Buddhist practice engages place as a fundamental tool. A Tibetan pilgrim marches into sacred valleys aware and in touch with local spirits. His journey is an ascent into a divine residence: a mountain and its roots. As a guest, the pilgrim offers gifts and proceeds with caution and awakened senses. These and other practices weave together a world of places physically present, socially powerful, and personally meaningful. This paper looks forward towards a sense of Buddhist placemaking by laying out groundwork based on geographic thought and Buddhist practices of pilgrimage.
