Date

Monday 18th November 2019

Holy Places Visited

  • Eredeti Fény Zen Templom [“Original Light Zen Temple”], near Kerektó
  • Szentlélek-Plébániatemplom [“Holy Spirit Parish Church”], Pilisszentlélek

Distance Travelled

Approximately 12½ km (8 miles)

Route

From the village I headed south past small lakes into the forested Visegrádi Hegység [“Visegrád Mountains”] through light rain and under grey clouds.

After the village of Kerektó I visited a Korean Zen Buddhist Temple, where I was kindly welcomed by a monk named Dokhay Sunim and invited to stay for a vegan lunch. I met many lovely people here, including Lila, who had recently finished a meditation retreat, and Matthias, a volunteer from Brazil, who I helped out with the washing up.

The temple is among yurts, a dormitory, an office building and an allotment, and is home to three residents monks as well as visitors and volunteers. Meditation retreats are regularly organised here and I was very grateful for how welcomed I was and the support shown towards my Peace Pilgrimage.

The sun started shining in the afternoon as I walked on through the hills and forest to the remote village of Pilisszentlélek, where I visited the local Parish Church before settling down for the night.