Baguio Connections 9

THIS week, we start with “fireball from the sky.” Such is actually used to refer to a meteor traversing the earth's atmosphere, appearing as a streak of light.

Speaking of which, there is a similar ball of light in Buddhist teachings called a Dharmachakra, which means “Wheel of Law.” This refers to an “eight-spoked wheel surrounded by a circle of fire, indicating fire and gold energy,” according to the website buyfengshui.com. While this website does offer a talisman of this wheel of fire for fengshui purposes, they also make reference to its eight spokes as symbolizing the Buddha's Eightfold Noble Path to Enlightenment.

The eight principles in this path are: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi. This last term, samadhi, is defined in a number of ways, though its literal Sanskrit meaning is, according to a number of Yoga websites, “mind together.” I read here a Collected Self. In Baguio, there are several Buddhist temples, the most well-known being the Bell Church located on the way to Trinidad. While the temple is a tourist spot, it is also a haven of peace and quiet for those riding about in a sightseeing frenzy. Sightseeing in Baguio can these days defined as hiring a cab at an hourly rate and just getting the sights seen and the pics taken, as a couple of guests did a couple of days ago. Those guests were Orven Cariño Giango and his lovely fiance; the two are to be married this year.

Orven's mother is the sister of Gloria Cariño, who contacted me from Cebu by via the great connector, Facebook, some years ago. Gloria wanted to know how we are related because her father and forebears, she was told, were Igorots.

And that is where we pick up next week.