The popular use of the word pilgrim carries a religious connotation. The less popular intention of the word is "Seeker of Truth … presumably those individuals with no particular allegiance to any religion yet open to all religions and non religious belief systems.
Does such a person exist? Has such a person ever existed?
Yesterday I posted this sentence in the thread “Illusions”:
“I accept that the “big picture” is comprised of countless details … each detail being an important part of the whole”
Let me use ‘head count’ as a proxy for ‘detail’ … not perfect yet IMO worthy of consideration.
To believe that such a tiny fraction of the human race(Judaism) has been given the exclusive priviledge of access to “Truth” and the vast majority … all non Jewish people are superficial … feels counter intuitive. Since Christianity and Islamism are children of Judaism the above “tiny fraction” argument still holds.
What about the Chinese? In aggregate … over 5,000 years of history … a lot of people … a significant fraction of mankind.
Leibniz was probably the first Western intellect to get excited about Chinese thought … particularly the I-Ching. Leibniz is also known as the “last universal genius”.
He was the first European intellect to become excited because he lived at the time Chinese thought first became available in a language understood by Europeans. The translation was provided by Matteo Ricci.
There are 2 astonishing facts about this man Matteo Ricci … likely not very well known in the West.
First, what did/do the Chinese think about Ricci? The Millenium Monument(circa 2000) in Beijing houses a tribute to 5000 years of Chinese history. A large round room contains a continuous sculpture … includes personages and objects well known to the Chinese. Taking the tour … from past to present … when you reach the modern era … if the 17th century is considered part of the modern era … you will see a sculpture of Matteo Ricci … the only non-Chinese face in the room. IMO … a significant tribute to the man by today’s Chinese leaders.
Second, the Chinese Communist Party … a term that triggers all kinds of emotions in the West eh! … their national school … the place where Chinese Communist Party leaders have been indoctrinated for the past 70 years … was built on the site containing Ricci’s tomb … and the tomb has never been relocated. Ricci was the first foreigner to be buried in China … at the time all foreigners were buried in Maccau.
IMO the hit and miss attempts at integration of Western and Eastern thought during the past few centuries have hindered progress towards understanding the “big picture”.