SuttaCentral
Hi everyone I had this idea to try and do a tudong on the Appalachian trail on the North Eastern US, the trail passes through some 14 states,
Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
I’m tryingrying to get an idea of the logistics and how it would work with board and everything else, is there anyone here in any of those states?
Bhante,
Do you mean you wish to try and do the WHOLE trail? or just along it where you can?
I know some people who have done most or all of the trail. I think the hardest part would be that a good amount of the trail will see you going a whole day’s walk without seeing a town, so being able to pindapat will be sporadic at best.
if you have an email , PM me it, and I can connect you with a buddhist friend who has done 80% of the trail and he may be able to give you much information.
Where i live, Bhavana Society, is also within an hour and a half of the trail HQ(harpers ferry), and closer to the trail itself, so if end up being in the area I could find some people to help for support.
What is Tudong?
He’s referring to a monk making an extended journey by foot without any means of support other than donations of food that people encountered along the way may place into the almsbowl. Here’s the background of the word: Tudong defined
It can be a rigorous undertaking even in countries where most people recognize the robe, know that the wearer depends on food donations, and feel motivated to generously give. The idea of living on faith (alms support alone) on the isolated Appalachian Trail, where people can be sparse, and those few encountered may be unfamiliar with the robe & bowl, and are probably carrying the bare minimal food they’ve brought along (packing lightly) for their own journey - that gives me pause. This would be something to plan carefully.