Visiting the sites of the Buddha's pilgrimages and in particular, Bodh Gaya, which is where the Buddha became enlightened. Visiting them can be helpful for developing a certain amount of faith, but that's often so misunderstood, rather confidence. When we go to Buddhist countries, we see people who are practicing and are in an extended community of people who respect this type of practice, which is quite different to the West where most people do not understand what we're doing and think it's strange. So by visiting Buddhist sites and also by practicing in Buddhist countries, one develops a higher respect for this type of practice, in the Buddha and the Dhamma. We also see lots and lots of people, the Sangha, following these teachings, the monks, the nuns and lay people.
When we see this, we don't feel so strange, so it can be very helpful for developing more confidence, more faith, on the spiritual side. Visiting the Buddhist pilgrimage sites can be similar to when we ask you to reflect on the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, for by seeing the sites one can have a long reflection on what the Buddha did at these particular sites. Therefore it could be very helpful for people to visit these places, or Buddhist countries, so they see that they're not alone in respecting what is worth respecting. To Steve and I, it's almost like having an extended Sangha when we are surrounded by people who respect, value and support these types of practices.