Posting the blogs about taking care of prayer beads over the past couple of days got me thinking about other tools that are used in pursuit of spiritual goals; on a personal level, it got me to think about the tools that I use and how they have changed over the years. Like many people here, as time has gone on I have found myself having bonded with tools that I now consider "spiritual companions", having developed relationships with others that have changed according to need and life situations, and having let go of some for which the time and need has either been met or passed on.
My religious beliefs really don't require much in the way of tools; since I don't do spellwork as a part of my religious practises (I see spellwork as a separate entity), the tools that I require for worship are few and relatively simple. They are:
- My mala.
- Incense is the medium by which prayers are carried to the spirits and Gods; it also serves to clear the mind, body, and soul of negative influences and energies. I prefer the woody, earthy, natural incenses - they are fitting for whom I worship and generally are the ones that I am most drawn to. Most of the incenses I use for puja are from Nepal and other parts of the Himalayas; they are made according to traditional recipes and hand-rolled. The incense is waved nine times in front of the altar after being lit as an offering to the Gods, spirits, and ancestors.
- Candles are my representation of the sacred fire. I make my own candles most of the time, in the form of votives. In many of my candles I add yarrow - it keeps evil and harmful spirits at bay and is a protective herb. It also protects one against thieves and the harmful intentions of others. The warmth of the candle and the beauty of the flame are offerings in and of themselves. The fire represents the hearth, family, and ancestors, and like incense its' smoke carries prayers and wishes.
- Offering bowl. This one should be obvious - it serves to contain libations and other offerings given during worship.
While I do have statues, I don't really consider them tools; for me they are a further means of focus as well as a representation of who I worship. I have two statues of Tara - one of Green Tara and one of White Tara, and a statue to represent my ancestral Mothers (a key part of my worship both as a woman and as someone about to become a mother). I also have a statue that is representative of land spirits. To this I have images of Tara in the form of pictures (roughly the size of postcards). However, the statues and images that I have pale in comparison to being able to worship outside, and to seeing the reflections of Tara in the mountains around my home, and where the land spirits dwell in the various rocks and trees. No image can completely capture the beauty of Tara!
Which is the other reason that I don't require much in the way of tools for my worship - Nature provides. I have found rocks the perfect shape and smoothness on which to sit and meditate, or on which to leave offerings; roots and nooks and crannies in trees that are perfect for leaving offerings in/on; and contemplation can reveal the face of the divine in any surface. The sweet smell of late spring/early summer blossoms and the natural, pungent smell of the earth provide a heady incense all their own. I find many times that it is more rewarding to worship in nature than at an altar for me, and I take every opportunity I can for it.
I think sometimes that a problem some people have is that they become more materialistic in their spirituality because there's been a disconnect somewhere; by this, I mean that sometimes people take refuge in a multiplicity of tools to help them connect to Nature and whomever they worship, instead of going to Nature directly. In short, it becomes easy to mistake the messenger for the message. It can also become easy to fall into this sort of thinking without even being aware that you have done it.
In my case, I haven't felt the need to obtain any tools aside from my mala for the veneration of Tara - I don't have a bell or dorje, for instance. This is for a few reasons - one, these are Buddhist ritual implements, and I am not (strictly speaking) Buddhist. Two, I have not felt the need to obtain them for my practises. Three, it is possible that there will come a time where I will need to get them, and now is not that time. Where this comes into play for me is that people assume that the worship of Tara is confined to Buddhists - and specifically Vajrayana Buddhists - only. And because of this, it strikes some people as weird that a devotee of Tara would not be Buddhist and would not have these instruments.
The fact is that Tara would find this sort of thinking not only very amusing, but limiting. Tara's worship has never been confined to Buddhists only, and she cares for all living beings as her own - regardless of religious affiliation, race, gender, even regardless of whether or not you are human. It is humans who put limitations on Tara, not the other way around - it is humans who decide that Tara is Buddhist only. The texts discussing Tara in Tibet and Nepal describe her coming to the aid of those who call on her just by saying her name - in an "instant flash of lightning" - it is not for nothing she is called the Swift Saviouress. And they state (and show) that one does not have to be Buddhist, her devotee, or have any particular claim to be her worshiper to benefit from her love, help, and blessings. Tara devotes herself to relieving the sufferings of all beings, and that means everyone. As she herself says in her hagiography to a group of monks who believe that only in the body of a man can one best achieve enlightenment:
"Here there is no man, there is no woman,
No self, no person, and no consciousness.
Labeling "male" and "female" has no essence,
but deceives the evil-minded world."
Just as when we put stock in labels, if we put stock in material goods to be our means of achieving communication with Gods and spirits and try to appease an image/stereotype of what a practitioner of X religion should look like/own/etc., we deceive ourselves into a limiting paradigm. Tara, for her part, helps people to break free of these, and I know from my own experiences that Tara breaks you free of paradigms through many means - such as making you confront your limitations head-on.
My mala, much as I consider it a spiritual companion, is made of materials that will one day break, decay, and fade away - as is the nature of all things to eventually do. Nothing is fixed, changing, or permanent - all things are subject to change over time or they stagnate. If I become so attached to my mala that it becomes my religion, rather than a tool to aid me in my pursuits, than I have cut myself off from my spiritual pursuits. I have placed myself under limitations - so that when my mala breaks, I can't function spiritually. Naturally, I don't want to block my spiritual self and limit it's growth, so I don't put my faith in a tool. My Gods and ancestors and the spirits I worship do not live in statues on my altar.
This is a danger that many people fall in to - they think that in order to be able to worship they must have certain things. Many people new to Paganism get caught up in trappings, and before they even study the religious beliefs of whatever branch they are going into, they become obsessed with getting certain tools. Even if they will never use some of those tools, they feel that they can't operate without them on a spiritual level.
I feel in part that this is a consequence of living in the kind of world which exists today - a world where it is believed that the more things you have, the better off you are and the happier you will be. That if you go out and buy that big plasma screen TV, and that new game console, or that iPod and Blackberry and latest model of cell phone, or if you blow a couple hundred bucks on a couple of outfits and a new pair of shoes, that you will be happy. Similarly, there are many Pagans who spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on tools, clothing, jewelry, and equipment that sometimes does nothing but sit on a shelf after the initial newness has worn off.
What price have we paid for this? I know that where I live, there are people who, because of their greed for the latest car, clothes, gadgets, and devices, have stopped taking care of themselves. They aren't eating properly, they don't exercise, and they are miserable as a result. They are angry and fight with each other over nit-picky things, and radiate negativity.
Granted, food is getting more and more expensive as time goes on due to various factors - but I have a hard time taking anyone seriously who says that they can't afford to eat better when they can afford all the latest top-dollar gadgets. You can't take a plasma TV with you, no matter what anybody tells you!
And it's that very greed that is fueling the high food costs and oil prices, when you get down to it. While those of us who are average Joes and Janes are just trying to live and still afford the basics, the oil execs are rolling in the revenues from the high gas prices. While people riot over food prices in South America, Africa, and India that are in part fueled by the desire to create biofuels, government officials are claiming that ethanol and other biofuels will be the ideal way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Right now, it's the push to grow enough corn to meet ethanol demands that is behind the rise in price of milk, eggs, dairy, bread, and any products containing corn or corn derivatives. For those who eat conventional foods, this means a rise in the price of any products containing corn syrup. And these days, that's just about everything. And since food stamps don't cover the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables as adequately as they should (if at all), and they don't allow for the buying of very many organic products, those who rely on food stamps to help them get by are being forced to eat less nutritional, less wholesome foods at higher prices.
And this in turn is a contributing factor to the rise of certain diseases and conditions in this country. And ultimately, around the world.
To top it off, the growth of wheat is on decline to make room for more corn - most of which will go to ethanol production - leading to a rise in the price of wheat based products. This means that the basic staples are becoming less afffordable over time. Some suppliers have talked about rationing wheat for bakeries - what kind of a world is this that has been created?
As the Pogo comic so famously stated, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Our material society is contributing to the decline of our environment, the extinction of animals, and the destruction of our planet. Materialism is a destructive force, and a dangerous limitation. I believe that Pagans can set a collective example by encouraging not only fellow Pagans but others to disconnect themselves from materialistic thinking. Little ripples can make big waves!