I was told what I posted by Indian, Chinese, and Japanese Buddhists and they said how they worship certain Hindu gods, or even the Bhuddha, and that despite what western people who were not raised Buddhist believe, Buddhism is not atheism or does not promote atheist beliefs that there is no God/gods/goddesses.
right - the buddha's position was that powerful spiritual being exist, but worshiping them is pointless. most of them, especially Jehovah and Allah, are addicted to worship. frankly, i see the christian god as a god of death. shepherds don't protect their sheep because they are pets - they just don't want other people to eat them. sheep are food. people need to understand what 'the Lord is my shepherd' really means. and jesus on the cross is a gross glorification of torture and pain. jesus as a celebrity is BS. how would he feel, walking around now and seeing people idolize him being nailed to a post, instead of learning his teaching and doing good. let me introduce you to one of my gods.
Lan Caihe is one of the
eight taoist immortals
Lan Caihe is an effeminate teenage boy, always in a state is dishabille - often wearing only one shoe or such. He wears a blue robe and carries a basket of flowers. Each of the flowers has the power to heal one specific illness, and Lan Caihe spends a fair amount of time collecting and distributing them. it is said of him:
Life and death are great affairs, and yet they are no change to him. Though heaven and earth flop over and fall down, it is no loss to him. He sees clearly into what has no falsehood and does not shift with things. He takes it as fate that things should change, and he holds fast to the source
He is often mistaken for a young girl, and enjoys women's clothing and jewelry. He is a wanderer, making his way with charm, song, dance and poetry - when given coins for his performances, he just gives them to the poor. He plays the flute so beautifully and hauntingly that men forget their griefs and regrets, though he also uses castanets, rather like a flamenco dancers. When he is called to heaven, he rides a great white crane.
that pic is the background on my computer. but i don't *worship* him, i just really LIKE him. i do sometimes appeal to him for a favor, and i'm planning on painting that pic on my wall as a mural. but he can't help me find enlightenment. he doesn't own my soul (which is also maya), i don't go to his heaven when i die. when i put a flower on his altar, that is not at all like taking communion.
i have a tattoo on my calf that looks just like my avatar -Dreaming Jaguar. at one point in my life, i was totally addicted to IV morphine and dilaudid. i was trying to be like william burroughs, writing a book, 'it's a literary high'. i did write three chapters of really excellent stuff, way better than i could sober, but fuck - that shit is evil. i had to quit. i went cold turkey and when the withdrawal set in, drank a bottle of cough syrup. i had a total relgious experiece, the gods came, not what i was expecting, and they were not pleased. but dreaming jaguar did heal me. he told me:
"tomorrow, if you wish, you can rationalize this experience away. you can rationalize anything, if you must, but that doesn't mean that irrational things don't happen. there are things that you will never understand, and rationalizing them away is just denial. accept the wonder and mystery of the universe"
a few hours later, it ended, i had no withdrawal whatsoever and no craving. now, if something happens, i can take pain pills as prescribed and not binge or any shit like that. it's not like AA/NA, dreaming jaguar (or the DXM) cured me, broke the addiction. but for that to happen, i had to *believe*. the only thing AA gets right is when they say 'addiction is a spiritual disease that needs a spiritual cure'. just not their cure. the next day, i took the money i had set aside to buy drugs and got dreaming jaguar tattooed on my leg.
i love dreaming jaguar - fuck, he saved me. but i don't worship him; he doesn't want that. if he had a temple, i would go there and mediate and bring him flowers (he has one growing out of his head, representing his dream). because of him, junkies and addicts are my people. i can't force anybody to do what i did, and i frankly don't recommend it, but on two occasions i have used it to heal people and it worked.but i don't worship him and i'm not some kind of messiah out to save the world. i know what this culture does to messiahs - they nail them to posts. no thank you. the fourth precept is:
Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images, and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.