Spirit Land, Pure Land
These excerpts used for Dharma discussion, February 2006
Middletown, Connecticut, USA
By G.R. Lewis
“May
you always walk in beauty."
---Ancient
Prayer
The following reading illustrates some
parallels between Native American spirituality and the Buddhist way of life. The selected themes and readings have been chosen
strictly for their proximity to Buddhist teachings. In no way should the reader view Native American spirituality and Buddhism
as being the same thing or sharing a similar historical source, both are different from one another but share some similar
viewpoints and religious experiences.
Main Theme
The main theme that underscores Native
American spirituality is the honoring of Mother Earth and the coexistence of life with nature and animals. All of nature is
intertwined, connected and animated. The telling of legends and myths throughout time were an important way to personify the
mysterious workings of the Great Spirit. Ceremonies and rituals like dance, drumming
and Temazcal Sweat play an important role in Native American spirituality.
Native American Concept of Ultimate Reality
In academic terms, Native American spirituality
may be described as panentheism (deity/spirit present in, as well as beyond, everything). Such a worldview assumes the existence
of Spirit beyond the visible world, but also dwelling in all that is. Words like animism (belief in spirits in natural phenomena,
such as trees, rocks, animals, fire) are commonly used to describe Native American religion, but when one neglects to include
the broader presence of Spirit beyond physical nature, this explanation is incomplete. The Lakota concept of Wakan Tanka (most
frequently translated as Great Spirit) illustrates panentheism well: Wakan Tanka is the Spirit over, under, and throughout
all of the physical world, its guiding principle, present in individual phenomena yet not confined to it, not strictly singular
nor plural, neither truly personal nor impersonal. Manitou/manitos of the Algonkians is a similar concept.
Seeking American Indian Spirituality
“American Indian spirituality is
not evangelistic. It is private and entirely cultural. You cannot convert to 'Native American' any more than you can convert
to being black. The only way to 'join' a Native American spiritual tradition is to become a member of the cultural group,
and it's impossible to do that over the Internet. No one who truly believed in American Indian spirituality would ever offer
to tutor total strangers in religious matters online, much less charge anyone money for such a thing. So, by definition, the
people who make these offers are those who either don't really believe in Native American spirituality, or don't know very
much about it. Is that really who you want to be listening to?
Many followers of Native American spirituality
do not regard their spiritual beliefs and practices as a "religion" in the way in which many Christians do. Their beliefs
and practices form an integral and seamless part of their very being.”
--From the homepage of Orrin Lewis (Osiyo), a member of the Cherokee people
Quotes from Chief Seattle (1786-1866)
1.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are one thread in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to our selves, all
things are bound together. All things connect.
2. Every part of the earth is sacred to
my people.
3. Let him be just and deal kindly with
my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only change of worlds.
4. The Indian prefers the soft sound of
the wind darting over the face of the pond, the smell of the wind itself cleansed by a midday rain, or scented with pinon
pine. The air is precious to the red man, for all things are the same breath - the animals, the trees, the man.
5. Tribe follows tribe, nations follow
nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.
6. The whites, too, shall pass - perhaps
sooner than other tribes. Continue to contaminate your own bed, and you might suffocate in your own waste.
7. Your religion was written on tablets
of stone, ours on our hearts.
8. We are part of the earth and the earth
is part of us.
Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly
in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses
itself in the sunset."
Black Elk Oglala Sioux Holy Man (1863-1950)
“You have noticed that everything
as Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to
be round..... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind,
in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....
Even the seasons form a great circle in
their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood,
and so it is in everything where power moves.”
“With this sacred pipe you will walk
upon the Earth, for the Earth is your Grandmother and Mother, and She is sacred. Every step that is taken upon her should
be as a prayer . . . All these peoples, and all the things of the universe, are joined to you who smoke the pipe - all send
their voices to the Great Spirit. When you pray with this pipe, you pray for and with everything . . . Every dawn as it comes
is a holy event, and every day is holy….”
Mourning Dove Salish (1888-1936)
“...... everything on the earth has
a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence.”
Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin
“The Great Spirit is in all things,
he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us that which we put
into the ground she returns to us....”
Luther Standing Bear Oglala Sioux (1868-1937)
1. “Out of the Indian approach to
life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles
of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations.”
2. “Silence was meaningful with the
Lakota, and his granting a space of silence to the speech-maker and his own moment of silence before talking was done in the
practice of true politeness and regard for that rule, “thought comes before speech.”
Geronimo (Goyathlay) (1829-1909)
“We had no churches, no religious
organization, no Sabbath days, no holidays, and yet we worshiped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble and sing and pray:
some times a smaller number, perhaps only two or three. The songs had a few words, but were not formal. The singer would occasionally
put in such words as he wished instead of the usual tone sound. Sometimes we prayed in silence; sometimes each prayed aloud;
sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us. At other times one would rise and speak to us of our duties to each other….Our
services were short.”
Sitting Bull (1831-1890)
“Every seed is awakened and so is
all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being and we therefore yield to our animal neighbors
the same right as ourselves, to inhabit this land.”
Lone Man (Isna-la-wica) Teton Sioux
“... I have seen that in any great
undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself.”
Chief Aupumut, Mohican 1725
"When it comes time to die, be not like
those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to
live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."
Qwatsinas (Hereditary Chief Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation
"We must protect the forests for our children,
grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the
birds, animals, fish and trees."
Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) 1911
“Whenever, in the course of the daily
hunt the red hunter comes upon a scene that is strikingly beautiful or sublime - a black thundercloud with the rainbow's glowing
arch about the mountains, a white waterfall in the heart of a green gorge; a vast prairie tinged with the blood-red of sunset
- he pauses for an instant in the attitude of worship. He sees no need for setting apart one day in seven as a holy day, since
to him all days are God's.”
Native American Prayers
Prayer
to the Great Spirit
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in
the wind,
Whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
Let
me walk in beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have
made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice
Make me wise so that I may understand
the
things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong
in
the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts
and act
with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion
without empathy
overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than
my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy,
Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with
clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
As
I Walk with Beauty
As I walk, as I walk
The universe is walking with me
In beauty it walks before me
In beauty it walks behind me
In beauty it walks below me
In beauty it walks above me
Beauty is on every side
As I walk, I walk with beauty.
---Traditional Navajo Prayer
Cherokee
Prayer Blessing
May the warm winds of Heaven
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your moccasins
Make happy tracks
in many snows,
and may the rainbow
Always touch your shoulder.
