Why I love Egypt

I have the prospect of traveling to Egypt with my family sometime during my semester’s break from university studies. This idea alone, I must admit, gives me a harder stiffy than taking refuge itself, which I feel slightly guilty for. However, I do not believe I would be the man I am today without the guidance of the gods of ancient Egypt. They catapulted my interest in religion; they catapulted me into the life as a philosopher of religion. I believe these gods, while still bound in samsara like every other sentient being, are of a unique nature, a totally unique nature that is characteristic of the greatness of the Red and Black Land. Sure they might be pissed off that most people have forgotten about them, but I sure haven’t. I am certain that like all other sentients, they too will eventually achieve samsaric liberation under the guidance of the Buddha. =P

Beware! Today’s session is going to be nothing but an Egyptopihilic rant by an Egyptophile about everything awesome about Egypt. Egypt is so damn awesome. Egypt is more awesome than awesome. Egypt goes beyond awesome. Egypt is in a class of its own; Egypt is Egypt.

The entire history of all humankind has a heritage in the desert sands of Africa, where it was here where our first ancestors scratched their heads and wandered off to new lands to explore. Here, the Nile, one of the longest rivers in the world, gave a gift, a gift Herodotus would write of. The Nile, the source of life, gave us Egypt.

Nephthys speaks, she says:
O good King, come to your house!
Wennofer, justified, come to Djedet,
O lusty bull, come to Anpet!
O lover of women, come to Hat-mehyt,
Come to Djedet, the place your ba loves!

The ba of your fathers are your companions,
Your young son Horus, the Sisters’ child, is before you;
I am the light that guards you every day,
I will not leave you ever!

The sacred ground of the sands which form the fertile banks of the Nile bring life… or death. They bring the feast for the temple gods at Luxor, Karnak, Memphis, Abydos, Heliopolis, Hermopolis, Edfu, Krocodopolis… or they bring about the ruin of Pharaoh’s empire.

Therefore the Egyptian mind is misunderstood to be macabrely preoccupied with death. No! Our ancient Egyptian is of a predisposition that wants dearly to live; to work without the hardship; to farm without the famine; to sow without the sweat. Therefore, let him and his family descend to the Halls of Judgment, where the King of the Dead will condemn him to annihilation if he fails the Negative Confession! But should Thoth decree that his heart is lighter than Truth itself, may he drink the nourishing, ambrosia milk from Nut’s titties forever. And may the Lady Isis protect the generations of children who frolic in the Fields of Bliss, those who suffered greatly from the anger of the gods of famine.

O good musician, come to your house!
Behold me, I am your beloved sister,
You shall not part from me!

O good youth, come to your house!
Long, long have I not seen you!
My heart mourns you, my eyes seek you,
I search for you to see you!

Shall I not see you, shall I not see you,
Good King, shall I not see you?
It is good to see you, good to see you,
You of On, it is good to see you!

Come to your beloved, come to your beloved!
Wennofer, justified, come to your sister!
Come to your wife, come to your wife,
Weary-hearted, come to your house-mistress!

I am your sister by your mother
You shall not leave me!
Gods and men look for you,
Weep for you together!

While I can see I call to you,
Weeping to the height of heaven!
But you do not hear my voice,
Though I am your sister whom you loved on earth,
You loved none but me, the sister, the sister!

Aside from Buddhist sutras, there is no more beautiful and profound sacred texts than the hymns and petitions of the ancient Egyptians. Dusk comes, the sun god fights the Chaos Serpent in the dead of night; but the baboons shriek and jump, greeting the rising sun, the Shining One who has triumphed over chaos. It’s another new day for Egypt! Praise the Legislator in Heaven and on Earth; the Orderer of Order, the husband of Ma’at; Thoth! Thoth has spoken with the authority of Ra, and the Eye of Heaven, his daughter, has returned to Thebes, and changed into Hathor, the goddess of wine, dance, and song. The people are rejoicing, celebrating with sistrum, cymbal, harp, and lute.

The river floods. The ibex come, representatives of Lord Thoth. They come as heralds of a new season of bountiful harvest, barley for the granaries, and prosperity for the people. Let the beer be plentiful. It is time for the festival in the markets…

The spirit of Egypt lives. It lives in Creation; in the universe; in the cosmos. From the primeval waters of Nun, a single lotus blooms and opens to reveal a sleeping, golden child. That boy yawns and rubs his eyes. Light, and the gods have come to the world! Where Egyptians - humans - live, there shall be great monuments erected, testaments to history that will resist dust, sandstorms, and time itself!

Death is not the end. Only injustice is. Injustice is the end for YOU. To understand this is to please the gods. Heed the Voice of the Nile, and it will sing for you! Go to the Red and Black land to see for yourself. Or, pick up a book and read about her gods…

Thoth recites your liturgy,
And calls you with his spells;
The Sons of Horus guard your body,
And daily bless your ka.

Your son Horus, champion of your name and your shrine,
Makes oblations to your ka;
The gods, with water-jars in their hands,
Pour water to your ka.
Come to your courtiers, King our lord!
Do not part from them.

Yes… Egypt is awesome. But you probably knew that already.