At first I saw the pilgrims from the point of view of a bystander to the authorities. From the beginning I couldn’t understand this behaviour, I thought it was strange to take three long kneeling steps and kowtow, it was a ritual but I didn’t understand why I was doing it. It was like I was alive but I didn’t know why I was living. It’s because I haven’t found that “why” so I can never get through to understand why they do it. People who have faith are also people in authority. They think they have faith, they live for it, and it’s a devotion that I’ve never seen before, and when they’re doing this pilgrimage, they’re doing this so-called absurd act in the eyes of the beholder, they’re doing it with a devout heart, but even so it touches me deeply. It was as if a magical power had come from them. They prayed with devotion and their prayers were addressed to each and every one of us as all creatures.
The final thought is that the person who wears this dress experiences a long-distance pilgrimage, and at the same time is his own god, and that those who pass by can hang their wishes and he can hang his own. It is a prayer for all the creatures of the world and for himself. But the power of being one’s own god is very powerful.
