--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mountains have long been a geography for…" description: "\"“Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage, place where people have been humbled and strengthened, they are symbols of the sacred center. Man..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/joan-halifax-11817_ancestors_mountains-have-long-been-a-geography-for_2550896.jpg" --- # Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage, place… ![“Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage, place where people have been humbled and strengthened, they are symbols of the sacred center. Many have traveled to them in order to find the concentrated energy of Earth and to realize the strength of unimpeded space. Viewing a mountain at a…” quote by Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/joan-halifax-11817_ancestors_mountains-have-long-been-a-geography-for_2550896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/joan-halifax-11817_ancestors_mountains-have-long-been-a-geography-for_2550896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd2/joan-halifax-11817_ancestors_mountains-have-long-been-a-geography-for_2550896.jpg) > ““Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage, place where people have been humbled and strengthened, they are symbols of the sacred center. Many have traveled to them in order to find the concentrated energy of Earth and to realize the strength of unimpeded space. Viewing a mountain at a distance or walking around its body we can see its shape, know its profile, survey its surrounds. The closer you come to the mountain the more it disappears, the mountain begins to lose its shape as you near it, its body begins to spread out over the landscape losing itself to itself. On climbing the mountain the mountain continues to vanish. It vanishes in the detail of each step, its crown is buried in space, its body is buried in the breath. On reaching the mountain summit we can ask, “What has been attained?” - The top of the mountain? Big view? But the mountain has already disappeared. Going down the mountain we can ask, “What has been attained?” Going down the mountain the closer we are to the mountain the more the mountain disappears, the closer we are to the mountain the more the mountain is realized. Mountain’s realization comes through the details of the breath, mountain appears in each step. Mountain then lives inside our bones, inside our heart-drum. It stands like a huge mother in the atmosphere of our minds. Mountain draws ancestors together in the form of clouds. Heaven, Earth and human meet in the raining of the past. Heaven, Earth and human meet in the winds of the future. Mountain mother is a birth gate that joins the above and below, she is a prayer house, she is a mountain. Mountain is a mountain.”” [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mountains symbolize spiritual ascent; as we approach, they dissolve, revealing inner depth. **In simple terms:** Mountains teach inner growth through loss of form. Key Takeaway Seek inner transformation beyond external goals. Themes spirituality nature transformation Mood contemplative inspirational Type metaphorical poetic When to use this quote - pilgrimages - meditation - hiking - creative writing Key Concepts symbolism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does losing the mountain’s shape reflect self‑loss? - What inner “mountain” do you seek? A Different Perspective Physical focus may distract from inner work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Hiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiking/) [Inner-being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-being/) [Mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pilgrimage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pilgrimage/) [Top Of The Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/top-of-the-mountain/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [“Mountain’s realization comes through the details of the breath, mountain appears in each step. Mountain then lives inside our bones, inside our heart-drum. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/mountain-s-realization-comes-through-the-details-of-the-breath/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [When the foot of the' mountain is enveloped in mist, the mountain appears to us much loftier than it is; so also when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berthold-auerbach/when-the-foot-of-the-mountain-is-enveloped-in-mist-the-mountain/) [Berthold Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berthold-auerbach/) > [“Meditation expands our inner being. The inner being is like a small, individual river flowering towards the Ocean. In meditation, I feel how my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/meditation-expands-our-inner-being-the-inner-being-is-like-a-small/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [“Self-realization or self-awareness is not a destination - it is a relentless experience - it is a psychological process of ceaseless evolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/self-realization-or-self-awareness-is-not-a-destination-it-is-a/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Awareness is a choiceless consciousness. 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Love creates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/love-accepts-a-human-being-as-she-is-love-creates-the-freedom-for-a/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [“Healing your wounds will hurt, so cry. Cry your pretty little heart out until you have nothing left to shed, that's how beauty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/healing-your-wounds-will-hurt-so-cry-cry-your-pretty-little-heart-out/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“Give your all to every experience, feel it breathe it appreciate it, nothing lasts forever, when it's gone you'll remember the feeling it once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/give-your-all-to-every-experience-feel-it-breathe-it-appreciate-it/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“Wild woman are an unexplainable spark of life. They ooze freedom and seek awareness, they belong to nobody but themselves yet give a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/wild-woman-are-an-unexplainable-spark-of-life-they-ooze-freedom-and/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“When we enter the world as a child, they say we are innocent. When we leave the world as an older adult, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-adamson/when-we-enter-the-world-as-a-child-they-say-we-are-innocent-when-we/) [Wes Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-adamson/) > [“No one knows what you have been through or what your pretty little eyes have seen, but I can reassure you ~ whatever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/no-one-knows-what-you-have-been-through-or-what-your-pretty-little/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [“Enlightenment is a paradoxical phenomenon. You need to be commited to become enlightenment, and to do whatever is necessary to make it happen. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/enlightenment-is-a-paradoxical-phenomenon-you-need-to-be-commited-to/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [“Duty is a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/duty-is-a-done-deal/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Joan Halifax > [We have even done a weekend on Japanese grammar! Not that I know anything about Japanese grammar, but it was Kaz's idea, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/we-have-even-done-a-weekend-on-japanese-grammar-not-that-i-know/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Developing our capacity for compassion makes it possible for us to help others in a more skillful and effective way. And compassion helps us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/developing-our-capacity-for-compassion-makes-it-possible-for-us-to/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Buddhist practice is the grounding for this work, this life, this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/buddhist-practice-is-the-grounding-for-this-work-this-life-this-way/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ We have been teaching together \[with Kaz\] now for more than twenty years in sesshins, in international travel programs in Japan and China, as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/we-have-been-teaching-together-with-kaz-now-for-more-than-twenty/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [All are interconnected...the environment; rights of the dying; care of caregivers; education and medical care for peoples of the Himalayas; prison work; those living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/all-are-interconnected-the-environment-rights-of-the-dying-care-of/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [“Within and around the earth, within and around the hills, within and around the mountains your authority returns to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/within-and-around-the-earth-within-and-around-the-hills-within-and/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [“Some of us are drawn to mountains the way the moon draws the tide. Both the great forests and the mountains live in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/some-of-us-are-drawn-to-mountains-the-way-the-moon-draws-the-tide/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [I am working on a technical paper on compassion. So I am reading everything I can on the subject, including my own mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/i-am-working-on-a-technical-paper-on-compassion-so-i-am-reading/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ \[Kaz\] is a great scholar, very funny - a true man of no rank! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/kaz-is-a-great-scholar-very-funny-a-true-man-of-no-rank/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Compassion has enemies, and those enemies are things like pity, moral outrage, fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/compassion-has-enemies-and-those-enemies-are-things-like-pity-moral/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [The roots of all living things are tied together. Deep in the ground of being, they tangle and embrace. This understanding is expressed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/the-roots-of-all-living-things-are-tied-together-deep-in-the-ground/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [ I remember having a discussion with \[Kaz\] about his translation of the word shunyata as "boundlessness," instead of the more traditional "emptiness." I said:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/i-remember-having-a-discussion-with-kaz-about-his-translation-of-the/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [If compassion is so good for us, why don't we train our health care providers in compassion so that they can do what they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/if-compassion-is-so-good-for-us-why-don-t-we-train-our-health-care/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [May I see my own limits with compassion, just as I view the limits of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/may-i-see-my-own-limits-with-compassion-just-as-i-view-the-limits-of/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [Cease consuming, practice generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/cease-consuming-practice-generosity/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) [Explore all 57 Joan Halifax quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) ## More Ancestors quotes > [The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/the-desire-to-fly-is-an-idea-handed-down-to-us-by-our-ancestors-who/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and it seems only fair that they should leave us the money to pay with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/we-pay-for-the-mistakes-of-our-ancestors-and-it-seems-only-fair-that/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Most of us do more than subsist. From the vantage point of our ancestors, we live lives of almost unimaginable ease. Here again, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/most-of-us-do-more-than-subsist-from-the-vantage-point-of-our/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. 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Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 443 Ancestors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mountains have long been a geography for pilgrimage, place where people have been humbled and strengthened, they are symbols of the sacred center. Many have traveled to them in order to find the concentrated energy of Earth and to realize the strength of unimpeded space. Viewing a mountain at a distance or walking around its body we can see its shape, know its profile, survey its surrounds. The closer you come to the mountain the more it disappears, the mountain begins to lose its shape as you near it, its body begins to spread out over the landscape losing itself to itself. On climbing the mountain the mountain continues to vanish. It vanishes in the detail of each step, its crown is buried in space, its body is buried in the breath. On reaching the mountain summit we can ask, “What has been attained?” - The top of the mountain? Big view? But the mountain has already disappeared. Going down the mountain we can ask, “What has been attained?” Going down the mountain the closer we are to the mountain the more the mountain disappears, the closer we are to the mountain the more the mountain is realized. Mountain’s realization comes through the details of the breath, mountain appears in each step. Mountain then lives inside our bones, inside our heart-drum. It stands like a huge mother in the atmosphere of our minds. Mountain draws ancestors together in the form of clouds. Heaven, Earth and human meet in the raining of the past. Heaven, Earth and human meet in the winds of the future. Mountain mother is a birth gate that joins the above and below, she is a prayer house, she is a mountain. 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