The flame was a red leaf moving, dancing with the beat of the wind, silently cleansing the air with its smoke, as Matt and Tita Pam chanted those old words, words that have come to these islands long ago. Precolonial Filipino spirituality had Hindu and Buddhist influence. There is some proof that our culture was closely influenced by South Asian culture. Ancient Filipino religion must have been syncretic—a mix of anitism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some Islam, particularly in the south. One could only imagine what our society looked like without the coming of Christianity. Maybe we are a country of contemplatives, growing up from homes where we both meditated but also believe in Bathala or Laon or Kabunian—perhaps something like Tibetan Buddhism. A mix of animitism and Buddhism would produce something like this. And since none of these ancient religions are colonial, they wouldn’t destroy each other. All would’ve flourished and will have more resources today for creating religions of the future or individual spiritualities.
And yet here we are. Without a strong religious and spiritual source we imported Western religion. Some churches are even literally run by foreigners until now. We even import contemplative practices from Japan, yoga from the United States, and religious groups from China. This is the tragedy of colonialism. We are importing everything, even our ways of living and sense of selves.
To be a jiyushukyojin is to be as tolerant and inclusive as I could be without destroying my core self or its current iteration. I understand this now. How I reacted in the past was incorrect. Remember Imaoka’s words: all religionist could be a jiyushukyojin if they see that their religion doesn’t monopolize religious truth.