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Anyone here Pagan?
Just curious how it fits with Buddhism. A friend of mine is a Pagan and she has been teaching me about it and I find it fascinating.
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Without wishing to be flippant, it really does depend on what you mean by "pagan". There are dozens, if not hundreds, of "paganisms". Not surprising really: paganism is the religion of the woods and fields. The word has the same root as "peasant". Some pagan beliefs concern the sun, moon and stars. They are the beliefs arising from a pre-urban society, by and large. And the pre-urban environment varies from place to place, so the beliefs do too.
Buddhism seems to have a congenial relationship with paganism, particularly shamanistic paganism. I recall that when some lamas visited Aotearoa (New Zealand) to collect a tylku who had been born there they made offerings and prayers to the local Maori deities.
That depiction above the altars in churches very often stands in stark contrast to the other artwork and representations in the church.
I wish someone would enlighten us on Buddhist, Zorastrian, and other traditions.
The medidation seems very different, they use alot of visualisation but i'm not sure to what end. I'll ask too.
At this solstice time may fire be born of ice, light from the darkness and gnosis from bondage.
Peace
Kris
Buddhism, with it's deep roots, is unquestionably a superior vehicle.
Got it in one Nirvana - the reason that christmas is celebrated so near Yule, the Solstice is because the incoming christian religion replaced the old pagan celebration where the metaphor of the goddess giving birth to her son was used to represent the sun coming back and the days getting longer.
So, spot on, a lot of the traditions, such as bringing in the evergreens, kissing under the mistletoe, holly, decorating a tree and a mother and child image date back to that period. A lot of christian festivals had their dates moved about to accommodate old feasts - we still have the summer solstice bonfires here in France but they are called the Fires of St John and a very masculine event it is - the closeness of the sun and the gathering of the harvest being connected with the corn lord.
"Feb. 11, 2008 -- Historical records tell of a mystical, priestly and learned class of elite individuals called Druids among Celtic societies in Britain, but there has been no archaeological evidence of their existence. Until, perhaps, now.
A series of graves found in a gravel quarry at Stanway near Colchester, Essex, have been dated to 40-60 A.D. At least one of the burials, it appears, may have been that of a Druid, according to a report published in British Archaeology. "
It would be fun to put the debate to bed at last but a truth remains that an elite caste of "individuals called Druids" exists in at least one Celtic society today - even if it may be much younger than claimed (like the Masons or, perhaps, the Mormons) - and we have an Archbishop who is one of them!
You want Celts to agree with each other? The victory of optimism over experience, I fear.
But maybe they are honouring a very old tradition ..............
Ah! You mean my neighbours at Glastonbury whereas I was thinking of my Welsh and Cornish friends and fellow 'druids'.
And if my own family is anything to go by - you are right, getting more than two Celts to agree on anything other than "let's go pub" would be a minor miracle.