Why is this so?  Am I wrong in regards to apathy?  

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He grew up in prosperity and abundance, oblivious to the poverty and suffering just beyond the walls of the royal compound.  In a radical move for royalty he ventured out and there he saw death, he saw pain and suffering, and also a wandering ascetic. Disturbed by it all, the great disparities, he left his previous life, including his young wife and two young children, in search of answers to this great dilemma.

Enos was also of royal blood being the grandson of Father Lehi.  He went alone “to hunt beasts in the forests”, an activity that has not been a safe venture for royal princes historically, it was often the place of “accidents” that led to changes in power in the ancient world.  He reports that his “soul hungered” and that he an internal “wrestle” before God for his sins.

Despite their similar predicaments, their conclusions were quite different.  Gautama found enlightenment in the Middle Way, not going to extremes.  He turned away from God, not wanting to touch the subject and focusing instead on a code of behavior: right motives, right speech, right actions, etc.  Enos says he “cried unto [God] in mighty prayer” and in his moment of enlightenment he feels his sins forgiven and his guilt swept away.  Immediately after his experience his thoughts were not inward, checks of his own behavior, but outward, “I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren,” after which he spent his life prophesying, calling the people to turn to Christ.

I have a profound respect for the teachings of the Buddha but I believe, despite having a good code of conduct, he lacked the core, the why, as well as having the order backwards.  The Buddha’s formula is proper control of oneself leads to love of others and a good society.  In the case of Enos receiving the love of God was the prime mover in his change of life.  Filled with that love he was able to turn to his fellow man and give his whole life to the service of others.  It is a fine but profound distinction.

Another Buddhist/ Book of Mormon parallel to consider:

Avolakistevara and the Three Nephites of the Book of Mormon similarly postponing enlightenment or exaltation to stay on earth as charitable servants to bless the lives of the inhabitants of the earth.

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I have a lot of respect for Buddhism. There is something quite beautiful about the mediation, concentration, and unity with the natural world found in Zen Buddhism. The traditional teachings of Buddhism are quite simple and beautiful, i.e. the 8 fold path, and when practiced are conducive to a harmonious society.

The Cambodians I worked with were Theravada Buddhists and for the lay people it was more a matter of culture than religion. A lay practitioner likely didn’t know the theology, history, or teachings of the Buddha. For most it meant an altar in the home dedicated to one’s deceased parents, Buddhist ceremonies at times of weddings or funerals and certain phrases with Buddhist overtones incorporated into language. So I didn’t always see the best of Buddhism working with poor refugees in the States, it was very complicated with lost faith because of the holocaust, generational gaps, the allure of prosperity for the first time in their life, etc. We did have some positive experiences, we actually taught English at a Buddhist temple/community center and ended up becoming friends with one of the monks. When I was on my mission the church finished building a new temple and had an open house for the public. We took our monk friend to give him a tour. The best part of it though was just traveling throughout the city, the sight of two mormon missionaries in their white shirts and ties and a little cambodian buddhist monk dressed in bright orange robes strolling along as friends.  Onlookers appeared utterly confused.

Upon further inquiry:

Some of my thoughts… In a lot of ways I don’t see Buddhism as a religion strictly speaking because it doesn’t speak about the ultimate questions of life (life after death, issues of creation/cosmos, etc). Sakyamuni stayed away from those questions on purpose, I think to pull his audience back to the present of how to control their thoughts and behaviors to develop goodness and a good society. I think of it more as philosophy; a way-of-living philosophy. I think Gautama was particularly upset by the extremes, the extreme of ease and comfort he grew up in, the extreme of suffering and death, and the extreme of radical ascetics; all of which are extremely applicable in our modern time.

As I see modern Buddhism practiced (keeping in mind that there are endless shades and expressions of Buddhism) I think one thing that I don’t like, and I don’t think was the original intention of Sakyamuni, is the tendency to withdraw from society into the mind. Similar to Grant’s thoughts about the monks who lived in the caves in Ukraine (do you remember his remarks?)-

[we had traveled to the Ukraine previously touring multiple underground monastery caves, a common friend had delivered a very moving discourse at one point in which, although with utmost respect, expressed the error of these medieval monks to think that the highest enlightenment in Christian teachings called for them to remove themselves from the world and live their entire lives in these caves in meditation]

-Basically that the principles taught by Christ begin with the control of self but rise to the high interaction of human relations, that ‘enlightenment’ or ‘christian living’ is to be experienced in the human interaction of charity and love.  There are a lot of similar teachings between the two, particularly the basic teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and the 8-fold path.  Buddha stopped way short of claiming to be the Son of God or coming back to life after death, but those are thoughts for another discussion. So I don’t think the intention, even in the present-minded thinking of Zen, was to turn completely inward in thought.

I also found Buddhism as practiced by the people I was interacting with frustrating because it was so intertwined with culture and national identity. They did not act out of conscious choice, they were not Buddhist because they ‘believed’ it, they were Buddhist because they were Cambodian and it closed off the mind.  And it wasn’t just that I wanted them to listen to the message I was sharing but just the frustration that they weren’t thinking deeply about life, deciding for themselves what they thought/believed, like you say you like the freedom it gives you to create your own reality, unfortunately I often saw it have the opposite effect when it was strictly a cultural ‘religion’. So, the ‘the unexamined life if not worth living’ type frustration.

As far as living in the moment, savoring every aspect of life, that has been a particular challenge for me as well, and it took a kind of wake up call to get me to look at life with different eyes. I have become much more relaxed since then, hopefully been more pleasant to be around as well. Two places I see it most strongly is the value I give to human relationships and my feelings about the natural world. I think modern living in many ways pulls us away from enjoying those aspects so that it must be a conscious repeated decision based on what we want to value.

Well, this is getting quite long, of course you’ve hit topics I could go on and on about.

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I would like to look at the general outline of the Hajj in light of my own experience as a participant in the rituals of the Mormons in what is called the Endowment. I hope to do so in a way that maintains the sacred nature of the rituals in the eyes of their respective participants, again, I will be mainly comparing elements of the general outline of the experiences. All the quotes regarding the Hajj are taken from the related Wikipedia article.

Origin
The Hajj was consider an ancient ritual prior to its association with the life of Muhammad.

“Many Muslims believe that it goes back to the time of Abraham in 2000 BC…and it is believed that the angel Gabriel…taught the rites of the pilgrimage to Abraham’s son, Ishmael.[8]”

The Mormons likewise believe their Endowment ceremony is an ancient ritual that has been introduced in previous dispensations which would include Adam and Abraham and has been re-introduced in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph.

Group Participation

“Pilgrims generally travel to Hajj in groups, as an expression of unity.”

Likewise the Mormons go through their pilgrimage experience in what are labeled “companies”, the group as a whole progresses through the ceremony.

Washing and Clothing
The first step in both experiences is a ritualistic washing and a changing of clothes. Both groups similarly put on white clothing, consisting of such articles as loose robes, coverings of the head and a sash. The symbolism is similar, this quote describing the Ihram clothing, as it is called:

“a garment consisting of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth, with the top draped over the torso and the bottom secured by a white sash; plus a pair of sandals…The Ihram clothing is intended to show the equality of all pilgrims in the eyes of Allah, symbolizing the idea that there is no difference between a prince and a pauper when everyone is dressed equally. The Ihram also symbolizes purity and absolution of sins. A place designated for changing into Ihram is called a miqat.”

Circle, Square, and the Cosmos
The Hajj begins in Mecca with the pilgrims circling the Kabaa counter clockwise seven times.

“According to the Qur’an, the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail (Ishmael [1]). Islamic traditions assert that the Kaaba “reflects” a house in heaven called al-Baytu l-Maˤmur[23] (Arabic: البيت المعمور) and that it was first built by the first man, Adam”

From the very beginning we have the imagery of circles and squares. The Mormons likewise form a prayer circle around an altar that is rectangular or cube-like as part of their ceremony, an altar that represents the altar that Adam built when he first offered sacrifices to the Lord.

There is also cosmic imagery, orbiting the Kabaa like the planets (7 becomes a sacred number in lue of the planets which can be seen with the naked eye) and orientating oneself towards this cosmic center. Muslims orient themselves towards Mecca daily in prayer. The Mormons build their cities with the temple in the middle and all the streets and the whole of society laid out from that center. The Mormons talk about the temple in terms of aligning oneself, or taking one’s bearings on the world, from the principles taught in their temple. You will also see the Big Dipper on the side of temple in Salt Lake City in reference to the north star or guiding star, and again the number 7 (seven points of light define the Big Dipper). In both cases we see cosmic orientation, a center or holy physicality, and predominance of circle and square imagery.

Role Playing
Throughout the Hajj “the pilgrim (now known as a Hajji), performs a series of ritual acts symbolic of the lives of Ibrahim (Abraham) and his concubine/wife Hajar (Hagar).” In the LDS temple ceremony participants symbolically act in the roles of Adam and Eve.

Physical Movement through Stages
Both experiences follow a similar pattern of movement and location. The Hajj begins in Mecca after which the pilgrims depart into the desert wilderness of the Arabian pennisula where they ritually encounter and triumph over the devil and then eventually return to Mecca as the final destination and culminating ceremony. The Mormons likewise begin in the presence of God and subsequently leave His presence to enter the world to be tested again encountering the devil and triumphing over him and then ultimately reuniting with God as the culminating ceremony and destination which is called the Celestial Room in Mormon Temples. The pilgrims of the Hajj will end up walking great distances as they go through the Tawaf, Sa’i, Arafat, Muzdalifah, Ramy al-Jamarat, Eid ul-Adha and the Tawaf az-Ziyarah. The pattern is moving locations for different stages of the ritual. The Mormons do not travel quite so far, they move from room to room within the temple in a stage to stage progression.

At one point in the Hajj, Muslims walk

“back and forth between the Hills of Safa and Marwah. This is a re-enactment of Ibriham’s wife, Hajar, frantic search for water for her son, before the Zamzam Well was revealed to her by an angel sent by God.”

The imagery is that of confusion in the world and ultimately to the revealed guidance by an angel of God. In the Mormon ceremony this is depicted by Adam and Eve entering the “lone and dreary world” and subsequently receiving instruction from messengers from heaven represented by Peter, James, and John.

High and sacred regard of the ritual pilgrimage.
For Muslims the Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and it is expected that a faithful follower will try to participate in the Hajj at least once in their life. This story is similar that of Mormons who live far from a temple; an individual would save for years and prepare for a single trip to the temple to participate in the Endowment ceremony. Particularly in the last decade the Mormons have built a large number of temples currently amounting to 124 scattered around the earth, particularly trying to bring the experience of the Endowment to all members of their faith. It would be like creating micro-scale Mecca’s and putting one in Indonesia, another in Morocco and so forth.

Changes in the ritual to accommodate the administration of the ceremony while maintaining the symbolic and instructive elements of the ritual.
For instance, Muslims were once required to kiss the corner of Kabaa on each circulation which has been modified to a point due to the crowds. The stoning of the devil ceremony has recently been changed:

“Throwing pebbles was done at large pillars, which for safety reasons were in 2004 changed to long walls with catchbasins below to catch the stones. The slaughter of an animal can be done either personally, or by appointing someone else to do it”

The Mormons have made modifications to their ceremony as well as the times have changed and to accommodate larger numbers of participants. For instance in the early days of the Endowment the ceremony could last all day, now it has been streamlined down using a video presentation and can be completed in about two hours. Another example is that in most temples now Mormons no longer physically move from room to room but the symbolism is kept through the changes in intensity of light.

Sacred “Shout” in Unity

“Each complete circuit constitutes a “Shout“ with 7 circuits constituting a complete tawaf. The place where pilgrims walk is known as “Mutaaf“. Only the first three Shouts are compulsory and the rest optional, but invariably almost all perform it seven times.”

The Mormons practice a “Hosanna Shout” repeated three times during the dedicatory ceremony of their temples and similarly unite their voices in a kind of shout, repeated three times, as they are in a circle around an altar.

Prominence of sacrifice.
In the Hajj it is called Eid ul-Adha. “The meat is then packaged and given to charity, shipped to poor people around the world.[4]” Sacrifice is also a main theme in the Mormon ceremony, sacrificing their lives to God, his work, and their fellowman.

Conclusion
I have enjoyed this exercise myself, I hope others found it interesting. It is quite remarkable to see all the similarities. In conclusion I would like to say that both groups of people view the experience as beautiful and life-changing. I wish all the pilgrims of the Hajj a safe and beautiful experience during this sacred time of year for them.

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