The Path Ministry

  Topic: Recommended Reading: How to be an Antiracist Today we are talking about the nonfiction book How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, published 2019. First of all, I cannot recommend this book enough; it is well-written and teaches you to examine racism with a critical eye and identify racist ideas you may find within yourself as well as out in the world. This is going to be one of those books that we discuss more than once, because there are some great ideas to be unpacked and examined in its pages, and multiple lessons to be learned from it. Today we will be discussing the intrinsically harmful and irrational nature of racism itself, to lay the groundwork for discussions to come. There are two basic things we need to know about racism. The most important thing to know is that it is actively harmful to everyone involved. However, it is also irrational in the extreme. Although human beings come in a wide range of colors, heights, and shapes, there is no biological b...

  Topic: Recommended Reading: On Compassion Today we will be discussing the book On Compassion, written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and available for free online. Compassion, as defined by Path doctrine, is a recognition of and desire to ease the suffering in the world. Paradoxically, the secret to Compassion lies in not giving a shit; to have no emotional involvement whatsoever. It is only when we set our personal feelings aside that we are able to act with true and pure Compassion. While His Holiness does not put it quite that way, that is the basic idea in this book. Let me provide you with a relevant example. It is easier to be Compassionate toward a trans person if you have no emotional involvement in what they call themselves. If you truly do not care if somebody is a man, a woman, or something in between, then you can treat them all with equal dignity and kindness. It is only because we like to categorize people and get emotionally attached to those categories, deli...

  Topic: Recommended Reading: Thud!   Today we are talking about the Discworld novel Thud by Terry Pratchett, published 2005, and its message of hope and inclusion.   Most of this book takes place in the city of Ankh- Morpork , which is the biggest and most cosmopolitan city on the Disc. Our primary protagonist is Sam Vimes, a regular policeman who married way above his station and was then promoted to Duke by the Patrician. There is unrest in the city, as the resident trolls and dwarfs, enemies of old, are gearing up to commemorate an ancient battle in which both sides ambushed each other. There are minor altercations in the days prior to the important anniversary, and Sam discovers there is more going on than anyone realizes.   One of the things I find interesting about the Discworld, and the city of Ankh- Morpork in particular, is that there is no racism. It is explained that the humans on the Disc recognize their similarities long ago and instead choose to...

  Topic: Recommended Reading: Carpe Jugulum   Today we will be discussing the novel Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett, published in 1998, and the lessons of Compassion and Mindful bene volence within it.   This book is about the senior witch Esmerelda “Granny” Weatherwax and how she and the other witches in her coven handle an invasion of vampires in their little kingdom. Granny gets bitten, and the vampires attempt to make her one of them, but she foils their plans through sheer force of will. Even though this book is satire, poking fun at most vampire myths, there are some powerful nuggets of wisdom within its pages. This book is where we get the eighth core tenet of the Path.   After Granny is bitten, she is forced to contend with the darker side of her nature. She has often been in the position of having to put a suffering animal or even a human out of their misery, and such a tragic errand is bound to have an effect on the psyche. Too many mercy killings, ...

  Topic: Recommended Reading: The Handmaid’s Tale Today we will be talking about The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, published in 1985, and the distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom to.” In the novel, the narrator talks about “freedom from.” She and her sisters are held captive by the patriarchy, forced into reproductive servitude until they can no longer bear viable children. But they are free from random sexual violence, so they can fulfill their “biological destiny” in peace. This “freedom from” comes at the cost of bodily autonomy and self-determination. Every woman is given a role, and anyone who cannot bear children but also cannot serve in another capacity is relegated to a concentration camp. There is no place in this dystopia for the disabled, the transgendered, or the queer. There is very little ethnic diversity described in the book, although the dramatization includes women of color and an interracial relationship. The scariest thing about this visio...

  Topic: The History of Mother’s Day Today, we get to talk about the history of Mother’s Day, which goes back much further than most people realize. There is something about motherhood that is almost intrinsically sacred to the human psyche. Mother is the origin of life and, for most of us, the first bond we develop with another human being. “I want my mom” is not quite universal, but close to it, and even those few who do not have such a bond with their biological mother will develop a similar bond with a surrogate mother. So it is no wonder that we have been celebrating and honoring our mothers for thousands of years. The tradition of taking one day a year to honor mothers, Mother Goddesses, and motherhood in general began centuries ago in ancient Greece and Rome. One of the first Mother Goddesses we have a record of is Cybele, who was honored by the Romans with a celebration on the Spring Equinox. The ancient Greek equivalent to Cybele was Rhea, the mother of Zeus who save...

  Topic: Recommended Reading: Imajica Today we will be talking about the book Imajica by Clive Barker, published 1991, and the ways in which the primary protagonist practices - or fails to practice - the Virtues. The main character in this story is a man named Gentle, who eventually speaks the line that is the mantra and heart of Compassion. But before we get to that line in the book, we must follow Gentle across entire dimensions in his quest to find both his beloved and himself. Gentle starts out as a self-absorbed hedonist, indulging his base desires with little thought to his character or future. He sustains himself by means of his artistic talent, which he takes completely for granted. His world is turned upside down when he is almost killed by a mysterious but somehow familiar assassin, and he abandons everything he knows to follow his would-be killer across the borders between worlds. He discovers an entire Universe, consisting of four Dominions aside from our own, fille...