Cattāri Brahmavihārā

I’m still doing my best to practice brahmacariya and a part of that has been to find sources of inspiration to stay on that path of practice. For whatever reason, I don’t find a lot of helpful from Theravadin sources which seem to take brahmacariya as a given after a certain point. So, I have been reading Hindu and Jain treatises as well as listening to Dhamma talks that point to the cultivation of wisdom as the ultimate way to root out defilement.

Perhaps because I have a belief in the reality of devas and unseen beings, I decided also to do and research into the gods top find out which was seen as the patron or patroness of chastity. Diana was the first to come up and her Roman origins immediately spoke to me. Both in this life and possibly in others before (according to a pay life psychic I met in my teens) Roman custom and beliefs have played a formative role. Diana, Goddess of the hunt and the wilds is also devoted to chastity and virginity. In addition, she is said to take special interest in the poor, vulnerable and pregnant women. She’s literally like a Roman Ksitigarbha.

All of this is to say that I’m interested to see if and how propitiating her help in my determination to practice brahmacariya might help. If it does, that’s great. If nothing happens, at least I’ve learned something more.