babaylan buddha breathing

"diaspora"
has created the conditions
for me to encounter
buddhadharma
on these different shores
on this different land
i am reminded of
my multiple ancestries
ancient paths
emerge
a bow
a breath
a step
towards wholeness
mindfulness
and healing
a path emerges
worthy of trust
which leads me
back
HOME
yes
yes
yes
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A book is forthcoming about Babaylan Wisdom Traditions and Praktises. We are Remembering and Returning Home. Babaylan Dharma!

BABAYLAN (posted on 1/12/06)
Source: http://radishmeme.blogspot.com/

I'm one of several editors for a book project on the Babaylan. This we have characterized as "The babaylan in Filipino indigenous tradition is a person who is gifted to heal the spirit and the body; a woman who serves the community through her role as a folk therapist, wisdom-keeper and philosopher; a woman who provides stability to the community’s social structure; a woman who can access the spirit realm and other states of consciousness and traffic easily in and out of these worlds; a woman who has vast knowledge of healing therapies." In addition to this, a babaylan is someone who "intercedes for the community and individuals" and is also someone who "serves." Any study of the Babaylan must take into consideration the suppression of the babaylanic practices since the onset of European and American colonization in the Philippines.

However, because I am strongly drawn to Buddhist (Theravada - the southeast Asian branch) meditation practice, I keep considering one question that has been posed: "How does one reconcile babaylan (identity or practice) with being a Catholic or Buddhist, or some other religious practice?"
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