Light in the darkness of winter

Many of us do not like winter. We do not like the coldness, the frozen car windows, the slipperiness, etc. However, the start of winter can symbolically be seen as growth and rebirth.

Yule
In Scandinavia Christmas is called Yule. Most Christmas traditions are rooted deep in ancient Yule rituals, for example lighting candles, decorating our homes and giving gifts. Yule is the Germanic solstice celebration. It is the celebration of Midwinter; the celebration where evil is expelled and light is welcomed. Yule celebration takes twelve days. December 21, the shortest day of the year and the day when winter starts, is the most important day during this period. On this day, the so-called Yule Fires will be ignited. Days are getting longer again and the sun is beginning to return. It is a time of getting together and a time for celebrations. It does not matter which religious background you have, Winter Solstice offers for everyone a perfect opportunity to get together with family. Christians and Catholics celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, while Yule is connected to the celebration of sun, light and longer days. It is a celebration that winter will be over eventually.

I was grown up as a Catholic. Catholics celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas but are also enjoying the company of family and /or friends. It is a celebration of togetherness. However, December 21 was for me not more than a day when winter starts and Summer is still far away from us. Involving myself more in the Yule tradition, I noticed that the start of winter is not that bad. It is actually the turning point of the year. The short days have come to an end and although it might be getting colder in the coming months, we must think about the days that are getting longer again. We should not think too much about the coldness, the grayness, but more about the light that will shine day by day more and more. Search for small positive things when winter seems to last forever.

When hope is fading away

All hope can be gone in one fleeting moment. Last Friday, news of the school shooting in Newtown in Connecticut (USA) was spread around the world. The whole world was shocked. How could this happen? Why did that guy kill those innocent children and their teachers? It is hard to understand that something like this could happen. What the reason might be, I can feel the pain that these families must be going through. It must be awful to lose a child or lover in such a tragedy. Where can we find hope after such a tragedy? I wish I knew but I believe it is hard to find hope in life again.

If God exists, where was He at that moment? Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said that this massacre was no surprise, because the state has “systematically removed God” from public schools. Still, I wonder, why innocent children? When adults “systematically remove God” from schools, why do children need to be killed? Adults made this decision, so why do children need to be punished? Kids still need to learn about religion and whether they believe in a God or not. However, nobody can answer the question where God was that day.

We see that hope can be lost in a matter of seconds. After such tragedy I believe we only can put hope in political leaders, like Obama. I really hope that political leaders around the world will take meaningful action after Newtown school shooting and I hope that terrible events like this, in whatever extent, will never happen again, anywhere.

Sending my thoughts to the whole community of Newtown.

Hope, porn and knuckle dusters

This week I receive a picture from a classmate with the cover of a magazine. At first sight, I noticed the letter Hoop which means Hope in Dutch and of course, the Christmas atmosphere with the green and red colors, the Christmas wreaths, the Christmas bells, etc. However, taking a better look at the picture, I observed the text at the left side of the picture. Questions like what have porn addiction or knuckle dusters got to do with hope came to my mind. This picture made me curious to the organization behind this magazine. This was even more a surprise for me. This magazine HOOP is from Hour to Power. I must admit I was not aware of an organization called Hour of Power so I did some research to find out. Hour of Power seems to be an American church service in which the positive gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed in an accessible and modern way. The service is led by various speakers, including founder Robert Harold Schuller, Bill Hybels, Lee Strobel, Walt Kallestad and many others. In short, people I have never heard of before. Since 1999 people in the Netherlands can watch this service on television.

However, looking at the cover at the magazine, I wonder what this church service is about and in how far, Christianity has changed. Will they talk about porn and knuckle dusters? I don’t know but I believe the titles of the articles published on the cover of this magazine do not fit with Christianity and / or Christmas. Note: this magazine is also a special Christmas edition!

The Man in the Moon

In the Longshan Temple in Taiwan people can pray to the God of Love and Marriage, who is also known as the man in the moon or in Chinese as Wu Kang. The God of Love and Marriage unites lovers by tying their feet together with invisible cords. If you have problems with your partner or are hoping to be united with someone special, you can pray to the God of Love and Marriage.

Charms
In the temple you can buy love charms that have been blessed. By carrying the love charm, the wearer of the charm can pray to the God of Love and Marriage to bring true love to him or her. People who buy the charm should carry it every day or they can hold it with their left hand when praying before going to sleep. After praying, the charm should be placed under the pillow.

I am an optimistic person that believes that trying cannot do any harm. However, I wouldn’t carry this charm with me since it is not attractive and I do not like the colour, the form, the size, etc. To me, a charm is considered to be small and something you can hang on a necklace, but this kind of charm, I would rather hang on my wall.

Do you have such a charm? Did you follow its instructions? What do you believe; will this charm be succesful when it is used differently? I look forward to your opinion and / or story!

Use Wenchang to pass a test

Yesterday, I wrote about Buddhism. Today I would like to add one of my experiences to this. In 2010 I went to Taiwan. It was also my first time in Asia. Although the many differences with western countries, I was most overwhelmed with the beauty of the many temples. One of the temples I visited, was the Longshan (Lungshan) Temple, which is also known as the Dragon Mountain. The temple is remarkable because of its bright colors.

The story of this temple dates back to 1738 when someone left an amulet of the Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin) hanging on a tree on the site of the present temple. The amulet shone unnatural, but brightly, meaning the site was blessed. Nowadays, the temple still conveys some kind of warmth.

The temple has been devoted to the Goddess of Mercy, but it is also possible to worship many other deities. The temple is often seen as the meeting place of all the gods. People come to the temple for their prayers in the hope that their wishes will be granted. Examples of other Gods that can be worshipped in the Longshan Temple are the God of Sea (for protection by traveling over sea), the god of War, the God of Love and Marriage, the God of Medicine, the God of Money, the Baby God (for fertility) and the God of Literature and Examination. The latter God seems to be very popular. The table is full of food that students have offered while praying. Students pray in front of the God. In answering to their prayers and offers, students hope that the God of Literature and Examination (Wenchang) will bless them with the intelligence to pass a certain test or exam. In the picture a person has offered the God some spring onions in the hope to pass his driving license. Spring onions are a symbol of good luck, prosperity and intelligence in Taiwan.

Searching for supreme happiness

Buddhism goes beyond religion. It is more a practical way of life, a philosophy, providing a deep understanding of the human mind and teaching self-reliance, wisdom, compassion, responsibility, etc. These qualities can enrich happiness and make the world more meaningful to all who practice Buddhism.

This way of life has always inspired me but has also kept me wondering how important Hope is according to Buddhism. Looking at their teaches, I suggest it offers hope to become a better, healthier and happier person by making some changes to our current way of life. However, many Buddhists, including monks say that we should give up hoping, because it is a form of wanting. What we want in the world does not always happen, which can therefore, result in suffering. This is true; hoping for the impossible, may result in unhappiness and despair. Hoping to get rich, to find true love or live happy ever after cannot always be guaranteed and therefore, should be stopped, according to Buddhism. We should stop chasing after things that bring us happiness, because chances are there that this is false hope. Besides these kinds of hope, Buddhism, unlike Christianity, does not believe or hope in a heaven filled with everything that provides happiness.

However, I believe that hoping for the possible, things that can be reached, is not wrong. These hopes can be stimulating and can give power to not give up.

Moreover, I believe that Buddhists hope in a certain way. Buddhists have several rules to hold on, including “do not kill”, “do not steal”, “do not use alcohol and drugs”, etc. To hold on these principles, Buddhists hope to earn the reward of a better life in their next life, but they also hope for Nirvana, the final goal in Buddhist life, meaning that all sufferings and conflicts have come to an end and supreme happiness has been achieved. All Buddhists hope to reach their final goal. So, in this way, Buddhists may not hope like many other people, but they also search for hope in their lives.