About a year ago, I spent four months in Southeast Asia. While living in Thailand, I learned a great deal about Buddhism and found it to be a fascinating and deeply edifying religion. As part of my study there, I read a biography of Siddhartha Gautama (more commonly known as The Buddha). In this biography, the author described the physical and spiritual journey of Gautama and laid out the basic principles and teachings of Buddhism. The first set of these principles is known as the Four Noble Truths: Life is suffering, Suffering comes from desire, In order to stop suffering we must give up desire, We give up desire by following The Way.
Of course, all of this was written in a different language so I need expound on the term "Desire". This word or concept could also be described as craving, longing, covetousness, or attachment to the physical world. I personally like the phrase "attachment to the physical world" because it provides room for righteous desire like the desire to help people (something that Gautama was a big advocate of). It also shows us that attachment to people, while not negative (as covetousness would imply) is a major source of suffering.
For the purposes of this blog, however, I would like to focus on the concept of attachment to physical things. I once had a wonderful conversation with a monk in Chiang Mai about this concept. He explained to me that everything we "own" serves a functional purpose. We have shoes to protect our feet, we have clothes to protect our body. So if the reason we have shoes is to protect our feet, why do we need more than one? MAYBE two? Why do we need different colors or styles or brands? They all do the same thing perfectly well: They protect our feet. If we have clothes to protect our bodies, why do we need a whole closet full of robes? We only need two: one for wearing, one for washing. We don't need all these different colors or styles. If we do have all these different colors and styles, then we like one robe more than all the rest. We become attached to it. Then what happens when it gets ripped or stained? We are sad, we suffer. Or worse, what happens when someone else rips it or stains it? We are not only sad, we are angry as well. Now we cause suffering as well as feel suffering. The bottom line: the ownership or consumption of material goods for any other purpose than to meet the needs of life leads to attachment and suffering.
Now for the purpose of this blog. I recently decided that I needed more bangles in my life to match all my cute bohemian summer dresses (I know, the exact OPPOSITE of Buddhist non-consumerism). So I went to The Icing and was pleased to see all sorts of boho chic jewelry for my consumption. I don't go shopping very often though and I am somewhat behind the fashion times. Thus I was completely shocked when I saw all these little Buddha's on bracelets, necklaces, rings, scarves... There was actually a big gold Buddha on a massive gold chain necklace. Here I was faced with the opportunity to literally consume Buddha! My friends who knew I lived in a Buddhist country immediately started pointing out Buddhist motifs and saying I should buy them but I just couldn't do it. It was just too funny. Here we were, doing exactly what Buddha told us NOT to do (participating in consumerist materialism) by LITERALLY consuming Buddha. The irony was absolutely brilliant, especially because no one understood the irony! (I had to explain to my friends exactly why I was laughing).
For the first time in my life, I could appreciate the irony and hilarity of western orientalism. I can only imagine the essence that once was Buddha sitting up in the cosmos of Nirvana saying "Are you serious?!" Only he wouldn't say that because he would no longer be attached to his doctrine or his image, and he certainly wouldn't be angry. He would probably just have a little smirk on his non-existent face, shake his non-existent head and think "They'll get it eventually".
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Because I Have Been Given Much
My roommate went to a singing testimony meeting today where people from the congregation would go up, say what they liked about a particular hymn, and then the congregation would sing that hymn. Below is one of the testimonies:
"I am going to sing this hymn because we only get to sing it once a year and I think that's just a shame. I'm going to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" because I just love this country so much and I'm so grateful I live here and I know it's the best country on earth, even with a socialist president ;) " He then proceeds to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" and everyone joins in enthusiastically.
Well, as you can imagine, I was SO SAD I missed this because lets be honest, I would have had a field day. But lets not fret friends, for we have the internet to come to my aid! I will now post the response I would have given, had I been blessed enough to attend such a meeting.
"I chose this next hymn we are going to sing because I am just so grateful to have the teachings of Jesus to guide us in our physical lives, as well as our spiritual. I am particularly grateful for the story of the wealthy young man who goes to the savior and asks what he must do to obtain salvation. The Lord tells him to give all he has to the needy, and follow him. Unfortunately, this blessed young man did not love the savior enough to share his physical blessings with his less fortunate brethren. I am grateful that none of us are like this young man. I am grateful that we belong to a global church that does not shy away from things like socialism, but instead has a history of holy revelation, like the Law of Consecration, or the Bishop's Storehouse. And most importantly, I am so glad we live in an apparently socialist country. A country that understands that when we have been given much, we too must give. For are we not all beggars? It is in this spirit, that I would like to sing Hymn 219, "Because I Have Been Given Much."
Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live
I shall divide my gifts from thee
With every brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,
I cannot see another's lack and I not share
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof's safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.
Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,
I'll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I'll show that love by word and deed:
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.
"I am going to sing this hymn because we only get to sing it once a year and I think that's just a shame. I'm going to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" because I just love this country so much and I'm so grateful I live here and I know it's the best country on earth, even with a socialist president ;) " He then proceeds to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" and everyone joins in enthusiastically.
Well, as you can imagine, I was SO SAD I missed this because lets be honest, I would have had a field day. But lets not fret friends, for we have the internet to come to my aid! I will now post the response I would have given, had I been blessed enough to attend such a meeting.
"I chose this next hymn we are going to sing because I am just so grateful to have the teachings of Jesus to guide us in our physical lives, as well as our spiritual. I am particularly grateful for the story of the wealthy young man who goes to the savior and asks what he must do to obtain salvation. The Lord tells him to give all he has to the needy, and follow him. Unfortunately, this blessed young man did not love the savior enough to share his physical blessings with his less fortunate brethren. I am grateful that none of us are like this young man. I am grateful that we belong to a global church that does not shy away from things like socialism, but instead has a history of holy revelation, like the Law of Consecration, or the Bishop's Storehouse. And most importantly, I am so glad we live in an apparently socialist country. A country that understands that when we have been given much, we too must give. For are we not all beggars? It is in this spirit, that I would like to sing Hymn 219, "Because I Have Been Given Much."
Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live
I shall divide my gifts from thee
With every brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,
I cannot see another's lack and I not share
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof's safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.
Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,
I'll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I'll show that love by word and deed:
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Absurdity Explained
I have a friend on Facebook whom I have never met, is not Mormon, and who has never been to BYU. She recently became aware of the Honor Code and was completely flabbergasted that anyone would agree to live by such ridiculous rules. To be fair, she willingly admitted the virtue of things like no drinking, drugs, or gratuitous sex, but she could not wrap her head around the idea of a beard card. She asked me to shed some light on the absurdity and this is my response. I post it here because I have many non-member friends that I am sure think the same things as Corrine about the Honor Code, although they have never said so out of fear of insulting me. I hope you enjoy my explanation.
Dear Corrine,
I'm not offended at all! Imagine feeling as annoyed and frustrated as you are right now for four years and you'll have an idea of how I feel. I have to say that seeing the Honor Code through your eyes was actually very interesting to me. I've always found it annoying, but to hear your absolute incredulity at the beard card thing is quite enlightening. I've never realized exactly HOW absurd it really is until right now.
BYU students owe our lovely dress and grooming restrictions to Ernest L Wilkinson, President of BYU from 1951 to 1971. Wilkinson came from a military background (navy to be exact) and was president during a very volatile time in our nation’s history. In an effort to dissuade BYU from getting sucked into the "Hippie Movement" he enacted a series of dress and grooming standards that aligned with his clean-cut military sensibilities. This included being clean shaven, men having short haircuts, and women being required to wear skirts (thankfully that at least has changed).
Fortunately, while these standards remain, not everyone in our church leadership consider them to be virtuous. Hugh Nibley, prominent Mormon scholar and considered by many to be the best professor and intellectual BYU has ever seen, said of the honor code, "The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism... the haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances." (Waterman, Brian and Kagel, Brian Kagel. The Lord’s University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. 1998.) Hopefully someday we will listen to Hugh and stop being so petty, but looking at how the church is operating these days, and how BYU continues to grow in totalitarian practices, I doubt it.
As for the tea and coffee, this dates back to a revelation given to Joseph Smith in the mid-1800's that came to be known as "The Word of Wisdom". Among counsel to eat meat sparingly and going to bed early in order to wake up early, the revelation states to refrain from "hot drinks". It was several decades after the revelation was received that the church universally accepted this to mean coffee and tea. Indeed, coffee was drunk all the way into the 1900's by many church members. Today however (as Nibley quite rightly pointed out), our church has become obsessed with the appearance of righteousness instead of righteousness itself and drinking coffee is tantamount to drinking alcohol or doing weed on a regular basis. We are allowed to drink herbal tea, however, as long as there is no caffeine in it. For many, that is the rational for not drinking tea and coffee, although you would be hard-pressed not to find a Mormon that drinks Coke or Pepsi within 10 feet of you in Utah. Although I will say that at BYU, it is impossible to buy a caffeinated beverage. You have to come to school prepared with your big gulp or energy drink from 7-11.
As I stated before, you are not expelled for things like drinking coffee or tea (as I have had both), but you are not allowed to do anything on campus if you are unshaven or have pink hair. When I go to take tests, I have to wear a baseball cap; when we go to shows on campus, my guy friends have to shave; if I want to pick up my paycheck, I have to be sure to dress modestly. Of course, all of this is so arbitrary. Someone with power decided which laws were most important to keep (usually correlating with the ones that were the easiest to measure concretely) and we obsessively adhere to them. I actually have one friend who lived in Southeast Asia that states, "I will stop drinking tea when there are no more fat people in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" (one of the most beloved institutions of our religion).
Anyway, I hope this message has shed some light on the absurdity of BYU. To be sure, it is still absurd, but at least you know where it comes from. As with any institution, conformity is key and Mormonism has NO SHORTAGE of conforming. If you ever have any more questions, please feel free to ask them! I am always open to discussion and am very hard to offend. :)
Your Friend,
Shannon
So a friend just informed me of WHY women are allowed to wear pants at BYU. Like I said, absurdity.
"The story takes place the spring prior to the code being adjusted. A young woman, can't remember her name, currently a Utah state senator, needed to take a final. However, she also was needed to help with farm chores on her family farm several hours awayShe went early to help with the chores and then raced back to BYU to take her final. The only problem was that she forgot to change out of her work clothes, so when she arrived at the testing center they denied her access due to not fitting the dress code. Enraged, with no other options, she went downstairs to the girl's bathroom and took off her jeans and tied her windbreaker around her waist to look like a skirt. She was admitted in to take her test. The next Monday she wrote an article for the university newspaper explaining her surprise that according to the honor code it's not ok to take a final in her jeans, but taking one in her panties is just fine. :):)The policy was changed for the new school year."
Dear Corrine,
I'm not offended at all! Imagine feeling as annoyed and frustrated as you are right now for four years and you'll have an idea of how I feel. I have to say that seeing the Honor Code through your eyes was actually very interesting to me. I've always found it annoying, but to hear your absolute incredulity at the beard card thing is quite enlightening. I've never realized exactly HOW absurd it really is until right now.
BYU students owe our lovely dress and grooming restrictions to Ernest L Wilkinson, President of BYU from 1951 to 1971. Wilkinson came from a military background (navy to be exact) and was president during a very volatile time in our nation’s history. In an effort to dissuade BYU from getting sucked into the "Hippie Movement" he enacted a series of dress and grooming standards that aligned with his clean-cut military sensibilities. This included being clean shaven, men having short haircuts, and women being required to wear skirts (thankfully that at least has changed).
Fortunately, while these standards remain, not everyone in our church leadership consider them to be virtuous. Hugh Nibley, prominent Mormon scholar and considered by many to be the best professor and intellectual BYU has ever seen, said of the honor code, "The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism... the haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances." (Waterman, Brian and Kagel, Brian Kagel. The Lord’s University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. 1998.) Hopefully someday we will listen to Hugh and stop being so petty, but looking at how the church is operating these days, and how BYU continues to grow in totalitarian practices, I doubt it.
As for the tea and coffee, this dates back to a revelation given to Joseph Smith in the mid-1800's that came to be known as "The Word of Wisdom". Among counsel to eat meat sparingly and going to bed early in order to wake up early, the revelation states to refrain from "hot drinks". It was several decades after the revelation was received that the church universally accepted this to mean coffee and tea. Indeed, coffee was drunk all the way into the 1900's by many church members. Today however (as Nibley quite rightly pointed out), our church has become obsessed with the appearance of righteousness instead of righteousness itself and drinking coffee is tantamount to drinking alcohol or doing weed on a regular basis. We are allowed to drink herbal tea, however, as long as there is no caffeine in it. For many, that is the rational for not drinking tea and coffee, although you would be hard-pressed not to find a Mormon that drinks Coke or Pepsi within 10 feet of you in Utah. Although I will say that at BYU, it is impossible to buy a caffeinated beverage. You have to come to school prepared with your big gulp or energy drink from 7-11.
As I stated before, you are not expelled for things like drinking coffee or tea (as I have had both), but you are not allowed to do anything on campus if you are unshaven or have pink hair. When I go to take tests, I have to wear a baseball cap; when we go to shows on campus, my guy friends have to shave; if I want to pick up my paycheck, I have to be sure to dress modestly. Of course, all of this is so arbitrary. Someone with power decided which laws were most important to keep (usually correlating with the ones that were the easiest to measure concretely) and we obsessively adhere to them. I actually have one friend who lived in Southeast Asia that states, "I will stop drinking tea when there are no more fat people in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" (one of the most beloved institutions of our religion).
Anyway, I hope this message has shed some light on the absurdity of BYU. To be sure, it is still absurd, but at least you know where it comes from. As with any institution, conformity is key and Mormonism has NO SHORTAGE of conforming. If you ever have any more questions, please feel free to ask them! I am always open to discussion and am very hard to offend. :)
Your Friend,
Shannon
So a friend just informed me of WHY women are allowed to wear pants at BYU. Like I said, absurdity.
"The story takes place the spring prior to the code being adjusted. A young woman, can't remember her name, currently a Utah state senator, needed to take a final. However, she also was needed to help with farm chores on her family farm several hours awayShe went early to help with the chores and then raced back to BYU to take her final. The only problem was that she forgot to change out of her work clothes, so when she arrived at the testing center they denied her access due to not fitting the dress code. Enraged, with no other options, she went downstairs to the girl's bathroom and took off her jeans and tied her windbreaker around her waist to look like a skirt. She was admitted in to take her test. The next Monday she wrote an article for the university newspaper explaining her surprise that according to the honor code it's not ok to take a final in her jeans, but taking one in her panties is just fine. :):)The policy was changed for the new school year."
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