s a very big drift away from religion in Ireland."

The Roscrea monks, not drifting anywhere, take vows of poverty, obedience and stability. This means they have no possessions of their own – and they will remain at Roscrea their entire lives (apparently St. Benedict felt that, without this vow, monks would flit around too much). They meet at 4 a.m. every morning for Vigils, a 40-minute prayer in which they watch with the Lord for the coming morning. There are three shorter offices, or prayers, during the day, followed by Vespers at 5:15 and finally Complitorium at 7:30 p.m.

After dinner this evening, we’ll have a chance to see the evening church service – and to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath. And then we will very gratefully get an actual night’s sleep.