Bodhisattvas, Past Lives and Indigenous Reconstruction
A glimpse into Buddhism, Past Lives, and the Reconstructionist religion of Anituo
What is the Bodhisattva?
The Bodhisattva in Buddhism, is “a person who is able to reach Nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.”
Nirvana is a state of transcendence absent of suffering, heaven as an eternal space, a release from the cycle of karma and rebirth (samsara.)
The Bodhi cultivates a devotion to helping others, and vows to be selfless, as they would delay their own gratification for self-annihilation. “Bodhisattva” is a term I identified with for a long time. It was even a part of my social media username, back when I was on social media of course. However, as time carried on I realized that you cannot save people from themselves nor can you show them the eightfold path if that is not who they are at the core.
As a Buddhist practitioner, the eightfold path is not just a way of thinking but a way of life. It is not only a thing that is learned, but it is also natural to someone in their final or last few incarnations.
The eightfold path is as follows;
Right view
Know that our actions have consequences, death is not the end, and our actions and beliefs have consequences even after death. Know that karma is real and that it dictates this life and the next.
Right intention
This concept aims at peaceful renunciation, into an environment of non-sensuality, with no ill will (cultivating kindness), and an abstinence from cruelty (moving towards compassion) and not doing anything with harmful intent.
Right speech
No lying, nor rude or harsh speech, and no senseless vocalizations or gossip used to cause discord.
Right conduct or action
No killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, no sexual misconduct, and no material desires.
Right livelihood
Avoid trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, weapons, animals for slaughter, intoxicants, or poisons.
Right effort
Prevent the rise of unwholesome states such as unhappiness and misery, and avoid generating unhappiness or misery in yourself and others. Sustain the positive states of mind once they have arisen.
Right mindfulness
Never be absent minded, be conscious of what one is doing and what one is feeling; this encourages an awareness of the impermanence of the body, its feelings and its mind.
Right samadhi (discipline)
Practice the eightfold path including concentration, meditation and contributing to the absence of suffering.
Unlike my polytheism of being an Anituo reconstructionist, I have been a Buddhist my entire life. I was raised by two Buddhist-adjacent parents (that did not follow the eightfold path) and I was surrounded by Buddhist paraphernalia and literature my entire life.
Anituo Reconstructionism is the revival of pre-colonial religious beliefs and practices of indigenous Tagalogs (Filipinos.) Anituo is a culmination of shamanism, medium work, psychic beliefs, herbal remedies, and tribal activities. It is akin to witchcraft, with additional sea folklore, deities, and ancient supernatural beings. Anituo also masters the pre-colonial language of Baybayin, the traditional written language of the Philippines that contains characters.
I have always been drawn to these things: when I dabbled in witchcraft, I was unconsciously incorporating the traditions of my ancestors into my spellwork. But I did not know of these traditions at the time I was practicing them. This is called ((knowing-thinking)) which is a psychic-telepathic phenomenon spoken of in the Philippines.
On top of being a polytheistic Buddhist and Anituo practitioner, I believe in ancestral work. Generational trauma is a result of many centuries of ancestral behaviorhood, not just your parent’s or grandparent’s trauma. You can get to know aspects of yourself by diving into your ethnic history, your family history, pre-colonial practices and your past lives- through a past life regression specialist.
I’m a strong believer that seemingly unexplained aspects of ourselves are just us relieving our unresolved pasts from previous lives. If you are drawn to a certain time period, you are of that period. If you are drawn to many time periods, you are an old soul. The oldest souls are drawn to the oldest time periods, such as the medieval ages. There are even baby souls where their first incarnation is in this life, and they have a lot to learn, or else they will have many lifetimes ahead of them.
While I am an old soul, I am still young. My earliest incarnation was in the 1800s. I discovered this information from a past life regression specialist.
In the 1800s I was a woman confined to a psyche ward by my uncaring husband for being an artist. I was always attracted to the 1800s time period since I had seen movies like Crimson Peak and Little Women, and read authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, and I had also indulged in a bit of old-time nursery books. This incarnation would explain me re-living this life as an artist, and the abusive relationships I so often found myself in. It is interesting how we re-live past life lessons until we learn them in this life.
I also had another life in the 1920s, as a bouncer for a speakeasy. I used to be obsessed with the 1920s as a child, and strictly wore 1920s clothing in my early high school days. I have also always been drawn to the writers of The Lost Generation, such as; Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell, and Henry Miller. This incarnation would explain my rowdy-ness and some of my masculine dispositions. Letting go of that lifetime has proven to be the most difficult, as I still have such a fascination with it.
I believe that until we learn the lessons that we didn’t learn in our past lives, we can never graduate to Nirvana. We will be stuck in the cycle of samsara so long as we neglect the life lessons we need to learn here. Buddhist or not, this should be a practice everyone follows; loving-kindness and learning from past experiences. Reconstructionist or not, we should all become in touch with our ancestral history, to pay respect to our family and to better learn our ethnic background.
Dabbling in many religious perspectives has given me a wealth of inspiration and insight, and studying each of them has caused many deja vu epiphanies in the past that led me to believe in the divine, destined nature of things. I am a firm believer that whatever you follow, worship, or believe in this life, is very true to your reality. Each of us are living our own ornate lives, so who is to say that our beliefs don’t manifest as real in each of our individual universes?