Xn3cTs

Part of the reason why I strayed away from “mother church” is my perception (whether right or wrong) that spirituality is inimical to the body.

You want to be holy/spiritual? Then, deny the body. The body, with its desires (sexual, biological, etc.) needs to be tamed, nay, caged. The body is a burden. If only we can become like angels. Pure, without the body which (unruly and with all these icky secretions, mucus, urine, etc.) always presents itself as a problem, a hindrance, an obstacle.

I’ve no problems with ascetic practices. I see their value. But when these practices get tied up with the denigration of the body, I react.

Didn’t God create the world and saw that it was good? Why then look at the body with an evil eye?

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Tags: Body, Matter, Philosophy, Sex, Spirit, spirituality, Vipassana
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wrote this circa 2004…

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I think the better version of that witticism is “I’m a vegetarian not because I love animals. It’s because I hate plants.”

The anecdote might have been simply a hyperbole to convey what I think is a very wise teaching: should it ever come to a point when one’s uncompromising principles lead to the possible loss of compassion, better relax and compromise. I think the head-monk ate the meat not so much because he didn’t want to refuse the host but because his fellow-monks were berating the hotel staff.

Likewise, the “animal-loving misanthropist” bit simply referred to the abundant cases of eccentrics who get featured in the media who shun human society and spend millions of dollars for the upkeep of their pet cats/dogs.

I wasn’t all that concerned with vegetarianism per se.

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Tags: Conrad de Quiros, Elizabeth Chionglo, Graham Greene, Masada, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Vegetarianism
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The Heart of the Vegetarian Matter
(In Honor of the Flesh We Eat)
by Michael Ian Lomongo

On the 10th day of our Vipassana course in 2003, some of my meditation friends were discussing the idea of non-killing (even of insects), whether we’d continue the practice after the course. I said I’d probably do, but I’d try to keep in mind to always say to the insect/s “I’m sorry but I have to kill you.” (And then, someone pointed out that some American Indian tribes used to have this practice of “talking” to the animal they’re killing for food.)

Circa 1997, I used to regularly attend these monthly Full-Moon celebrations with SUFI-ISIS at either Samat Rd. or Biak-na-Bato (basta somewhere near Quezon Blvd.). They’d have someone who’d give a talk/lecture (on spirituality, various paths and techniques), afterwards there’d be meditation, and then meals!!! Woohoo! (They’ve got it all covered… food for the mind, soul, body!)

And one of the things that really struck me during one of the talks was this anecdote that the speaker shared. A group of monks was billeted in a hotel and they made sure that everything was taken care of (their accomodation, their special needs, like the purely vegetarian meal that they must have, etc.). Came mealtime, and imagine the monks’ chagrin when they found themselves being served meat! Agitated, they called for the hotel-manager and started really scolding and berating the incompetence of the hotel staff.

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Tags: Compassion, spirituality, Vegetarianism, Vipassana
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Do you believe in love at first sight?

I do.

Saw this little book “The Alphabet of Grace” by Frederick Buechner in the bargain bin of NBS, bought it (for P50), and fell in love with it. Lent it to someone who, of course, lost it. And then, after some time, I serendipitously found and bought a new one (for P300). It’s about the spiritual experience of, in his own words, “a part-time novelist, Christian, pig.” What caught my attention: the title. What I loved in it: a very human, semi-mystical approach to spirituality.

Am thinking of translating it to Tagalog someday. I tried, and never got past the introduction. Will have to find time, someday.

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Excerpts from “When Fish Talk: A Retrospective” by Pancho Vera Lapuz (in NU107 Rock Awards X Mag):

“… The only thing that doesn’t change is change. Less than a month ago, scientists discovered a black hole in space that emits a tone in the key of B flat. In the key of C, that is the minor 7th note, which could make the C scale Dominant, or Blues, or it could be a chromatic passing tone, Jazz, on its way up to the Major, down to the diminished, or through to the melodic minor. It could even be in its own scale of B flat, indifferent, arrhythmic. No mention of rhythm, just tone. It takes both tone and rhythm to make music, in the standard sense. Maybe tone is all it provides, and it’s up to us to provide beat, time, signature, and meter, up to us to offer the pulse to the eternal dance. Why do we hear it? Why does it move us? Contemporaneous to that, in our lifetime, the planet Mars is the closest it will ever be in orbit to the planet Earth, not in another multibillion million ice ages will it ever be that close again. Furthermore, scientists have also recently spotted an asteroid headed directly toward us, how big is it? How big does it have to be? … That’s the trident visible on our horizon: the black hole in B flat, that’s 1, Mars as close as it will ever get, that’s 2, and the asteroid, headed in our direction makes 3. Self-preservation is the main idea, you’ve got to pick up every stitch, pickle our planet and save it, save ourselves, for the eternal quest ahead, peace on earth, goodwill towards men, survival of the fittest, in search of the dominant gene, the eternal treadmill, the journey, the groove, and the run of things.

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Tags: NU107
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novermber 22, 2003

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To continue with Nietzsche’s criticism of Buddhism:

Nietzsche preferred Judaism over Christianity. He saw Christianity as the full flowering of Jewish resentment (as exemplified by St. Paul, who because he couldn’t observe the Law, turned against the Law…). Likewise, he preferred Hinduism over Buddhism, which he saw as the product of an old, world-and-life-wearied culture/civilization.

Nietzsche looks at Buddhism as a pessimism.

Life is full of suffering. How to end suffering?

End the very source of suffering, life itself. Since suicide was believed to produce more suffering (through karma/reincarnation), this particular option is out of the question.

How is life manifested? Through desire.

You want to end suffering, then desire no more.

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Tags: Buddhism, Desire, Friedrich Nietzsche, Life, Pessimism, spirituality
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reposting… Showing uli: Feb. 6,7,8.13,14,15 8pm, Feb. 7,8,14,15 3pm, Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater)

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Winner! Ang Lola Mo! (Ang Kagila-gilalas na Sugo na si Zsazsa Zaturnnah)
ni Michael Ian Lomongo

Ano pa ba’ng masasabi ko sa “Zsazsa Zaturnnah ze Muzikal” ng Tanghalang Pilipino kundi pawang papuri?

Gustung-gusto ko ang musika at ang mga nagsiganap; punung-puno sila ng puso. Jologs na produksyon, low-tech. Walang kagila-gilalas sa mga “special effect” nito. Ngunit kamangha-mangha at nag-uumapaw sa puso, imahinasyon, at pagkamalikhain ang buong produksyon. Pasasalamat at papuri sa may-akda (Carlo Vergara), tagapagsalin sa dula (Chris Martinez), direktor (Chris Millado), kompositor (Vince de Jesus), at sa mga aktor (Eula Valdes, Arnold Reyes, Lauren Novero, Kalila Aguilos, Wilma Doesnt, Vincent de Jesus, Tuxqs Rutaquio, Ricci Chan, Joey Paras, Nar Cabico, et al.).

Nakakaaliw panoorin. Hindi sayang ang panahon at perang gugugulin mo sa panonood nito. Ngunit sa pagtatapos ng tawanan ay ang paghahanap ng kahulugan. Kung kaya pagtutuunan ko ng pansin ang isang tanong na sa palagay ko’y ibinabato sa atin ng kwento ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah:

Paano ba maging isang superhero o kaya’y bayani?

Saan nagmumula ang mga pangyayari upang ang isang tao ay maging bayani? Likas ba ito sa kalooban ng isang tao, o aksidenteng lumalabas ayon sa mga pagkakataon? Galing sa loob o sa labas? Basal (native) ba ito o dayuhan?

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reposting… november, 2003.

best regards,

ian

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Nietzsche, Hume and the Buddha

When I first heard of Nietzsche, it was in association with Hitler and the Nazis. I simply dismissed him as a rabid, power-hungry maniac who probably had an unhappy childhood. A classmate in college wrote a paper on this Nietzsche guy and I was silently chuckling on the thought that a comic book idea (“superman”) can be the subject of a scholarly paper.

But when I did get to read him (years later), I was simply won over by this crazy guy! He says provocative things that, when thought about, actually make sense. He’s probably among the few philosophers who doesn’t come across as an insipid intellectual. He’s got style, lots of it. He doesn’t say things just for effect (although sometimes it feels like that). He’s an artist, an artist-philosopher. He’s very passionate and his sincerity comes across. He also has a weird sense of humor. Indeed, he writes with his blood. Indeed, he’s a dynamite.

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Tags: Art, Buddha, Buddhism, Hume, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Power, religion, spirituality, Writing
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Am trying to re-post old posts August of last year which were not backed up.

best regards,

ian

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More Than Words (More Ramblings…)

One of my all-time favorite songs is “More Than Words.” It became a monster hit in 1991 or 1992, spawning a long list of other “unplugged” numbers. The song, written by Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone (of the now disbanded “Extreme,” a funky-metal band similar in style to Red Hot Chili Peppers, with lyrics that usually tackled religious and philosophical issues), had a beautiful melody, wonderful vocal harmony, with only a bare guitar and a bongo drum for its accompaniment. At a time when most songs were overweighed by layers of instrumentation with technological gadgets, synthesizers, etc., it was a breath of fresh air to hear this song that was pure and naked in its beauty, honesty, and simplicity. No gimmicks, just the bare essentials.

It also expressed for me an important lesson that I learned from Karl Marx and the existentialists. Karl Marx says that “Life determines consciousness; not consciousness, life.” Thus, the emphasis on praxis (practice, not as “rehearsal,” but as “actualization”), over and above theory. Of course, the existentialists harp on the call for authenticity.

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Tags: Life, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, spirituality
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Am reactivating my blog. It went down the first week of September after we got banned by the original host. For what reason, I don’t know. Most of the posts for August are gone because I wasn’t able to back up the uploaded files. Anyway, will do my best to re-post these pieces. In the meantime, here’s an old Christmas essay I wrote four years ago (with a few updates because, well, it is 2008).

best regards,

ian

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Christmas Hues (Blues?)
by Michael Ian Lomongo

“And so this is Christmas, and what have we done?”
- John Lennon, “Happy Christmas”

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Four years ago, the Philippine Daily Inquirer showed this graph which showed that more and more Filipinos no longer feel that happy feeling that used to come with the Christmas season.

Of course, a lot has been written about the depression that comes with the holidays. That feeling of loneliness that just becomes heightened and aggravated because of all the hype, the sense of promise and expectation in this so-called season of love and redemption…

Everyone, at some point in his/her life, must have experienced just how that felt.

It’s as if your whole being is prepped up for an epiphany… a miracle… some magical transformation in your life… for God to reveal his/her face, or even just his/her name…

Maranatha… please, Lord, come.

Just some small miracle… something that would make the anxious hoping and waiting worthwhile…

But it just never came. It never comes.

Or, it probably came and went, without our noticing it.

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Tags: Christmas, Filipinos, spirituality
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