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 Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:22 pm
Ok this has to do with Buddhism and ones culture >_<" I know its kind of silly but I will ask anyway...
It started when I went to church on sunday and had the oppurtunity to witness a beautiful procession made by the Hispanic community and several church members. It was really beautiful as they had a picture of a certain patron saint and a virgen (Spanish pronunciation: Virjen) and it was carried on a palenquin. I brought a little pin with replicas of the images to commerate the celebration. It reminded me of Hindu processions I see on TV with images of certain gods decorated with flowers and this really made me embrace and smile as these processions are unique to some or if not all Latin American countries as they celebrate certain saints and all. I said and thought it was amazing because even though people come from different places, they preserve their traditions (Im in the US) and in the area that I live in, these processions are rare and can only be seen in Latin America.
Like I said, this really made me appreciate the cultural differences and traditions that are around and it made my whole day..even though I do not follow the Catholic tradition but they were really nice and on a pamphlet they were welcoming to non-christians as well.
The thing is can one still celebrate the traditions and holidays even if they are religious even if one isnt of their religious tradition? I mean I would not want to leave behind these traditions.
Amituofo
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Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 2:23 pm
Seeing how important tolerance and understanding is to Buddhism, I can't conceive of a reason why one has to abandon other religious practices entirely in favor of another.
Celebrations are especially great ways to learn things about other cultures too. The mood makes people secure in who they are, happy... and generally more open to talk about it.... at least I find.
Kind of reminds me too... of all the Eastern cultures that were able to keep their original deities and traditions while also adopting Buddhism at the same time. Don't really see why it can't work with Western traditions too. Sometimes, the new cultures even help Buddhism evolve and see things in new ways, as well as revisit the old ways in their similarities.
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