The Walking Monk

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007 Alexander Point, Ontario
It was a fluid day. The intense hot weather forced fluid (sweat) from the pores, invited plentiful liquids to be
swallowed, and meant three showers and two dips in the Ottawa River. Ryan's Campground was a great refuge but the
shade of the hard and soft-wood trees wasn't enough to cool us. Such is the dualities of life. As the Gita states
"tolerate the extremities."
Sasha, from Deep River, came to do a story for the North River Times. She had recently been to China where a monk had
tied a beaded band to her wrist. So now she settled herself at our campsite for a few cherished moments to hear from
three pilgrims about travelling for the soul.
42 kms
Thursday, August 2, 2007 Petawawa, Ontario
The infinite slope of the highway's shoulder is a continual aggravation on the legs. A snowmobile trail was the
solution for a good portion of the day. Bare-foot through soft sands in the midst of wild blueberries and
raspberries. The shoes came on when patches of healthy poison ivy appeared.
Petawawa is a large army base. Sarah is a young woman employed in the medical department of the armed forces. She was
in the parking lot of a hair salon when she saw me walking by. She cancelled her hair appointment and ran out to ask
about spiritual life. We met later at the beach where we presented her with the sacred Bhagavad Gita as a gift.
Eight year old Shawn and I walked for several blocks together. He is with the army cadets and his dad is with the
forces. While on his way home, we talked. He carried himself like a real trooper with confident strides and head held
high. "What's your favorite team?" he asked. "I don't follow sports much but if there are any walking teams I might
start cheering for them," I replied.
Lisa Brazzo, of the Post came to do a story. Shawn Chase, of The Daily Observer, and also with the forces, just came
back from Afghanistan, where Canadians endevour at peacekeeping. He also came to explore the pilgrimage across
Canada.
39 kms
Friday, August 3, 2007 Pembroke, Ontario
"The divine power didn't create junk. It is we who screwed it up," he said in relation to people and the world. Lou
spoke passionately with a large measure of compassion. He and his partner, Pam, had gone through a tough life
including alcoholism, but they pulled out of it and are on regular travels to help others with substance abuse
problems. He and Pam saw Yovany and I walking with our obvious robes and they just wanted to meet us.
"I'm working on humility. I'm working on it all the time," was my humble remark.I backed him. Behind all true success
is humility.
In Pembroke, I met a lot of people. Mary Lou delivers papers. She's in her twenties. She asked about my lifestyle and
asked if I was single. "Yes, monks are single. How about you?" "I'm not married," she said with confidence. "Some
people I know spent $80,000 on a wedding. In three months they filed for divorce and all the money went straight the
window. I'm not getting married."
I sighed and I thought, "These are the signs of the times."
Our hosts for two nights at Black Bay were a happy couple named Jay and Frank. I've known Jay for years as a visitor
to our Toronto temple. Her hubby was formerly a monk with the Franciscan order. We had interesting things to share
with each other.
42 kms
Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007 Renfrew, Ontario
Yesterday was like being in a sauna. Sweat at 4AM already. Today was cooler even though the Ottawa River was my
companion to the left for the last two days. The valley is beautiful. There are forests interspersed with farmland-
cornfields and more. Rich blue chicory, golden rod, purple strife, red sumac, and white Queen Anne's lace all colour
the earth. The dreaded poison ivy continues to crawl. It's an interesting mix. The Krishna mix.
Skunks cannot seem to manouever free of auto wheels. The result- disaster! The air is scented by them- something like
strong mustard seed oil.
But in the town of Renfrew, people were terrific. Chris Kyte from MYFM radio and I had a nice little chat and a DJ
from CJHR radio talked about the monk passing through town. The Renfrew Mercury newspaper sent John Carter for
pictures and an interview. John and Minnie in Arnprior were delighted to talk. Minnie, who is originally from Burma,offered her obeisances as she had done for monks ever since she was a little girl. Amongst the three people of our
party, Doug, Yovany and I, we meet many people on a regular basis.
38 kms
Sunday, August 5, 2007 Carp, Ontario
The Ottawa River was a major thorough fare for French explorers. Now, four hundred years later, people have invested
in land with water frontage on this large but tame river. There are sections of white water and I'm told this is
where there is some of the best whitewater rafting in North America.
I have visited sacred rivers in India such as the Ganges, Yamuna and a host of others. I have bathed in them to go
for soul cleansing and have appreciated their worth. I also see a value in this river that I walk next to. If enough
people led pilrimages along its banks and recieved their waters, it too in time could become sacred water.
A ride to Ottawa meant going to our iSKCON temple to conduct a talk on 'the lovable object.
Katie Lewis, from the Ottawa Citizen came to clue in on my third walking journey.
30 kms
Monday, August 6, 2007 Kanata, Ontario
It has been two months since encountering an early morning downpour. Rain drops fell on the open tent at 2:45 AM. It
was time to rise, shower and get showered on again. Our host was Katherine, who runs an Eco Wellness center in Carp.
The lawn was our launching station for the early rise.
A bright, young university student named Kaspar, came to walk with me for some hours. At 22, he has the passion of a
young man, but prioritizes and makes spirituality his main focal point.
John Rotundo and a camera man from CTV came for an interview for the 6PM news.
The weather became steamy and the river was inviting but beach supervisors warned us of possible e-coli bacteria. They suggested that we go up the river to another beach which we did. It was fine. It sure beats swimming in a pool
full of chlorine.
An evening shift completed further trekking along the Ottawa River. The south shore is graced with green spaces,
parkland, and lots of upbeat people leading right up to the Parliament Buildings of Ottawa, the nation's capital.
Many people who had seen the Ottawa Citizen newspaper story about the walk stopped and chatted with me.
I finished the day's walking at.......
56 kms
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 Ottawa to Russell, Ontario
Today I dedicated all of my steps to a local man who gave up his life. He was a friend of a friend. Although such a
way of departing is generally not the most auspicious, collective prayer can help just as wishing someone well always
does.
After a long weekend (Civic holiday), the traffic moved in full swing again. The passion was on and motorists
attentive to the road also noticed the robes "as seen on TV." The honking got contagious. In the town of Metcalfe,
Marc Gravelle and his partner Lori-Anne, who own and operate 'The Trading Post' store/ snack bar, treated Doug and I
to sandwiches and desert prepared according to our prescription. They were very generous and gracious. very nice
people. The media had covered the walk so well that by the time I reached Russell at 6PM, people were approaching me
every ten strides to offer congratulations.
The Russell Villager newspaper sent Christine out for a story and Bear FM radio from Ottawa also did a blurb.
One motorist offered a monk joke, "I'm sure you've heard it a million times. Here it is....a young man joined an
order that could only say one word each year. The first year he said 'hungry' so he was given more food. The second
year he said 'cold' so he was given an extra blanket. The third year he said 'quit' and the head of the monastery
said 'Good, you've been complaining ever since you got here'."
40 kms
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 Casselman, Ontario
On the last day, I read a welcoming sign to the Metcalfe United Church- 'What's missing? CH_ _CH." It was A catchy
quiz. You can answer yourself. The question addresses the need to embrace spirituality. I have been encouraging folks
to take to something spiritual because it checks the imbalanced lives we live. This imbalance was expressed by a
farmer I met today. He saw me through the window and came out to greet me. "Greed!" was what he identified as the
created imbalance. He talked of oversized homes with air conditioners left on while people went to visit their summer
cottages. "That weighs heavy on hydro output." He expressed that fate will do a number on us all. "Something's going
to happen because of this (greed)." I couldn't disagree.
A young man, Martin, pulled over and invited me to his workplace, the Municipality Office for the region. The office
workers posed many questions out of curiousity.
At lunch time, Doug and I shared our meal with the Yvan, the local potter, in front of the old Agriculture Museum in
Casselman and he shared his homegrown vegetables with us. Three newspapers sent journalists, Matthew Talbot from The
Review, Jonathan from La Nouvelle, and Marie Ciccini, the editor of The Prescott-Russell News.
I met two ladies who were Jehovah's Witnesses. Previous encounters led me to believe that members were very closed,
but this couple was fairly communicable.
Many people in the area adorn their froint lawns with a Madonna (not to be mistaken for the sensuous pop star). This
shows that there is a spiritual sentiment around. To that I say "Hooray!" and "Hare!"
Off to Montreal now to catch a plane to Vancouver to attend the Ratha Yatra festival. See you after the weekend.
32 kms