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Running the Shikoku Pilgrimage: 900 Miles to Enlightenment

"Running the Shikoku Pilgrimage" is an account of a solo woman's journey running Japan's 900-mile Buddhist pilgrimage, a distance equal to running from San Diego, California to Oregon. At 37 years-old Amy Chavez is suddenly let go from her university job, and is left wondering what to do next. She confides in her friend, a Buddhist priest, who encourages her to seek enlightenment on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. He gives her "cosmic tools" to take with her: prayer beads, mantras and a guide to the Buddhist pantheon of gods.

This story takes place in 1998, before the ultra-running craze and before the proliferation of information via the internet. It was truly journeying into the unknown, using only information handed down from those who had walked the pilgrimage before. During her five-week journey, running almost a Marathon a day, Amy visits all 88 temples on the pilgrimage route. She is sometimes given lodging by locals. Other times she sleeps in bus stops and on park benches. One night, she sleeps with the dead. She serendipitously finds herself delivering udon noodles one morning, and meditating with Zen monks another. Throughout her pilgrimage, she meets the Buddhist gods and eventually learns the power of metaphysics. With this new found knowledge, she is able to enter the sacred mandala.

This is a story about Japan, Buddhism and running, but is also a book that explains in concrete terms, the Buddhist search for enlightenment.

  • Format
  • hardcover
  • Pages
  • 220
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9781884244353
  • Genres
  • japan, travel
  • Release date
  • 2013