| 05/31/08 01:08 PM |
#115
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Elmer Dante
Bill,
Glad to see you enjoying the "new" China. When my mother sent me on the grand tour to find myself (26 years ago), everyone in China was dressed like Chairman Mao and foreigners, particularly young ones, were "observed" to make certain that they didn't poison the proletariat with their bourgeois sensibilities.
My travel mates and I were also told that if any of us smoked or used any illegal substance, under Chinese law we would be executed. We could, however, drink as much as we wanted. I remember a particularly strong Mongolian liquor that we became very drunk on while staying in a Yurt encampment at an ancient Mongolian Buddhist shrine. The group of us became so loud, a contingent of the People's Army came into our tent with guns pointed at us. We were told to be quiet or be taken to jail (we decided to be quiet).
I remember being pulled out of a temple in Shanghai by my "keeper" because I lit incense and bowed before a image of Shakyamuni in the Jade Buddha Temple. My "keeper"/"guide" screamed "...you are setting a very bad example for the people...religion is poison..." Keep in mind that I received credit for being there for an independent study in which I was studying Buddhist art.
Those were the days--a world in which Communism had no intention of competing with capitalism. What did we ever do without all that the "new" China has given us? Loss of jobs and all that great stuff (lol) in dollar stores (and who can forget the excitment of a recall of something every few months).
The truth is, China was a wonderful place to visit. The scenery is as beautiful as a scroll painting and the people were very welcoming (at least they were back then). They, like the Western world once did, are currently experiencing the growing pains of an industrial revolution. Hopefully, once they sort things out (and the sorting out will be the result of new found wealth), there will be a new regard for human rights and a regard for the environment.
Marianne,
I think that dogs are great spiritual teachers. In mythology, they seem to dwell on the threashold between the worlds. One need only think of Cerberus who, in Classical mythology guarded the gates of the underworld as well as a plethora of divine canines in the Tibetan, Egyptian and European traditions who are associated with the transition between life and death. Dogs are believed to be able to sense spirits. In England, I've often walked country paths said to be haunted by black dogs.
Dogs live in the eternal now instead of worrying about the future or obcessing over the past. This is the goal of many styles of meditation and yoga. It comes naturally to them, but not to us.
In the Anglican world, there is a story that has circulated from parish to parish (although it is believed to have originated in a C of E parish in Cornwall) that recounts the story of God's creating and naming the animals (this story takes some liberties, if you remember the account of creation in Genesis, it is Adam who provides the names) and that while doing so, the primordial dog followed him/her. When God was finished creating and naming the animals, the little dog said "I guess you are now out of names and, as a result, I shall go unnamed.." God said, "I saved the best name for you: My name spelled backwords. Furthermore, you shall be a friend and teacher to this humankind to remind them of my unconditional love for them. That is to say, you shall be an image of how I am."
The point of this story is that there is a revival throughout the Christian world of pre-Cartesian understandings of the cosmos and our relationship with other creatures. The story is also, in some ways, a critique of human/species bias and reflects some current theologial trends. The theological community, although revering Thomas Aquinas, is abandoning many of his pejoritive opinions regarding non-human animals (it is increasingly difficult to maintain this bias particularly as the world looks on at Hiasl, an ape who paints and does most of the things we do, who may soon be declared a legal "person" under Viennese law).
While some would argue that humankind is the image of God, I would respond that it does not automatically follow that humankind is the only image of god.
I wish we could have had these conversations with Sister Georgine. I'm certain that if we did, Harold wouldn't have been the only one she assaulted.
Keep in mind also, in the oldest stories of St. Christopher, he was said to be a dog. In fact, the oldest icons of St. Christoper show him with the face of a dog.
Speak to you soon.
Elmer
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