I guess I will put in my 2 cents worth here....
Excellent! The more, the merrier!
First of all I am having difficulty with your user name, as you sound more like the voice of arrogance than the voice of reason.
Oh, I don't know. Maybe [Personal insult], you may go back and re-read some of the posts in this thread, and you may see the truth of it. If you find me arrogant, well, that is ok with me. At least I have gotten you to participate, and maybe think about your reasons for being here.
Yes many indigenous Nations used pipes and several have a long relationship with the Sacred Pipe. As far as I know, all the First Nations that had a relationship with the Sacred Pipe have had very strict protocols around how the Sacred Pipe is treated, and when, where, and by whom it may be used.
Yes. On this we agree.
However, perhaps the difference here is that my teachings did not specify tribe or colour in relation to these, only *character*.
My personal belief is that any teaching designed to exclude a person based on any reason, (I.e.: a person's colour), and which causes division can only be rooted the historical past between the races, which means it is rooted in anger and hate.
As Chaska stated, "there was no knowledge of the White Race, Black Race or Yellow Races...." If this is the case, then why would there be teachings related to colour? If there was no knowledge of other races when the original teachings were given, then where do you think these "new" teachings came from?
You parrot off "All my relations" but you reduce the Sacred Pipe to nothing more than an object, when you remove it from all it's relationships with The People, and the culture.
Reading back through the thread, I think [Personal insult] that the pipe is a living, breathing thing that deserves respect. My teachings are that the pipe chooses it's bearer, for whatever reasons it has. It is not for us to question this.
In fact, it knows, better than we do that all is related as this is it's teaching. Rock, Tree, Fire, Air, Male, Female, North, South, East, West, Mother Earth, The Great Spirit, all the two leggeds, the four leggeds, the winged ones, the finned ones... they are all there.
Maybe a properly cared for Sacred Pipe can sometimes help individual non native people, though I am not sure about that. A lot of the power of traditional things like the Pipe seems to be in the connection they provide indigenous people to their own ancient history . So I am not sure how well these things can work outside of this context. They may work OK occasionally, but i am very sure that if traditions are removed from the context in which they have a long history, they loose much of their power to lift people into something much greater than themselves, and the healing this provides. I also believe Prayers performed with sincerity anywhere by anyone, have the power to heal and are a help to the world. Probably this is especially true when these Prayers have the added support and context provided by ones own ancient traditions, but when the outer trappings of other peoples traditions are adopted, it really seems to miss the point of both Prayer and the purpose of traditions in supporting Prayer.
By removing the Sacred Pipe from the culture, the protocols, the rules of how these things are done, you remove the Pipe from all it's relations, and it is being treated like a non living object.
Aaahh... Now [Condescension] I completely understand and agree with what you say here, and this is good. Context is everything.
So ask yourself, when the first pipe was given to the people, there was no history. No tradition established. No connection to the past of the people. What made this pipe sacred? What gave this pipe it's life? What gave it it's ability to heal and bring the people together?
My belief is that this pipe has power because of the *intention* and respect in the hearts of the people who use it. Which is still true for that pipe today, and is true for all sacred pipes.
Which goes back to my first post. It is really all about intention and respect.
I have seen sacred pipes help individual non-native people. Not all are blind to the traditions and the teachings. Not all are disrespectful of these ways. To paint large swaths of people with the label of "black" or "white" or paint all people of a specific race or tribe with the same wide brush is no better than them painting Indigenous people with the brush of "alcoholics, bums and derelicts".
I wonder what would become of the Buddhist religion if all the teachings were reduced to possessing a little stone statue of the Buddha.
It's interesting you bring up buddhism, as this is a spiritual system in which the adherents believe that there are no boundaries to who can practice. It doesn't matter if you are Tibetan or Indian, white, black or purple. They truly live the oneness concept to the core.
The little stone buddhist statues are simply personifications and reminders of the teachings of a simple man, Siddhartha Gautama.
One can follow these ways if they so desire, and there are traditions that go with it, as well. But these traditions are not exclusionary in any way, shape or form. A white man or a First Nations person could enter a monastery and begin teachings tomorrow. In fact, Tibetan monks seek bodhisattva's in all continents in people of all colours. To them, the incarnation and sacredness of these beings and energies is not dependent on a person's colour, status or upbringing.
Your belief system sounds materialistic and object oriented, with some magical thinking mixed in there that conviniently relieves you from any responsibility for the relationships your own behavior has the power to build or destroy. You might want to consider what you actually mean when you say "All my relations".
I suggest you re-read my posts in this thread.
It's only non native culture that assumes the world revolves around individual people and what they personally possess.
Tsk tsk... [Condescension and personal insults]
All my relations
[Again learn basic manners. We don't reward overgrown children posing as spirchul.]
