For our July session Jenny Geer presented an excellent Power point talk with photos, via the W4 TV, about her pilgrimage walks/tours in Spain and Japan. Both the Camino in Spain and Kumano in Japan have a long history and are both listed as world heritage sites. The Camino is, or can be, very long, 800 kilometres or more, and a minimum of 100 kilometres is required in order to qualify as a pilgrimage. The tomb of St James, of the Christian gospels, which is installed in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostella is the end destination point for the Camino trail. The trail is very well used by people from all over the world and for all sorts of reasons. It has food and accommodation stops at approximately every 20 to 30 kilometres. These vary in standard, mostly with dormitory style sleeping, so occasionally Jenny would indulge the luxury of a modest motel room. Pilgrims can walk, run, crawl, cycle and ride horses along the trail, it is up to the participant and their needs and abilities.

The Kumano in Japan requires visits to a number of different areas which includes temples and shrines and because it is located in mountainous country it means walking up and down lots of steps. This pilgrimage only involves about 50 kms of walking in total and there is some danger from wild bears. Pilgrims carry a small bell to warn off the bears. Jenny was most impressed with the standards of quality and orderliness by the Japanese in both building and maintaining the shrines, paths and facilities. Because the Camino and Kumano are “twinned” Jenny has a special certificate acknowledging this achievement.

Unfortunately the August session of Comparative Religion will be the last for this year due mainly to a decline in numbers. My approach to the topic has been somewhat unconventional and so it has been a partial success only. I did enjoy most of the classes and the enthusiasm of participants and I appreciate the support of Benalla’s outstanding U3A organisation.

For the August session on Wednesday the 3rd Laurence Neal will present information and video about the Exclusive Brethren. This replaces the scheduled talk by a Buddhist teacher/practitioner which was cancelled due to insufficient notifications of attendance. Because this will be the last class the other scheduled topics and trips for the remainder of the year are also cancelled.

Having learned from this experience to be more forthcoming about my area of greatest interest and still wanting to be part of U3A I may propose a different class for the summer of 2017 when short courses may be held. As a guide to what such a class would entail, it will include inquiry into beliefs of all kinds and some focus upon wisdom, the understanding about and the acquisition of it – think of Socrates for an approximation of what I am talking about! The course would not be about conventional or academic philosophy nor the promotion of any ideology, political or religious.

Mike Larkin

A small group of four watched the DVD about the BBC production Sacred Sites of Britain presented by the excellent guide Neil Oliver.  This topic was prepared by Joy Shirley and promoted much discussion about the whys and wherefores of such religious activities.  What thinking could have caused communities to put in so much time and energy shifting and geometrically placing sometimes huge stones in the ground or digging vast mounds, flint mines and ditches with only antler horns and flint tools?
 
Looking at historical sites such as Stonehenge allows us the luxury of hindsight and we can become bemused by the strange things that people will do in the name of religion.  At the time no doubt it was intensely sacred and serious for those involved, with their limited knowledge compared to today.
 
Fervent passion followed by inevitable decline is an observable historical pattern for all religions of the world.  As scientific knowledge plus experience replaces superstition and traditional belief, and new ways arise to bond communities, the need for religion as we now know it diminishes. (Please note that we are discussing institutional religions and not the existence or otherwise of God.)
 
When considering the establishment of what could be called a “religion” on a large scale today the movement which sprung to mind during our discussion was “Climate Change”.  Similarly, but on a lesser scale, football is often referred to as a religion because it incites great passion and draws fans together into “clans”, many of whom spend lots of time and money in pursuit of the “heavenly” grand-final win.
 
Our June session also discussed the agenda for the rest of term 2.
 
Our main topic for July will be pilgrimages with a presentation from Jenny Geer who has walked the Camino trail in Spain and recently walked a pilgrimage trail in Japan.  We may also discuss the modern SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious) phenomenon, as suggested by Joy, if time allows.
 
In August Linden Hilgendorf will visit us from Chiltern.  Linden, a Buddhist practitioner and teacher, will talk to us about Buddhism and answer questions.
 
Anyone from U3A interested in Buddhism is welcome to attend as we are a small group and I would like to make it worthwhile for Linden. We would appreciate a donation towards Linden’s travel expense.
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