WQPT (Quad Cities PBS, 2/28/18); Crystal Quintero and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly
 |
| KARMA: Hungry ghosts beg and plead with the Buddha for food (thefirstgates.com). |
.
 |
| Two Catrinas, Los Angeles |
When I was a kid, it was all about candy. As an adult it's become about finding my roots. Living in Los Angeles is odd because this is Mexico, culturally. "The world between" is Mesoamerica, the land between the North and Central Americas, between life and death. The Buddha came from the "Middle Country," too, the Majjhimadesa. It's these interstitial places that provide the most interesting insights to who we are, culturally and existentially. The Buddha said to his monastic disciples, "Wander."
 |
| Canada used to be north, US and Mex central |
The first nuns and monks were shramans, "wandering ascetics," shamanic seekers in search of direct experience who did not behave like the Brahmins or temple priests of the establishment religion. If we interact with the dead, the grateful dead who get our help, even in dreams, we are like those ancient wanderers.
 |
| Helping a ghost (peta) to give. |
The Buddha said our "family," our relations, go back seven generations. And there's no one who does not have relatives in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, the peta-loka. The long Day of the Dead (Hungry Ghost Festival) celebration is all about helping them and coming to terms with our mortality as humans. There is rebirth-after-rebirth in good and not-so-good worlds until we win liberation (nirvana). Wisdom Quarterly is about helping readers realize what liberation is and the path to liberation.
No comments:
Post a Comment