How to be sacred?

lobster · November 2013

Being as holy as a slab of butter with lemon, I know a thing or two about divineness.

It is all about behaviour.

For example if you worship your cat, they will soon venerate your holy footsteps to the food cupboard.
I am interested in becoming more sacred.

Any theories? Your considered advice as always, is priceless.

riverflow · November 2013

The sacred I think is something that you do. Your post reminded me of how I used to bow to my cat before I would begin meditation (even if it meant I had to go looking for him around the apartment!).

The sacred is embodied in rituals-- but not contained by them (that would reduce the ritual to superstition). It's a pity that in the post-Reformation west, "ritual" often carries negative connotations of "just going through the motions" and that we should be "spontaneous" by chucking ritual out the window. But this is just another way of admitting habits in the door but minus mindfulness. So much for "freedom from ritual"!

For me, the act of bowing, lighting incense, preparing to sit, etc. are made into living poetry-- spoken not with words, but with the whole body-mind. They are significant acts, but not because they signify "something else," but because they help me to be present with the body-mind. It's an acknowledgement of being alive in recognizing the present.

Jainarayan · November 2013

That's kind of how my altar looked at one point. :hair:

robot · November 2013

lobster · November 2013

riverflow said:
The sacred is embodied in rituals-- but not contained by them (that would reduce the ritual to superstition).

Indeed and we have enough superstitious Buddhists already. This is perhaps the crux? What is the relationship between object of veneration and venerator? In order to extend or even start the process of becoming sacred I would have to venerate. The more cats and other sources of divinity/sacredness/wholiness, the more the internal becomes manifested.

Bring me your cats?

genkaku · November 2013

You wanna be sacred ... then stop being scared ... same letters, different words.

how · November 2013

And here I thought that the sacred was just the mundane with a fancy bow!

Nirvana · November 2013

I don't get this thread.

But here's my take on the Sacred:

Sacred things cannot be done, but the sacrifices that we make are acts made holy by our intent and striving towards the Divine. That is to say that sacredness does not exist in our actions at all but in our intentions and aspirations, or more radically reflected in the light that reveals the essential unity of all being to the mind and heart.

I have long thought also that the sacred is more simply a revisiting of where we've been before, where we really BELONG, and where we really wish always to be.

Gui · November 2013

I think it is a mistake to differentiate between the sacred and the worldly.

federica · November 2013

I note that one online dictionary defines 'Sacred' in the following way:

sa·cred (skrd)
adj.
1. Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity.
2. Worthy of religious veneration: the sacred teachings of the Buddha.
3. Made or declared holy: sacred bread and wine.
4. Dedicated or devoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person: sacred to the memory of her sister; a private office sacred to the President.
5. Worthy of respect; venerable.
6. Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices.

Given the above, I don't think it's up to us to either strive for sacredness, nor actively desire to be so.

If we are to be called 'sacred', it is for others to define us thus, not us.

Sacred is what is perceived, not cultivated.

Rather like calling someone your guru or master; they might not adopt that title, but we can bestow it.