May 27th, 2009
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?
We are beings with bodies! A spirituality that refuses to deal with this is, to my mind, inhuman.
If God is truly everywhere, then this world is holy! The body is holy. Sex is holy.
Admittedly, there is a lot of power (shakti) in the body. A power which can be used either for good or bad. The “maligning” of the body probably stems from the recognition of this great power that’s indifferent to good or evil.
One of the reasons why I love Vipassana is this: it is a form of spiritual practice that doesn’t neglect the body. Rather, it teaches us to be aware, to pay attention to the sensations of the body.
It’s very simple. (Which is not to say that it’s easy.) Scientific. Clinical. No need for all these esoteric mumbo-jumbo (I’m not disparaging other spiritual practices – I too see their value, it’s just that many scientifically-minded people balk at the esoterica.) Atheists can practice it. And why not? They breathe, and have bodily sensations, too.
I don’t know, I’m also experiencing slight changes in my mindset. I’m seeing the catholic/christian church in a new, kinder light. A lot of the things that I questioned as crappy and unreal idealizations, I now see as very real possibilities.
Heck, I’m even seeing the possibility of my not-taking intoxicants! (In the distant future…=) )
I’m also learning about responsibility, especially when it comes to sexual practices. Nope, I’m not a saint. I’m just realizing how vulnerable people can be when it comes to sex (even casual sex). Even if one says that one does it with a modicum of compassion and doesn’t reduce the other into a sexual object, people still can, and do, get hurt. (And I’m not talking about the hurting that’s good.) Some part of me’s still reacting, but yes, if it’s just going to end up with people having sore feelings (of being used, etc.), ‘wag na lang.
I don’t know…
best regards,
ian
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“I believe in the resurrection of the body! Whatever that means…”
- Lady Constance Chatterley, in “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence