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Superstition: can't seem to shake it
Jainarayan
Veteran
Sorry for another seemingly obsessive-compulsive and over-thought issue, bordering on idiotic. 
However, this is undoubtedly a holdover from my days of being indoctrinated by Hindu dogma and polytheism.
1. I like mythological stories because they have lessons to teach; one just has to look for them. For example, I like stories in the various puranas because 1: some of them are hilarious, and 2. the aforementioned lessons (there's a hilarious humdinger story about the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and how you can't judge a book by its cover; another one about Krishna, Arjuna and how mental devotion is more important than ritual).
2. From an early age, teens, I was drawn to the pantheon of Hindu deities mostly because they are so damn colorful, in appearance and mythology. Admittedly I like the pretty pictures and statues, and have them all over the place.
3. However, it's gotten out of hand for a couple of reasons:
3a. I don't identify as Hindu anymore because the dogma and doctrines don't sit well with me; I identify as Buddhist, Amitabha Pure Land to be precise.
3b. I have a shrine, which I acknowledge is not necessary and may be a hindrance to practice of Pure Land, unless it were devoted solely to Amitabha, Mahasthamaprapta and Avalokitesvara, and perhaps Tara, Medicine Buddha, and of course Shakyamuni Buddha. But it is not that. I have images of those deities I feel I "have to have"... Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Narasimha (Vishnu's protector form), Hanuman, even the Taoist deities Guan yu and Xuan wu (protectors).
4. I wear a pendant of Hanuman because I feel he is my strength and courage patron. I also wear one of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer simply as a symbol of strength. I have felt, especially in my "Hindu days" that the deities have helped me: Lakshmi providing financial resources when seriously needed; Ganesha removing serious obstacles, Hanuman when I needed strength and courage, and such.
5. The superstition comes in because I haven't been able to divorce myself from holding onto the belief that I have to enshrine them lest I offend them. This in spite of coming to believe they are not all-powerful "God", but simply higher beings and probably personifications of natural events. Most importantly, I don't pray to them. They are simply there.
6. Do I make a cold turkey break with the superstition of enshrining these deities, and feeling like it's a slap in their faces if they have indeed helped me?
7. I'm sure I've answered my own question by this extensive (even for me
) brainfart: get rid of, or at least pare down the shrine to my basic Pure Land beliefs.
What say you?
However, this is undoubtedly a holdover from my days of being indoctrinated by Hindu dogma and polytheism.1. I like mythological stories because they have lessons to teach; one just has to look for them. For example, I like stories in the various puranas because 1: some of them are hilarious, and 2. the aforementioned lessons (there's a hilarious humdinger story about the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and how you can't judge a book by its cover; another one about Krishna, Arjuna and how mental devotion is more important than ritual).
2. From an early age, teens, I was drawn to the pantheon of Hindu deities mostly because they are so damn colorful, in appearance and mythology. Admittedly I like the pretty pictures and statues, and have them all over the place.
3. However, it's gotten out of hand for a couple of reasons:
3a. I don't identify as Hindu anymore because the dogma and doctrines don't sit well with me; I identify as Buddhist, Amitabha Pure Land to be precise.
3b. I have a shrine, which I acknowledge is not necessary and may be a hindrance to practice of Pure Land, unless it were devoted solely to Amitabha, Mahasthamaprapta and Avalokitesvara, and perhaps Tara, Medicine Buddha, and of course Shakyamuni Buddha. But it is not that. I have images of those deities I feel I "have to have"... Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Narasimha (Vishnu's protector form), Hanuman, even the Taoist deities Guan yu and Xuan wu (protectors).
4. I wear a pendant of Hanuman because I feel he is my strength and courage patron. I also wear one of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer simply as a symbol of strength. I have felt, especially in my "Hindu days" that the deities have helped me: Lakshmi providing financial resources when seriously needed; Ganesha removing serious obstacles, Hanuman when I needed strength and courage, and such.
5. The superstition comes in because I haven't been able to divorce myself from holding onto the belief that I have to enshrine them lest I offend them. This in spite of coming to believe they are not all-powerful "God", but simply higher beings and probably personifications of natural events. Most importantly, I don't pray to them. They are simply there.
6. Do I make a cold turkey break with the superstition of enshrining these deities, and feeling like it's a slap in their faces if they have indeed helped me?
7. I'm sure I've answered my own question by this extensive (even for me
) brainfart: get rid of, or at least pare down the shrine to my basic Pure Land beliefs.What say you?
0
Comments
Ajahn Chah told him multiple times that there was no such buddha that could do that, but when the man persisted Chah relented and told him that they had a buddha that could stop bullets. He brought the man to the big buddha statue in the courtyard! Lol
Theres another similar story of a general asking for holy water and Chah spit on him, stating that he now had his holy water.
Ya know what i did at a young age? I took the superstitions in my culture and adopted them. Friday the 13th? Favorite day of the month! Ladder? Do the moonwalk under that thing. Ya know what happened? Nothing.
My experience has shown me that the negative or positive state of your mind has a lot more to do with how your day turns out then external superstition. Own those things, cultivate a positive mindstate, and any percieved power superstitions have will evaporate.
However, if being thus attached, bothers you, make a determined effort to pass these images on to others, as gifts or decorative items, to people who would appreciate them and be grateful for your giving.
Resolve to give one item away per month. The day before you do, make your peace with it, thank it for its support and company, but that now, it is time for it to move on to newer pastures where it will be appreciated and treasured.
And say goodbye.
Once done, wrap it tastefully, finish with a bow, write a gift card, and put it by your entrance door.
The following day, when you go out, take it with you and give it to the intended recipient. If necessary, make a prior arrangement to meet them for coffee, or have them come to you.....
But in this way, you release and relinquish, yet harbour Goodness, loving Kindness and generosity at the same time.
Gotta love ya for it!
But keep up your practice, whatever it is. With practice, there is no real need to push things away, any more than there is any real need to grasp them. With practice, things walk away all by themselves. It's nothing fancy or magical, it's just what happens with practice.
Or anyway, that's my vote.
I have wrapped and boxed some over the course of time. The others I have around mostly because they're pretty, but more because they are reminders of lessons. For example, though I've never been drawn to Rama as a deity even having been Vaishnava, I have a small scene of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman that reminds me of doing one's duty against all odds, and devotion to a cause. Thanks.
You don't have to think of superstition as something that needs to be held or rejected.
You only need to put more priority on your practice than anything else.
To the degree that you concentrate on your practice, is the degree to which the superfluous will simply lag farther and farther behind until it no longer connects to you.
My mother in law also has it. It is quite debilitating.
Me: Him: I felt humiliated. Actually I have made significant changes... 137 lbs soaking wet to 200 lbs (not all of it fat
The point is that it can be annoying to ourselves and to others, causing them to lose their patience and lash out when things tend to either not sink in, and/or you repeatedly question yourself and ask for validation. Couple that with bipolar depression, and you have... well, things like my first post above.
That was probably more than anyone needed to know, but it's an example of how it can sometimes antagonize people; me, it sent into a nose-dive because the truth does indeed hurt.
I'm not sure how old you are, not that it matters unless you are young (like, less than 28) but plain old life experience shows you that some things that are EXTREMELY important can sort fade away on their own over the years. This happens because as a person gets older, they understand deeper and place priorities differently. This all happens naturally under the surface of daily awareness. The natural process of growth and human evolution TRIES to happen in all persons, I think, and this deep process is the reason why suddenly something previously important is not so anymore.
Having OCPD and other mental issues slows down the maturing process a bit, no judgment implied, it's just that you struggle twice as hard as people without the issues to do the same darn thing every day of your life
Right now the ATTACHMENT you have to the Hindu gods, at least from your words, is very strong and 'cold turkey' sounds like a recipe for some panic, no? Even though intellectually you might not believe your emotions, emotions are stronger than the intellect.
I'm with the others who suggest you just PRACTICE and not stress out over the gods you still need around. Why not? If you weren't a bit on the fragile side with anxiety, a pure all out surrender or renunciation might work well, but these gods over time have come to mean stability and strength to you that you worked hard to build.
I don't know if you've ever heard of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book about world mythology and the psychological processes (more recently discovered) that parallel these myths. His point was these 'gods' are actual mental phenomena, and real, but symbolic rather than actual beings. All the great myths and fairy tales of various cultures are descriptions of deep psychological movements in the personal and collective psyche. They are not BAD. They are just a natural *thing* that human minds manifest to make sense of the world.
What does it hurt to devote some time to your special Hindu gods? Only you can answer that.
My point is there are many many ways to relate to your dilemma, rather than 'should they stay, should they go." Usually either extreme is not the answer, it's somewhere in the grey areas and very personal.
Gassho
Now you gets it. Why insult our selves? Thank you gods, I haz a Buddha box for you . . . Kiss them goodnight . . . night Ganesha, night Lakshmi.
Do you have a little garden they can go in? Maybe your shrine can be partly a closed box, supporting the Buddha?
Gotta luv them dolls . . . :buck:
When I was about ten I became obsessed -- literally -- with Greek mythology, the pantheon of gods and goddesses, their stories. They misbehaved and did stupid, rude things a lot. They made big mistakes and got bent out of shape when some human boasted (or demonstrated) abilities or looks better than theirs. What little I studied of the gods of other cultures, Norse or Hindu or the Santeria, they too were subject to very human foibles like pride and greed.
Maybe you need to 'improve' your relationship to them in some way? Get more intimate with them, maybe more personable, respectful but friendlier? Gods routinely have a sense of humor, and since they wouldn't be 'gods' without US they need us too. If they didn't need us, why would they bother? Just to have a bunch of bald monkeys worshiping them? Even a human being would get bored with that before long!
Yeah, maybe GO INTO IT further, rather than toss them aside, they're obviously important and helpful, you know best how.
Gassho
pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain feeling (3)
eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind (6)
(6X3)=18
present, past, future (3)
(18X3)=54
internal, external (2)
(54X2)=108
if you do prostration with knowing what you are doing it is mindfulness (Right Mindfulness) which brings the calmness (Right Concentration) to the mind
Concentration meditation (samatha) + Insight meditation (vipassana) will help to arise Wisdom
I don't let superstitions get to me, and never will, touch wood......
(see what I did there.....?
As far as I can tell, the gods only have as much power as we give them.
As @Hamsaka rightly suggested, I am a little slow on the uptake due to my cluster of disorders. It takes a little while longer for things to settle in my head, though ironically as far as facts, I am a quick study.
There's a saying (not sure if it's Hindi or Sanskrit): "Jāki rahi bhāvanā jaisi prabhu mūrat dekhi tin taisi" (everyone sees God in their own way). Now, we don't necessarily have to use 'God', but it might be reworked to something like "everyone sees themselves and the world and comes to enlightenment in their own way".
I want to thank everyone for patiently offering great advice and opinions and giving me a lot to think about... rather, meditate on for growth and discovery.