Monk Takahiro Ueda's World Travelogue: A Journey Through World Religions and History - Why I, a Monk, Set Out on a Journey

With the theme of "What is religion?", I set out on a trip around the world in late March 2019, visiting 13 countries over 80 days. The route was Tanzania → Turkey → Israel → Poland → Czech Republic → Austria → Bosnia and Herzegovina → Croatia → Italy/Vatican → Spain → USA → Cuba.

Some of you might wonder, "You're a monk, so why aren't you going to India, the birthplace of Buddhism?" but for me, this was an important journey to ask, "What is religion in the first place?"

The experiences from that time are the origin of this blog. From here on, I will introduce a travelogue reconstructed from my articles written back in 2019. Reading them back now, I feel a sense of embarrassment at the youthful tone of the writing, but it captures who I was at that time. I would be happy if you could also sense the differences in me today (laughs).

This is a travelogue that documents religious holy sites and local conditions that are not often seen, from the perspective of a monk. It is a travelogue with a unique viewpoint different from ordinary travel journals, so I hope you enjoy it.

Now, let's dive into the main story.

Introduction

This may come as a surprise, but I, Takahiro Ueda, left Japan on March 26th of this month (*as of 2019), and

Tanzania → Turkey → Israel → Poland → Czech Republic → Austria → Bosnia and Herzegovina → Croatia → Italy/Vatican → Spain → USA → Cuba

I plan to return to Japan on June 14th after visiting these 13 countries.

Some of you might think, "What's this all of a sudden?" but for me, this is a journey I have been preparing for over the past year and a half, and it holds a great deal of personal significance.

The reason is that during my university days, I studied religious studies in the Faculty of Letters.

From that time on, I began to develop an interest not only in Buddhism but also in Christianity, cultural anthropology, psychology, and various other subjects.

And as I specialized in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in graduate school, my eyes were drawn more and more to other religions and cultures.

I want to know more about what a temple is.

I want to know more about what the Buddhism I believe in is.

What does it mean to live as a monk in the first place?

It seems I have a personality where I cannot rest until I have thought things through to my own satisfaction.

As a Jodo Shinshu monk, I want to fulfill my duties with conviction.

And I want to continue thinking, without just being satisfied and ending it there.

That is what I think.

And I believe that the existence of the "other side," which is others, is essential to knowing the "this side," which is oneself.

We are not independent beings made up solely of "ourselves."

Without the "other side," the "this side" cannot exist.

That is precisely why I believe that by learning about other religions and world history, the "this side" of Buddhism will also come into clearer focus.

I think that if we understand the differences, our perspective on Buddhism and Japan itself will also change.

When I read the Jewish and Christian "Bible" or the Islamic "Quran," interesting discoveries appear one after another.

It is exciting to see how much ways of thinking can change when regions, eras, and cultures differ.

Also, there are times when I find aspects similar to us or commonalities, and I cannot help but be impressed and think, "Hmm, I see."

Until now, I have learned most of these things through books.

For me, they have become truly irreplaceable.

But that is exactly why I thought the following:

"I want to see what I have learned from books in person!"

"How will I feel about what I have gained from books when I am actually there!"

I became desperate to go to those places.

That is the reason why I decided to take this trip.

The route I am taking this time is one I have carefully selected. Each location is packed with my personal attachment.

Through the experiences of this journey, I would like to talk about the religion, history, and culture of each country and city

from the perspectives of

a "Japanese person" and "Monk Takahiro Ueda."

I have never been to Europe, nor do I have any experience with long-term travel of more than a week. While I am certainly anxious, I am truly looking forward to this trip.

I would be very happy if you would continue to join me on this journey.

What kind of country is Tanzania, the first destination of my trip?

Well, first of all, I would like to talk about Tanzania, the first destination of my trip around the world.

Tanzania is a country located in central Africa with a population of about 57 million people.

That said, you might not have a clear image of Tanzania right away.

I myself had no idea until I decided to go on this trip.

However, I am sure you have heard of the name "Kilimanjaro."

I think coffee lovers in particular will find it familiar.

Yes, that Kilimanjaro is here in Tanzania.

I started my journey at Kilimanjaro and headed to my main destination in this country, the Olduvai Gorge.

What is the Olduvai Gorge?

The Olduvai Gorge is known as the cradle of humanity. In 1959, fossils of an ancestor of humanity called Australopithecus, dating back about 1.8 million years, were excavated here.

This discovery brought the world's attention to the study of human ancestors, and the Olduvai Gorge became famous.

(*Currently, excavations and research have progressed, and the oldest human fossils date back about 7 million years, with fossils being found in various places in Africa. In other words, it is not strictly the cradle of humanity, but I consider it the cradle of humanity in the sense that human research began here.)

And this Olduvai Gorge is located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Ngorongoro. It is a place name with a pronunciation unfamiliar to Japanese people, but...

Actually, this Ngorongoro is also a very famous place.

It is registered as a World Heritage site and is called a paradise for animals.

And this Ngorongoro is also known as a place visited during the filming of "How do you like Wednesday?" (As a fan of "How do you like Wednesday?", this is an irresistible place for me.)

In Tanzania, I proceeded with my journey by asking a local safari company for assistance. It was not a place I could have visited on my own.

I entered the town of Arusha from Kilimanjaro, and from there, I headed toward Ngorongoro in a safari car, aiming for the Olduvai Gorge.

Why go all the way to the Olduvai Gorge?

Assuming it is understood that the Olduvai Gorge is said to be the birthplace of humanity, why did I, as a monk, have to travel all the way there?

The person who gave me the impetus for this was Frans de Waal.

Frans de Waal is a primatologist from the Netherlands, and as mentioned in the profile above, he is one of the researchers who has had a very significant impact on the world.

And I was shocked when I read his book, 'Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved'.

This work discusses human morality and religion based on insights gained through research on chimpanzees and bonobos.

Where did our morality come from? Are humans inherently good or inherently evil? These discussions have traditionally been spoken of from philosophical and ideological perspectives.

However, de Waal argues that these are not unique to humans but also exist in animals, and that humans do not have a privileged monopoly on the standards of good and evil.

We tend to think of ourselves as 'beings different from other animals'.

In other words, we tend to think, 'We humans, who manipulate language, use tools, and possess high intelligence, are at the pinnacle of biological species,' but we are also a type of animal. Reading this book makes it clear that the wall separating us from animals is thinner than we think—or rather, that the wall hardly exists at all.

Humanity developed intelligence in order to survive in harsh environments.

Originally, humanity were inhabitants of the African jungle. We lived quietly in the trees of the vast jungle, eating fruits and the like.

However, when the Ice Age began, the jungles decreased, and the world transformed into the vast plains of the savanna with few trees.

The savanna is full of large carnivores, starting with lions.

Furthermore, the trees that bore fruit disappeared. It was a food crisis.

Before the Ice Age, we could escape from lions by climbing trees in the jungle. Moreover, there was plenty of fruit on those trees to serve as food.

However, now that the Ice Age has begun, humans have been cast out onto the dangerous, vast plains of the savanna.

To survive there, we developed and evolved intelligence and morality, and at the end of that long path, religion was born.

Some of you might be wondering the following at this point.

"It's not like all the jungles disappeared, and there are trees in the savanna, too. Why didn't they just live there?"

That is true. You are absolutely right.

However, that was not possible.

This is because those places were dominated by various creatures stronger than our ancestors.

In fact, in the natural world, humans were nothing more than the weak.

For example, one should not underestimate chimpanzees, which are large primates. Their combat power is tremendous. They possess the arm strength to easily tear a human body to shreds, and their sharp canines have the power to crush bone.

During the Ice Age, the safe zones in the trees were completely under their control. There was no room for humanity, the weak, in those few places of refuge.

The abilities that humanity, as the weak, acquired for survival.

These were intelligence and the group behavior and solidarity based on it, which eventually led to morality and religion, allowing humanity to reign in its current position in the natural world today.

De Waal states that within us, as a biological instinct, there is a standard of good and evil, and it drives us as we live in society. This reflects the characteristics of a scholar who has continued research for many years as a primatologist.

We humans are also animals.

Humans are not the only ones who are special.

Both morality and religion were born in order to survive as animals.

If that is the case, then morality and religion are not so bad after all.

There is great significance in that.

I felt very encouraged by that realization.

When I first read this book, I was shocked.

I am an animal...

I thought I understood that, but it seems I didn't understand it at all.

I had assumed that humans were fundamentally different from other animals.

But it seems that was not the case.

This book gave me ideas and perspectives that I had never had before.

It was the moment my way of thinking about humanity was completely transformed.

I want to see it! The beginning of humanity! The birthplace of humanity, where humans were forced to evolve in that way!

I was so shocked that my head was completely filled with this thought.

In fact, this desire to visit the birthplace of humanity was the direct trigger for this world tour.

To get to Tanzania, where the Olduvai Gorge is located, you need to take several connecting flights.

Since I am going all the way to Africa, it would be a waste to just go there and come back.

If so, there are many other places I have wanted to visit, right?

That is how I decided on the route for this world tour, by confronting what I had learned up until now.

That is precisely why I had to start from the Olduvai Gorge. This is the reason why I went out of my way to choose the Olduvai Gorge.

The Beginning of the Journey - Leaving Japan, Heading to Tanzania

Well, I have been talking for a long time, but my world tour is finally beginning.

Right now, I am in a town called Arusha in Tanzania. (*As of March 2019)

This is a town located about an hour's drive west of Kilimanjaro Airport, and it serves as the base camp for Ngorongoro.

It took almost a full day after taking off from Narita to finally arrive in Tanzania.

It's hot. The high is 32 degrees Celsius!

The sun is intense!

For someone from Hokkaido, this temperature difference is quite tough.

The one-hour drive from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha.

Arusha is said to be a land rich in water, with many fields and even rice paddies.

Well, while gazing at such beautiful scenery, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

I want to convey this scenery and what I am about to experience in my own words, if possible.

Photos are nice, but I want to convey it through words.

I had planned to make this trip's articles as concise as possible, focusing mainly on photos.

However, now that I am actually here, I felt a desire to convey things through words bubbling up from within me.

So, that's that!

From now on, I will write the articles more in the style of a travelogue!

Please forgive me as the writing style will change quite suddenly from the next article (laughs).

I would appreciate it if you could watch over me with a warm heart.

I will finally depart for Ngorongoro tomorrow.

This article is a reconstruction of the following article previously published on this blog.

As this is a compilation, the content differs slightly from the original article. If you are interested, please refer to the original article as well.

That concludes [Monk Takahiro Ueda's World Travelogue] A Journey Through World Religions and History: Why I, a Monk, Set Out on a Journey.

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