Year of Faith

Non Trattare… by auro

Lark News has an amusing little parody article about the outsourcing of prayer lines. Lark takes the frustration everyone has with outsourced call centers for tech support and applies it to prayer lines.

Sara and I spent a few minutes reading over this, attempting to figure out if it was serious. We debated back and forth about whether or not people could really be this strange.

This either shows how gullible we are or how strange the Christian right can be portrayed in the news. I think it was the ‘For Eunuchs’ audio button that gave it away in the end.

Last month, Lori Danes, 43, called the prayer line of a major television ministry and requested prayer for her mother’s persistent ulcers. But her prayer representative, who called himself “Darren,” prayed in a strong Indian accent that “all the gods would bless her mightily.”
“I was stunned,” Danes says. “It was like I’d called a demon prayer line.”

It’s short and funny, definitely worth a few minutes of your time. I poked around the site a bit more and found a number of Onion-esque articles that I thought were worth reading.

Since starting this project, I’ve been spending more time cruising religious blogs and other interesting faith-related sites. Not a lot of time, but any time is technically ‘more time’ than zero. I’m discovering that it’s hard to find quality content. Anyone care to share any recommendations that you read?

(Thanks, Jhayne)

O Worldly men! How fatal is your delusion! Inevitably your body will crumble to dust, yet carelessly, unheedingly, ye live on.

Satanism has certainly instilled in me a preference and insight into the philosophy of living in the now to the greatest possible extent. I look at this statement purportedly made by the Buddha and I immediately think that the person that is able to make this observation should clearly see the wisdom of carpe diem. We do not live under a delusion, we know that the world is constantly changing, that those things that please us will inevitably turn out to be nothing but shadows and dust, atoms and void. But that is enough for us. There are those, and perhaps in some respects I am a member of this group, that would prefer to get the most out of the here and now. Some don’t see the value in abstaining from life in pursuit of something that doesn’t seem like more than an empty promise.

Perhaps Satanism reawakened some previous militant atheism and doubt in my life but I can’t help but think that the Buddha was the one being deluded here. Why shoot for something past the stars when we can sit and enjoy the view instead? What evidence is there for this enlightenment, this Nirvana? I used to think that the promise of Buddhism sounded so much more appealing than any of the other yarns which religion has so far spun.

But now I am realizing my misjudgment- they are all yarns, they are all just stories. What makes Nirvana and enlightenment any more plausible or possible than any other form of the afterlife? I have always thought that the idea of Heaven was fanciful, hopeful, and romantic. But I have never thought it to be true, I have never thought that there was some mythical place out there where we all vacate to once we have shuffled off. But with Buddhism, it was the first time I heard of an afterlife as a place where we no longer have desires, where we find what truly sustains us and makes us happy. Not just a bigger and better version of what we already experience.

As a guy that spends a lot of time fussing over what he needs to feel happy and adequate, this formulation of the goal of Buddhism has always piqued my interest. But since my recent brush with unforgiving rationalism in Satanism, I cannot shake the obvious parallels with other stories that I think are just that- improbable stories we use to consul ourselves. A reward for being obedient and obstinate.

It seems Christopher Hitchens just won’t get out of my mind. “We are afraid of the dark,” he says. “And we are afraid of dieing.” So we craft stories to help us cope with passing away from that which we truly live for- Material. Substance. Life.

To Mr. Hitchens’ list I would add one more- we are afraid of losing that which makes us happy. We leave all those things behind which we used to enjoy in favor of that which supersedes this world in peace, fulfillment, and happiness.

But inevitably I think it is something which, sadly, is not there. It is a “gentle lie”. This is why we who live in the here and now aren’t the ones being deluded. We know how little time we have, how fast it can pass us by, and how everything is doomed to change. We try to make the most of it, and if we were all just a bit more responsible with our personal and environmental ethics we would make this great trip last a bit longer.

Though this ceaseless quest to find fulfillment in impermanent things does seem to create lots, if not all of, our suffering. It still seems that it requires just as much faith as any of the other religions we practice, and I don’t think I have any left after last month. I hope I don’t sound too cynical, Buddhism does make a very intriguing and intuitive point.

I just don’t think I have the strength to leave behind what I love, and that seems to be essentially what the Buddha did, and what would be required to understand Buddhism.

Current weight: 270lbs.

I’m still a Satanist.

I’m over a week into the month of Buddhism and I can’t shake meat, nor material desire, nor an overwhelming need to do anything except read up on Buddhism or meditate. The Devil dug his claws in deep it seems. I found complacency in that religion, and it seems to have followed me.

Meditation isn’t easy, but I don’t find it to be a hassle either. When I do find the time to do it, it is usually very relaxing. I usually try to just empty my mind and focus on my breathing, I haven’t actually tried to focus on a topic yet. Compassion should probably be the first order of business, it’s what I started mediating on during Jainism and I got some promising results.

Buddhism promises to provide something lasting, I suppose like most religions. Something beyond our every day desires and needs, something that will last when all else that makes us happy falls away.

An end to suffering and desire.

Scheduling this right behind Satanism was probably not the best idea.

I acknowledge that it is much later than May 2, my promised delivery date. My humblest apologies; next time I shall be better prepared. For now I present a belated and brief introduction to Buddhism.

History

Buddhism has its roots in the same Indian tradition that gave rise to Jainism and Hinduism. The oldest texts of this tradition, the vedas, were combined with new ideas of reincarnation and karma to become Hinduism. In Buddha’s time, Hindu gurus coexisted with other wandering ascetics who rejected the Vedic teachings. One of these mendicants became known as the Buddha.

The Life of Buddha

The man eventually known as Buddha was born as Siddhartha Guatama. There is as much fable as fact in the traditional story of his life, but it is accepted as historical fact that he was a prince born between 500 and 480 BCE. He became disillusioned after witnessing suffering and death for the first time, and gave up his wealth for the life of a wandering ascetic.

Guatama studied in the wilderness for six years, turning to extreme ascetic practices in his search for enlightenment. He was near starvation when he realized that exhausting his body would not help him achieve his goal. Instead he adopted a new course, known as the Middle Path. He accepted an offering of food, causing his companions to abandon him in disgust. Subsequently he sat under a tree and vowed to meditate there until he had attained Buddhahood.

Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching, starting with the monks who had abandoned him. He died of food poisoning at the age of 80.

Divisions

In addition to his spiritual teachings, Buddha provided rules on how the monastic community should be governed. He specified that there should be no one ruling person or institution, and as a result all monasteries were fairly autonomous, and variations in Buddhism have evolved as it adapts to different peoples or places.

Buddhism is now, like Christianity, an umbrella term for a family of religions that share some core beliefs but can vary widely in additional texts, beliefs, and practices.

Beliefs and Practices

Despite the divisions, there are still some beliefs that are fundamental to all Buddhist traditions. The first is the notion of anitya or impermanence; the fact that everything is changing and evolving. Buddha taught that a wise person should accept change and acknowledge that nothing lasts forever.

Expanding on the idea that nothing is fixed is the lack of belief in a permanent soul or identity. In Sanskrit this is known as anatman. Buddha rejected the Hindu belief in unchanging reality and immortal unchanging souls. Instead he claimed a person’s identity was composed of five different elements, which were themselves constantly changing.

The third major teaching about reality was that all life is suffering, due to the inherent impermanence of everything around us. This is not as fatalistic as it sounds, but merely accepts that a normal life cannot be truly satisfying, because even when you are happy, you know that things will change.

Four Noble Truths

Buddha’s thoughts on suffering are taught in his Four Noble Truths:

1. All life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by desire
3. Ending desire will end suffering
4. Desire can be eliminated, along with suffering, by following the Eightfold Path

Buddha still believed in the religious ideas of karma and samsara (never-ending cycle of rebirth) that were prevalent at the time. Thus the Eightfold Path includes ways to eliminate bad karma and gain good karma in addition to ending desire and achieving nirvana.

The Eightfold Path

• Right speech
• Right action
• Right effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right concentration (meditation)
• Right belief
• Right thought
• Right livelihood

Gautama Buddha was a pragmatic man. This path was designed to be not high philosophy, but a practical approach to achieving enlightenment. From this list was later distilled the Five Precepts that I posted at the start of the month. I will elaborate in another post on the meaning of each step of the Eightfold Path

Texts

Because there are many different Buddhist traditions, it is hard to pick a singular text to refer to. A good source recommended the Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra as containing fundamental Buddhist teachings that cut across most divisions in the Buddhist community.

How We Will Practice

In our lives as Buddhists this month, we will try to abide by the instructions of the Eightfold Path. At the very least this means following the Five Precepts as I laid out before. Additionally:

• We will meditate regularly
• I am going to be vegetarian, although both Michael and Andrew have decided against it. (Vegetarianism is admired, but not required in most Buddhist traditions)
• We will visit local Buddhist temples to learn more from the monks

Resources For This Article

• Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World’s Religions, 4th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2008.
• Trainor, Kevin. Ed. Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide. London: Duncan Baird. 2004.
• UrbanDharma.org
• Paul Crowe, Simon Fraser University
• Diamond Sutra - A New Translation. Alex Johnson Productions.
• Buddhist Studies. Buddha Dharma Education Association & Buddhanet

Bible Fight!

(If anyone knows the song being played during the menu, I would be forever in your debt.  I am a big fan of choral music)

I’m not sure if I managed to get at the central feeling, the core purpose and idea of Satanism. So far I think I have managed to come away each month with the basic, unique feeling and purpose of each religion. Discordianism was all about the beauty of chaos and creative, inspired spontaneity. Jainism was about asceticism and the pursuit of a higher, purer state of being. The central ideas of the Baha’i faith were the oneness and progressiveness of every religion and of mankind and their search for Truth. But the best I can summarize of Satanism is that it is a reaction.

Satanism just seemed to be reacting to Christian hypocrisy and fundamentalism. The Satanic Bible mocks church goers and Christian philosophy much to the same tune as Nietzsche- pointing out their lack of follow through and the oppressive “slave” morality that tends to develop. It puts forward arguments against dogmatic ideas, but as far as a positive, purposeful idea, I feel it is kind of lacking.

The reaction however, is pretty powerful, and is certainly felt by many people these days. When I first discovered Satanism and the Satanic Bible it intrigued me. It made sense. It had none of the contradictory, useless rules and theology that the mainstream religion had. It was a powerful reaction, a rebellion against all the things that I saw wrong in the world. A reaction to what is wrong.

Perhaps this is the real core of the religion. It is a reaction, an important reaction to those parts of religion that just don’t jive with our nature or our reason. Perhaps Mr. LaVey goes a little far in a few parts in giving too much credence to the triumph of psychology, but his criticisms are an important indication that the Old Ways are not working anymore. We are growing beyond the limits that used to be prescribed for us, we are aware of our ego and of our own needs now, and that these are not something that need to be demonized.

Faith is not enough to sustain us any longer. We require fact and reason, something that can be demonstrated right before our eyes. It does not necessarily follow that the alternative is then a life of indulgence instead of abstinence, but that we shouldn’t rule our lives with a set of ideas that make no sense, that have no backing other than blind convictions.

Satanism isn’t so much against authoritative ideas, after all it posits it’s own morality and philosophy. Satanism is against bullshit. Perhaps that is the important grain of Truth in Satanic religion.  No more victims of ignorant religions.

I don’t have a problem agreeing with the Satanist in his distaste for organized, dogmatic, hypocritical, and deceitful religions. I have thought similarly of many religions in the past, though now I tend to think there is something that can be learned and salvaged from such ideas that have been made too literal or too fundamental. This has been one of my motivations for this year long project.

I have never had a problem with the Satanist screaming down all the disciplines that posit some empty promise of eternal knowledge or a better life if one abstains from the pursuit of wealth and the physical world. That is, not until I realized the Satanist would be pointing his accusing finger at philosophy as well.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates decrees that the goodness of a man’s soul is maintained by wisdom and reflection, not by wealth and material gain. What makes a person real and genuine is not his or her appearance or status, but their virtues, which are found only by cultivating wisdom. This is a philosophy that I myself have put some stock in, yet it seems to be under attack by the Satanic philosophy of enjoying everything as much as you can before you die.

So at first I thought my own philosophy of living would go relatively untouched by the Satanist way of life, that I could coast by with indulging every once in a while. I was wrong.

Not only did I indulge in a variety of things and possibilities that I would not normally have considered, I did so with this consideration in mind- that this was the alternative. This is what life is like without any philosophy. With no rules, different virtues and no exceptions. Life with one thing in mind- to get the most out of it.

This kind of lifestyle was never appealing to me. I would much rather spend my time getting to know just one person in a coffee shop for hours on end rather than getting my eardrums kicked around in a club full of pretty, gyrating strangers. I would rather sit down and figure out what the hell Kant, Hegel, or Nietzsche were talking about than be waking up next to someone whose name I couldn’t remember.

Spending a month essentially ignoring this side of me and embracing that which I had previously denied was quite the experience. Being intoxicated on more than one kind of substance, many times over, was fun, and I may have been getting a handle near the end on why people do it all the time. I used to think that people who spent all their time pursuing such pleasures were missing something essential in their lives. I may still hold on to this belief, but periodic indulging has proven to be something I am actually okay with. It will be something I will miss this month, where I will be required to abstain from such enjoyable activities. Apparently they inevitably produce suffering because they never last, and we are seeking something that will always be there, something that will always fulfill us.

Go figure.

But make no mistake, Satanism is not synonymous with anarchism. They advocate questioning the authority of rules and old dogma, not laws and morality entirely. Satanism is not completely against philosophy, just the bits that tell you to abstain from something for the good of your nature or soul. “God forbid that you would enjoy yourself a little, Michael,” teases the Satanist. “Read your books, spend your time studying and meditating. Just don’t forget what you have learned here, that you should not just take someone’s word as the final matter. That you should not just shut yourself away from without trying it out first.”

Satanism is about living, so LIVE!*

*EVIL spelled backwards.

The Symbol of Baphomet was used by the Knights Templar to represent Satan. Through the ages this symbol has been called by may different names. Among these are: The Goat of Mendes, The Goat of a Thousand Young, The Black Goat, The Judas Goat, and perhaps most appropriately, The Scapegoat.

Baphomet represents the Powers of Darkness combined with the generative fertility of the goat. In its “pure” form, the pentagram is shown encompassing the figure of a man in the five points of the star- three points up, two pointing down- symbolizing man’s spiritual nature. In Satanism the pentagram is also used, but since Satanism represents the carnal instincts of man, or the opposite of the spiritual nature, the pentagram is inverted to perfectly accommodate the head of the goat- its horns, representing duality, thrust upwards in defiance; the other three points inverted, or the trinity denied. The Hebraic figures around the outer circle of the symbol which stem from the magical teachings of the Kabala, spell out “Leviathan,” the serpent of the watery abyss, and identified with Satan. These figures correspond to the five points of the inverted star.

This symbol was used long before the Church of Satan, indeed the description of the figure of Baphomet goes all the way back to the Templars. When they were all round up and interrogated most of them described the goat-headed being as some kind of object of worship. Though it is also said that that the name ‘Baphomet’ may be an anglicized bastardization of the name Muhammad, and thus may have been indicative of Islamic influences into their otherwise Christian worship.

Regardless, the sigil of Baphomet remains to be one of the chosen symbols of the Satanic Church, I wore it on a necklace for the month of April. I didn’t really receive any odd looks or comments, except for one fellow who thought it was a reference Pan (could any of my Pagan friends help me with that one?). Then again, I don’t live in the southern states, nor did I frequent any Evangelical gatherings, so I shouldn’t really be surprised.

I enjoy wearing religious symbols, one of my goals for this year was to acquire a piece of jewelery representing each of the religions, though the Baphomet necklace has been my first purchase towards this end. Perhaps I can find another way to incorporate these symbols into my daily life.

The symbol of Baphomet in the inverted pentagram sums up the Church of Satan rather well. The refusal of Christian dogma, the invocation of ritual magic (the Kabalic symbols) and gratification of the self and the ego (the goat and inverted pentagram). It will always be a way of letting everyone know that you have no problem living the life that most people deny themselves for no good reason.