There is an overlapping of
beliefs in both First Nations culture and Buddhism.
Buddhists believe that all
things are interconnected, what we know now as ecology. Break a part of
the web of life and all things are threatened because each depends on
the other for survival. Reduce the number of insectivorous birds and
insect populations increase, for example.
To First Nations people,
especially those who lived on the prairies in Canada and the "Great
Plains" in the United States, the interconnectedness of all things and
life itself is represented by the Great Circle, also known as the Great
Hoop or Medicine Wheel that can be small for a home or large such as
those found at high sacred places using rocks. The Great Circle also
represents the world.
Basically, it is represented
by a circle, bisected into quarters by a horizontal and vertical line
known as the four cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west.
Each direction has a colour: north represented by white symbolizing
snow, east by red symbolizing the sun, south by blue representing the
wind, and west by black symbolizing thunderclouds and water. The Great
Circle as it represents life portrays the life journey one makes from
birth to death. It is an endless cycle for all things. Black Elk said
that Great Spirit caused everything in nature to be round. The sun, sky,
earth and the moon are round like a shield; Father Sky is deep like a
bowl.
Everything that breathes is
round, like the stem of a plant. Therefore, humans should look upon the
circle as sacred, for it is the symbol of the connection all things in
the natural world. The four parts of each Plant are round: roots, stems,
leaves, fruit; The Circle marks the edge of the world and therefore the
four winds that travel there; It is also represents the divisions of
time: the symbol of the year (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter); The day,
the night and Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon travel in a circle above
the sky, and the four stages of life: birth, adolescence, adult, Elder.
Everyday should be a good day
with good thoughts, good feelings and prayer because the day of being
called to the ancestral dance could be at any time. The 'Old' People say
that you are never the same person coming out of a circle as when you
went in because so many new connections have been made. All things that
live within the Sacred Hoop are equal and protected, because a circle
cannot do otherwise, it is not logical. It is a place where people come
together in safety, trust and sanctity to share stories and feelings. To
help each other heal through laughter and tears.