Walking Taiwan: Modern Monk

National Geographic researcher Jeff Chen just finished his 17-day walk across Taiwan for a project he called a "A Walk on My Ethnic Lines." We loved his interaction with a modern-day monk he met on the road...

I told mother I wouldn’t walk at night, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re a lazy college student who usually gets a late start to the day. About a week ago, as we walked down a mountain road at night, a van stopped to offer us a ride. We approached with caution to find only the kindest of all earthly creatures: William, the driver, and his two golden Labradors.

We hop in and he hands me a card.

“Read the card, and you’ll know why I picked you up,” he says.

The card read, “All for one, one for all.” He explained that he was a fellow backpacker and that his club had handed out these cards for its members to share with the world.

The basic concept: Help the world feel at home in your part of the world and others will do so to you in their parts of the world. That night, we stopped at a 7-Eleven (or 7-Enlighten as we like to call it now), and William helped map out some great destinations. He dropped us off at a world-class sleeping spot, a fishing port, where we woke up to the freshest of all starts.

Fast forward a few days and about 60 miles, a simple twist of fate puts us back in touch with William. We’d been walking along the main road and we hear a yelp. The van swerves to the side of the road. He tells us to get in.

We can’t turn him down after our first run-in, so we grab dinner at a vegetarian joint and find out that William’s a monk. That explains his shaved head, thin structure, and gray clothing, but not his cigarette smoking and coffee addiction. He’s still a monk though—a modern Buddhist monk.

Monks these days aren’t quite the mystical characters we think them to be in the West. Sure they wear the robe and are devoted to religion, but they also use Mac products and are into organics too.

By this point, William, a beautiful specimen of the Earth, has talked our way into a free dip in the local hot springs where we can relax our tired bones.

He discusses politics in the form of humanity, and he likens Buddhism to milk: chocolate milk, strawberry milk, apple milk, etc. Just like any other religion, some sects think they are the one and only milk. A few hours of chatting later, we find that he teaches art and volunteers at prisons.

So long for now, William. The world still spins 'round, and I promise to pass along the goodness of mankind.

After nine miles of walking today, we’re almost at our final destination, Kenting. A pretty girl offered us a ride, but I had to turn it down. We’re almost there, and besides, this is supposed to be a walk on my ethnic lines. Maybe we’ll run into her tonight.

Read More: Jeff's first post for IT on his Taiwan adventure.

Photo: Courtesy of Jeff Chen

Comments

[Tim Patterson]

Thanks for posting this - walking along a highway is always a great way to meet a bodhisattva.

-Tim

[Chris B]

I really enjoyed this article by Jeff Chen.
Having never been to Taiwan I think walking in any country is a really great wy to get to know the lcoal people. Yes, language can be a problema at times even when you know the basics it is impossible to move beyond a certain point. Also, I am currently doing my fianl assignment for Film and Tv course at College and came up with an idea for a concept for a TV series about backpackers. The kind of thing that Jeff is doing would be the type of stuff that I would include. I would appreciate hearing from Jeff or any one else and any feedback in realtion to this. I can be contacted at Email: [email protected]