Pilgrimage and Meditation Retreat: Similarities & Differences
Is walking a pilgrimage similar to being on a meditation retreat? In this post, we’ll review how being a pilgrim is similar and different from being on retreat. When walking pilgrimages, I often reflect on how similar it feels to being on retreat, so I wanted to write this to explore this topic more deeply. May it be of benefit!
Taking time to rest and reflect on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage in Japan.
What is Pilgrimage?
Pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place. Historically, pilgrimage is walked on foot and is walked for religious reasons. In recent years, however, people’s reason for embarking on pilgrimage has widened to include spiritual practice or healing.
By nature, pilgrimage includes the inner and outer journey and can be transformational to the pilgrim. It is a time for the person walking to go within and learn, grow, and go through physically, mental, and emotional challenges (and insights).
Being on a Meditation Retreat
There are many types of meditation retreats out there. My background is in silent meditation retreats with a Buddhist lens. I’ve worked at retreats centers throughout my life, including Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California as well as Drala Mountain Center in Colorado. Typically, the retreats last anywhere from 2 hours to 2 months.
Meditation retreats can offer a time of rest from the busyness of everyday life - a precious opportunity to go within.
Similarities Between Pilgrimage & Retreat
Spiritual Purpose
Both are undertaken with a spiritual aspiration in mind. The soul’s calling led both the pilgrim and the meditation practitioner to go deeper into their inner world. This motivation drives them to seek adventure, whether it's due to challenges like grief or divorce, or a positive goal of stepping away from life’s distractions to go within.
Leaving the Known World Behind
Both involve stepping away from everyday life and routines. Pilgrimage involves traveling to a sacred place, while a meditation retreat involves staying in a designated, often secluded, location.
Community & Solitude
Both include being in sangha, or community, as well as spending time in solitude. During retreat, one is often in silence within community, yet the community is held within the silence beautifully. Each person does specific jobs to maintain the retreat in some way (dishes, sweeping, etc.), and at the end of the retreat, there is inevitably a deep connection with those whom you’ve spend time in silence among.
Pilgrimage is similar in that one is walking among other pilgrims who share the same goal of completing the pilgrimage. There is immediate community felt among these pilgrims, who help each other out, providing resources and support.
Ritual & Practice
Both are steeped in ancient rituals and practices that deepen one’s experience. During retreat, often there is chanting involved, linking the practitioner to an age-old teaching from the lineage. On pilgrimage, the archetype of the pilgrim is evoked and the pilgrim follows the practices of the place. For example, on Japan’s Shikoku Pilgrimage, each visit to a temple is followed by a series of practices including chanting the Heart Sutra, giving offerings to the shrines, and a lot of bowing (because, Japan).
Intentionally Facing Challenges
Both involve placing oneself in the face of difficulty for the potentiality of transformation. During retreat, one meditates for 12+ hours a day, which is mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging. Try sitting in silence with your awareness on your breath for 5 minutes and you’ll notice that it is not as simple as it seems! Pilgrimage, similarly, is obviously extremely physically challenging when considering the mileage while wearing a heavy backpack, and the mental and emotional challenges are included as one walks alone and with their thoughts, feelings, and memories for hours upon hours.
Transformation & Insight
Much like the analogy of the pearl, difficulty creates beauty. The challenges lead to transformation and insight, leaving the pilgrim and the practitioner wiser in the end.
Walking the Kumano Kodo in Japan’s Kii Peninsula, 2024
Differences Between Pilgrimage & Retreat
Movement vs. Stillness
Pilgrimage often involves physical travel and movement towards a sacred destination, encompassing a journey that is as important as the destination itself. A meditation retreat usually has more time of stillness, with participants (the sangha) staying in one location to focus inward.
Curated Environment vs. Retreat Bubble
Part of pilgrimage is focused on external sacred places and the physical journey. In contrast, meditation retreats fully focus on internal exploration and mindfulness practices.
Figuring Things Out vs. Resting into Spaciousness
Pilgrimages can involve much more logistical details than a retreat. When you are on retreat, one is encourage to rest into the spaciousness, allowing one to “turn off” their thinking mind and follow the rhythm of the retreat. At retreat centers, there’s often a bell for each practice session and meal times. Not to mention, the meals are included so you never have to worry about finding food or deciding what to eat!
Pilgrimage can be logistically challenging depending on the route one chooses. If one does not speak the native language, this can be particularly challenging. During the 88 Temples pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan, I needed to reserve each guest house ahead of time, find vegetarian food (a huge challenge), make sure I was on the right path, and all in a language I did not speak. With that being said, the Camino in Spain can be very straightforward and with a lot of resources for pilgrims.
The Nature of the Experience
Pilgrimages can be more physically demanding, involving long walks, challenging terrain, and exposure to the elements. Meditation retreats are typically more about mental discipline and can be physically less demanding, though they definitely require sustained mental focus and stillness.
All in all, while on pilgrimage and on retreat, you’re carving out space in your life to contemplate and directly relate with your inner world, often giving yourself permission to slow down, reflect, and be transformed in the process.
