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Taken
aback by her great beauty, one of the braves expressed his desire to
lie with her in the tall prairie grass. The other spoke, "This
is a sacred woman, a vision perhaps, not one to be approached in this
manner."
To
his surprise the woman smiled at the lusty warrior and said, "Come
to me. You shall have what you desire."
And
they walked off together hidden from sight in a whirling cloud of dust
that sprang up around them. When the dust had settled, the woman remained;
at her feet lay a corpse, alive with worms and buzzing flies. Then White
Buffalo Calf Woman spoke to the one brave who remained:
"A
man who looks first to a woman's outer beauty will never know her beauty
divine, for there is dust upon his eyes and he is blind. But a man who
sees in a woman the spirit of the Great One and sees her beauty first
in spirit and truth, that man will know God in that woman. You were
not blind to my beauty but your first thoughts were, "Who is this
woman, what makes her face glow in the afternoon sun, what thoughts
dance behind her flashing eyes, from what land does she come?"
"Have
no fear, you too shall have what you desire. You and your friend symbolize
the two paths that men can take. If first you seek the Great Spirit,
you will find that what you need from the earth will come readily into
your hands. But if you first seek to secure your earthly desires and
forget the spirit, you will die inside."
She
then explained the first brave had lived many years, a full life in
the swirling dust cloud, a life many would call good. However, he lived
ever by his passions and had forgotten the Great Spirit and his own
spirit as well. He contributed nothing to the Great Spirit, nor to womankind
or the people of the plains. After a moment, the young hunter asked
her who she was. Her gaze pierced him, then she replied,
"I
am the Spirit of Truth and the face of the Great Spirit your people
have forgotten. Tell your chief to prepare a camp tonight that I may
come to your people, to teach them sacred things that once they knew
but no longer remember."
The
brave hurried to his tribe and the chief, after listening carefully,
built the camp as she requested, convinced his people would receive
teachings from one who lived amongst the stars.
That
night, as she approached their camp, the people were amazed at how young
she was. Without speaking a word, she walked seven times around the
central fire; as her feet touched the sand, all who watched felt her
prayerful reverence for the Earth. Few could look into her eyes. Those
who dared saw pools of perfect blackness and saw themselves as they
really were, naked and revealed. When she spoke at last, her voice was
like the song of waters singing upon the rocks, like the song of birds
calling above the meadows.
Seven
times I have circled this fire in reverence and in silence for it symbolizes
the love that burns forever in the heart of the Great Spirit. The same
fire that warms the heart of every buffalo, every sage hen, every eagle
and every human being. This fire that burns at your center is your love,
and it is right, at times, to express this love sexually. This passion,
if uncontrolled, roars like a wildfire and can destroy everything in
its path. If tempered with wisdom, this same passion can fuel whole
generations, warming a thousand lodges through a hundred snowy winters
and give its power to your children's children.
Those,
like the young man whose bones now lie underneath the moonlight, who
think first of the sexual expression of this fire and only secondly
of the spirit behind it, lock themselves into cycles of suffering and
illusion. These cycles were unknown to you years ago, but now weaken
your vitality and drain away your power.
White
Buffalo Calf Woman then taught them to harness the power of this creative
force and reminded the people of the Sacred Hoop and how to gather power
and focus it within its circle of commitment. In the warm atmosphere
of that circle, the power of love builds like a storm until suddenly
the circle can hold no more and explodes in the conception of the new.
She
pulled a burning branch from the flames and spoke, "My tribe is
the Fire Bird, we are the Winged Ones of Heaven. Your people have forgotten
the most precious thing, your connection to the Great Spirit. I have
come with a fire from heaven to kindle again your memory of what has
been and to strengthen you for the times to come."
She
drew a pouch from her side and took from it a sacred pipe. The bowl
was round and of red stone; red for the pathway of the Sun. It represented
the circle of the Sacred Hoop, the cycles of giving and receiving, of
inbreathing and outbreathing, of living and dying ... White Buffalo
Calf Woman filled it with the finest tobacco and in that simple act,
honored all the plant world.
She
held the pipe aloft and addressed the people, "This pipe will help
you remember that every breath you take is sacred. Your life is lit
from that same fire that burns in the heart of the Great Spirit. Your
flame, your individual human life, can light a greater fire ... the
flame of love in another's heart and so bring consciousness to the Earth.
Keep not the love that burns within you turned towards your self and
your desires but give away that fire, that it may burn bright in the
helping of each other."
The
pipe was passed seven times; the first smoke honored the people's highest
thoughts, prayers and aspirations and was a breath of gratitude to the
Great Spirit. The twelve eagle feathers hanging from the stem of the
pipe allowed the tribe's thoughts to fly high above the world of their
little selves. The tribe was instructed to remember always that every
living creature was a sacred being and to know this especially while
mixing with other tribes whose ways were different from their own.
A
second time the pipe was passed in love and reverence for the Earth,
our Mother; for the grasses that clothe her and feed the people; for
the rain clouds that fill the streams; and the blue skies that protect
us all. The third passing thanked the four-footed ones and the feathered
ones, the buffalo and the hawk and the fishes, and all the creatures
of this good Earth. The fourth time the pipe was passed paid tribute
to the many tribes of humankind and saw a blending of all the races
into the harmony of the rainbow. When the pipe returned to her she paused
....
"Honor
all creatures as your sisters and your brothers for all are sacred parts
in the body of the Great Spirit. Each one is holy. Live your life in
harmony with the way of balance and you will know peace and joy. If
ever your hearts should feel heavy within you then smoke a fifth time,
asking for the guidance of the great beings of the spirit world. Ask
that spirit to help you make the clearest choice. In time you will come
to know that spirit as your own true self. When you invite spirit into
your life, you help yourself far more than if only concerned with your
own affairs. Human beings are not fully happy or healthy until they
serve the purpose for which God created them."
White
Buffalo Calf Woman then explained how the sixth smoke was sent to the
six people whom you would most like to see especially blessed. The seventh
smoke must always be taken in silence; for it was offered to the Great
Being from which all others sprang. For that sacred mystery at the source
of life, it was better, she said, to have no words.
After
the seventh smoke was completed, such a unity was felt by those present
in the great teepee, it seemed in that moment as if there was but one
present. In perfect stillness, the silence spread like warm water, dissolving
the last traces of disharmony from the heart of the Sioux.
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