thread: 2005-08-09 : The New Open House 2: Religion
On 2005-08-09, Vincent wrote:
...But I'm going to cheat and just quote myself.
I wrote this for the Forge's birthday back in April:
Somehow it survived in me that what matters most is family and friends, and what matters next most is guests and hosts. Food binds all. Preparing food, eating food, cleaning up after food. Now that Meg's sister owns land and sheep and chickens and sugar maples and herb and vegetable gardens, add cultivating food too. I take my cookery as a priesthood. Keep your theologies and afterlives, for I know that Cajun shrimp recipe.
My word for God is "the monkey mind." When we get together, we have the monkey mind. We eat and laugh and play and gossip. "Eat" is the heart and "play" is the soul, and play includes games, music, art, stories, touching, discoursing, wandering, looking. Play is how we make sense of everything else.
Religion is a kind of play that I don't enjoy, I think because it involves murmuring and all facing one direction. You can take the monkey out of the trees...
This makes S.S. go "Whoa! I believe you just inspired me!"
This makes ct go "Basic aspects..."
of living, like eating, breathing, falling asleep, waking up, being born, dying, even defecation and urination... I like the idea of religious rituals surrounding these things.
