The Legend of the Sri Lankan Feet
"It's only 3km away, that's only a short walk from here," many Sri Lankans met on the road often says something of this sort to the author. No joking, no exaggeration of self-pride, but just stating what is to them a simple matter of fact. And they certainly back up such talks with action: the author, on his bus trips, has seen too many locals, in their simple worn-out flip-flops, walking next to major highways, appearing in the middle-of-nowheres between towns that are not particularly close even by driving.
Someone with no firsthand experience of the island country could be forgiven in lightly dismissing such long-distance walks by locals as mere necessities of an impoverished people. Perhaps there is some truths to this, as frugality in everyday life is constantly visible here. However, knowing that the average 3-hour inter-city bus rider costs only 300 Rupees (roughly 2 USD) and inter-village school buses commonly exist (as the author was informed by a 11th-grader at his home-stay destination), the author knows the long walks are more than just about financial constraints.
As far as walking is concerned, there is one cultural aspect to make the Sri Lankan feet as tough as metal. In the country's myriad Buddhist and Hindu temples, worshipers are required to take off their shoes. This much the author has seen before in Southeast Asian countries, but whats makes the Sri Lankan case different is that the worshipers are required to go barefoot not just before entering the building, but before entry to the ENTIRE EXTENDED compound. What this usually entails is hundreds of meters of barefoot walks on rough stone paths heated by unrelenting tropical sun.
Not a peep of complaint from the Sri Lankans (especially put next to the various "ouch"-shouting, tiptoeing foreigners). In fact, the locals seem to enjoy barefoot walks so much that many voluntarily walk down the main streets of towns barefoot, often holding flip-flops in their hands. Maybe they are going between temples and thus religiously required to do so, yet, if these barefooted people's genuine smiles can be telling signs, at least what is clear is that they are not at all bothered by the grime and dirt of the the average urban thoroughfare.
The locals' nonchalance toward dirty, painful feet reminds the author of his own Buddhist temple stay back in Japan. Morning zazen (sitting in one position for hours of soul-searching) required one to stay completely still at the risk of being hit by the resident monk with a long bamboo stick. The goal was to make the individual forget about worldly discomforts (itchy back, flies on the face, sweat running down the body..just to mention a few) and focus on higher purpose of connecting with the inner self.
In this context, what the Sri Lankans have may not be tough feet, but tough minds, minds that are capable of transcending the very physical concept of pain until that pain simply disappears, out of both physiological adaptation and mental desensitization. It is like going through temple stay zazen, but in a much more long-term and mundane way. They have achieved the goal of ignoring discomfort without having to go through special sessions of sitting still. The commonness of barefooted walks only serve to make zazen ridiculous in elaborateness.
To take the argument a step further, it would not be too much of an overstatement to frame the Sri Lankan tough feet as symbols of tradition's (at least until now) victory over commercialism. As material riches sweep over the other Buddhist and Hundu countries of Asia, people there are quickly forgetting the virtues of simple living and stoic minds as they move to enjoying the latest technologies and conveniences that the modern world can offer. Visiting temples in itself is becoming more of a chore for them than display of religiosity.
In these people's blind pursuits of so-called "progress" and a "higher standard of living," they have abandoned the belief that lack of "nice things" does not always equate to shameful poverty. However, to not have, just like to lavish one's resources on "nice things," is ultimately a conscious choice made by the individual, one chosen based on ideology and not completely the depth of one's pocket. It would only be good if the Sri Lankan feet can be physical reminder of this fact to the countless other so-called religious people around the world.
Someone with no firsthand experience of the island country could be forgiven in lightly dismissing such long-distance walks by locals as mere necessities of an impoverished people. Perhaps there is some truths to this, as frugality in everyday life is constantly visible here. However, knowing that the average 3-hour inter-city bus rider costs only 300 Rupees (roughly 2 USD) and inter-village school buses commonly exist (as the author was informed by a 11th-grader at his home-stay destination), the author knows the long walks are more than just about financial constraints.
As far as walking is concerned, there is one cultural aspect to make the Sri Lankan feet as tough as metal. In the country's myriad Buddhist and Hindu temples, worshipers are required to take off their shoes. This much the author has seen before in Southeast Asian countries, but whats makes the Sri Lankan case different is that the worshipers are required to go barefoot not just before entering the building, but before entry to the ENTIRE EXTENDED compound. What this usually entails is hundreds of meters of barefoot walks on rough stone paths heated by unrelenting tropical sun.
Not a peep of complaint from the Sri Lankans (especially put next to the various "ouch"-shouting, tiptoeing foreigners). In fact, the locals seem to enjoy barefoot walks so much that many voluntarily walk down the main streets of towns barefoot, often holding flip-flops in their hands. Maybe they are going between temples and thus religiously required to do so, yet, if these barefooted people's genuine smiles can be telling signs, at least what is clear is that they are not at all bothered by the grime and dirt of the the average urban thoroughfare.
The locals' nonchalance toward dirty, painful feet reminds the author of his own Buddhist temple stay back in Japan. Morning zazen (sitting in one position for hours of soul-searching) required one to stay completely still at the risk of being hit by the resident monk with a long bamboo stick. The goal was to make the individual forget about worldly discomforts (itchy back, flies on the face, sweat running down the body..just to mention a few) and focus on higher purpose of connecting with the inner self.
In this context, what the Sri Lankans have may not be tough feet, but tough minds, minds that are capable of transcending the very physical concept of pain until that pain simply disappears, out of both physiological adaptation and mental desensitization. It is like going through temple stay zazen, but in a much more long-term and mundane way. They have achieved the goal of ignoring discomfort without having to go through special sessions of sitting still. The commonness of barefooted walks only serve to make zazen ridiculous in elaborateness.
To take the argument a step further, it would not be too much of an overstatement to frame the Sri Lankan tough feet as symbols of tradition's (at least until now) victory over commercialism. As material riches sweep over the other Buddhist and Hundu countries of Asia, people there are quickly forgetting the virtues of simple living and stoic minds as they move to enjoying the latest technologies and conveniences that the modern world can offer. Visiting temples in itself is becoming more of a chore for them than display of religiosity.
In these people's blind pursuits of so-called "progress" and a "higher standard of living," they have abandoned the belief that lack of "nice things" does not always equate to shameful poverty. However, to not have, just like to lavish one's resources on "nice things," is ultimately a conscious choice made by the individual, one chosen based on ideology and not completely the depth of one's pocket. It would only be good if the Sri Lankan feet can be physical reminder of this fact to the countless other so-called religious people around the world.
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