Friday, May 31, 2013

Plato: Basic Goodness & The Great Eastern Sun (320 BC)

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

Plato (Πλάτων, Plátōn, c. 428-348 BCE) was a philosopher in Classical Greece. He was also a mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world.

The Allegory of the Cave— presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic.....Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows....a scenario in which what people take to be real would in fact be an illusion..... According to Plato's Socrates, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality....the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all..... the Allegory of the Cave is an attempt to attempt to enlighten the "prisoners.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Allegory_of_the_Cave

Metaphor of the Sun....The Allegory of the Cave is presented after the Metaphor of the Sun....Plato uses the sun as a metaphor for the source of "illumination", which he held to be The Form of the Good.... The metaphor is about the nature of ultimate reality and how knowledge is acquired concerning it.....Plato says the sun and the Good are both sources of "generation"...... "You'll be willing to say, I think, that the sun not only provides visible things with the power to be seen but also with coming to be....not only do the objects of knowledge owe their being known to the good, but their being is also due to it, although the good is not being, but superior to it in rank and power". Republic

The 'Form of the Good'.....Plato thinks "very existence and essence is derived from 'The Good'....."the idea of the good" (ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα)...... The Sun is described in a simile as the child (ἔκγονος ekgonos) of the Form of the Good......There is an ancient anecdotal tradition that Plato gave a public lecture entitled "On the Good" which so confused the audience that most walked out.....Aristoxenus, Harmonics 30–31; see A. S. Riginos, Platonica (1976)

Plato's Phaedo.....'a philosopher recognizes that before philosophy, his soul was "a veritable prisoner fast bound within his body... and that instead of investigating reality by itself and in itself it is compelled to peer through the bars of its prison."

Philosopher Kings....the rulers of Plato's Utopian Kallipolis. If his ideal city-state is to ever come into being, "philosophers must become kings......Callipolis is the Latinized form of Kallipolis, which is Greek for "beautiful city", from κάλλος kallos (beauty) and πόλις polis (city)......Kallipolis" is also the word Socrates uses for his utopia in Plato's dialogue The Republic....Plato defined a philosopher as 'wisdom-lover'.....the only person who has access to the archetypal entities that exist behind all representations of the form.....'A true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship'....

"The Republic says that people who take the sun-lit world of the senses to be good and real are living pitifully in a den of evil and ignorance..... few climb out of the den, or cave of ignorance, and those who do, not only have a terrible struggle to attain the heights, but when they go back down for a visit or to help other people up, they find themselves objects of scorn and ridicule.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato

"On the one hand it sometimes seems that Plato can be read almost as a Western alternative to the Buddha: for he invokes a spiritual path by which we can ascend to the highest wisdom beyond worldly attachments. The techniques by which the Socrates of Plato’s dialogues leads his interlocutors out of their limited viewpoints towards wisdom, from a standpoint of sagacious clarity, is often reminiscent of the Buddha’s responses to his various questioners in the Pali suttas. The parallels are so tempting that one can even begin to talk, like Edward Conze, of the “Perennial Philosophy” of which the Buddha and Plato are leading exponents, a philosophy based on engagement with the transcendental in contrast to the desiccated “Sciential Philosophy” of the modern West..... On the other hand, he can be seen as a wayward disciple who betrayed the insights of his teacher Socrates. He can be the first great dualist, the thinker who started off the endless, and fruitless, reactive process in Western philosophy between eternalistic rationalism and nihilistic empiricism.".....http://www.westernbuddhistreview.com/vol3/plato.html

"Socrates would be the most similar to the Buddha in both his approach and his worldview. Socrates’ views, as expressed by him or on his behalf, those that are available to us, would not obviously contradict the Buddha’s as recorded in the sutras, and neither would his practice-based approach to philosophy as the study of oneself.".....http://askaphilosopher.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/comparing-the-buddha-to-socrates-plato-and-descartes/

"Basic goodness is a term coined by Tibetan spiritual teacher Chögyam Trungpa and is a core concept in his terma. It is used both to discuss the experience of reality and also basic human virtue.....In his 1980 Seminary he associates this term with both absolute bodhicitta and specifically the Tibetan term kun.gzhi.ngang.lugs.kyi.dge.ba which comes from the Kadam tradition and refers to the natural virtues of the kunshi or alaya. Specifically he described three virtues: unborn meaning non-manufactured; nondwelling meaning that it cannot be pinned down, and free from pigeonholing meaning that it is beyond conceptual reference points. In his 1981 Seminary he described it as also referring to personal wholesomeness and dedication to others."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_goodness

Great Eastern Sun...."Certain Shambhala practices derive from specific terma texts of Trungpa Rinpoche's such as, Golden Sun of the Great East, and the Scorpion Seal of the Golden Sun, in long and short versions.....GREAT EASTERN SUN: (Tibetan: "Sharchen Nyima"), "The vision of the Great Eastern Sun (is that) no human being is a lost cause." (pg 59) "The Great Eastern Sun illuminates the way of discipline for the warrior." (pg 63) "The great Eastern Sun provides the means to take advantage of your life in the fullest way." (pg 64) "...is the expression of true human goodness, based not on arrogance and aggression, but on gentleness and openness. it is the way of the warrior." (pg 108)"The Great Eastern Sun vision...is based on appreciating ourselves...and our world, so it is a very gentle approach." (pg 57) "The way of the Great Eastern Sun is based on seeing that there is a natural source of radiance and brilliance in this world - which is the innate wakefulness of human beings." (pg 97-98)...."Sacred World is connected with East, because there are always possibilities of vision in the world. East represents the dawn of wakefulness." "...the sacred world is lighted by the sun, which is the principle of never-ending brilliance and radiance...[and] with seeing self-existing possibilities of virtue and richness in the world." (pg 127) (see Sacred World.) If you in the sky, the sun is there. By looking at it, you don't produce a new sun. ... When you discover the sun in the sky, you begin to communicate with it. Your eyes begin to relate with the light of the sun."....http://www.glossary.shambhala.org/#GES

BASIC GOODNESS: "If we are willing to take an unbiased look, we will find that, in spite of all our problems and confusion, all our emotional and psychological ups and downs, there is something basically good about our existence as human beings. We have moments of basic non-aggression and freshness...it is worthwhile to take advantage of these moments...we have an actual connection to reality that can wake us up and make us feel basically, fundamentally good." (see Warrior) "The realization that we can directly experience and work with reality." (pg 29-33) "In the ordinary sense, we think of space as something vacant or dead. But in this case, space is a vast world that has capabilities of absorbing, acknowledging, and accommodating...if you look into it, you can't find anything. If you try to put your finger on it, you find that you don't even have finger to put! That is the primordial nature of basic goodness, and it is that nature which allows a human being to become a warrior, to become the warrior of all warriors." (pg 155) (see Warrior, Sacred Space)"...when you relax more and appreciate your body and mind, you begin to contact the fundamental notion of basic goodness in yourself. So it is extremely important to be willing to open yourself to yourself. Developing tenderness towards yourself allows you to see both your problems and your potential accurately. You don't feel that you have to ignore your problems or exaggerate your potential. That kind of gentleness towards yourself and appreciation of yourself is very necessary. It provides the ground for helping yourself and others." (pg 35-36) "The way to begin is with ourselves. From being open and honest with ourselves, we can also learn to be open with others. So we can work with the rest of the world, on the basis of the goodness we discover in ourselves. Therefore, meditation practice is regarded as a good and and in fact excellent way to overcome warfare in the world: our own warfare as well as greater warfare." (pg 41)...http://www.glossary.shambhala.org/#BASICGOODNESS

Kuntuzangpo; Wyl. kun tu bzang po) — In the Dzogchen teachings, our true nature, that state of the Ground, is given the name the 'Primordial Buddha'. Sogyal Rinpoche writes, "[Kuntuzangpo] represents the absolute, naked, sky-like primordial purity of the nature of our mind"......He is depicted as a buddha, sky-blue in colour, sitting in the vast expanse of space, and encircled by an aura of rainbow light. He is completely naked, meaning unstained by any trace of concept. His name, Kuntuzangpo in Tibetan, Samantabhadra in Sanskrit, means ‘always good', ‘always well’ or ‘unchanging goodness.’ What this signifies is that unchanging goodness, or fundamental goodness, is our ultimate nature.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon

Kuntu Zangpo: the All-good, a deity that represents primal purity and goodness. .....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1387

Kunzang Akor: the All-good 'A' Circle is a meditational form of Shenlha Okar. He is generally recognized by the Tibetan letter 'A' placed on the chest at the level of the heart. The two hands generally rest in the lap and hold the stems of two flower blossoms supporting a yungdrung (svastika) on the right and a vase on the left. There are numerous traditions of ritual cycles and meditation practices for Kunzang Akor.....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1387

"Basic goodness is fundamental to the Shambhala tradition. It was a primary focus of the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s teaching..... there is one important dzokchen term that seems to be closely linked to basic goodness, a connection that the Vidyadhara pointed to during his presentations of vajrayana at the Vajradhatu Seminary: künsang, or “all good.” In its expanded form, küntu sangpo, it refers to the primordial buddha Samantabhadra; in its abbreviated form it points to the principle that Samantabhadra represents."......http://nalandatranslation.org/offerings/choosing-the-right-word/done-sangwa-basic-goodness-and-kunsang-all-good/

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Eflatun Pinar, Sacred Hittite Spring (13th C. BCE)

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

"Eflatun Pinar, Budak, sacred Hittite or Arzawan spring, near Lake Beysehir.....Eflatun Pınar (Turkish: Eflatunpınar, "lilac-colored spring") is the name given to a spring which rises up from the ground, creating an oasis and fountain. The spring lies 80 miles west of Konya, and drains into Lake Beyşehir in Anatolian peninsula at ancient Pisidia region. In ancient times a small temple was built here to honor one of the ancient Hittite gods...Eflatun Pinar was a holy spring in the time of the Hittite empire around the 13th century BC." ...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eflatun_Pınar

This monument may be dated to the 2nd half of 13th century BCE.

"The sun goddess of Arinna is the most important one of three important solar deities of the Hittite pantheon, besides UTU nepisas - "the sun of the sky" and UTU taknas - "the sun of the earth".....She was considered to be the chief deity in some source, in place of her husband. Her consort was the weather god, Teshub; they and their children were all derived from the former Hattic pantheon....The goddess was also perceived to be a paramount chthonic or earth goddess. She becomes largely syncretised with the Hurrian goddess Hebat....In the late 14th century BC, King Mursili II was particularly devoted to the sun goddess of Arinna.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arinna

Eflatunpınar Monument.... located about 22 km north of the town of Beyşehir. The monument is formed as a rectangular shaped pond fed with the waters from a nearby spring. The most prominent part is the high wall of reliefs that stand on the north edge of the roughly 34 by 30 meter rectangular pond. It is built with large stone blocks. In the center are the Storm God and the Sun Goddess with winged sun-disks above each. Around them are ten spirits or hybrid creatures supporting the the two winged sun disks above the gods and an enourmous winged sun disk above them. The base has five mountain gods that are partially visible. The central three of the mountain gods could be interpreted as mountain-spring gods with multiple spring holes on them. The stage altogether may be interpreted as a cosmic scene with heavens at the top and earth at the bottom, with gods and spirits holding the heavens in between."...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eflatun_Pınar

"The understanding of Hittite mythology depends on readings of surviving stone carvings, deciphering of the iconology represented in seal stones, interpreting ground plans of temples: additionally, there are a few images of deities, for the Hittites often worshipped their gods through Huwasi stones, which represented deities and were treated as sacred objects."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_mythology

"In Hittite mythology, a huwasi stone is sacred to a deity and is usually situated in a temple. Larger huwasi stones were placed in an open area surrounded by trees and other plants. The stones were treated as gods; they were given food and water and were anointed and washed. At any cult center, the deities who couldn't be given a temple were worshipped at huwasi stones. The term huwasi was used to describe the housing of the sacred stela, the huwasi stone".....Bryce, Trevor. Life and Society in the Hittite World

"....the religion of the Hittites retains noticeable Indo-European elements, for example Tarhunt the god of thunder; his conflict with the serpent Illuyanka resembles the conflict between Indra and the cosmic serpent Vritra in Indo-Aryan mythology. His consort is the Hattic sun-goddess. This divine couple were presumably worshipped in the twin cellas of the largest temple at Hattusa.".....Gary Beckman, "The Religion of the Hittites"

"...The Hittites referred to their own "thousand gods", of whom a staggering number appear in inscriptions but remain nothing more than names today. This multiplicity has been ascribed to a Hittite resistance to syncretization: "many Hittite towns maintained individual storm-gods, declining to identify the local deities as manifestations of a single national figure"....

"The gods of the underworld were called taknas siunes, 'the gods of the earth', as opposed to the siunes kattares, 'the upper gods' (of heaven)." ....Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology.....By Dr Gwendolyn Leick

"Plth.wih. is reconstructed as Plenty, a goddess of wide flat lands and the rivers that meander across them. Forms include Hittite Lelwanni, a goddess of the underworld, "the pourer", and Sanskrit Prthivi.......The various Indo-European daughter-cultures continued elements of PIE religion, Anatolian, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_religion

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Tirthas, Kshetra, Sacred Sites & Power Spots

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

MANDALA..."The psycho-cosmogram (mandala) is a complex 3-dimensional system of inter-relations applied to reality at different levels. An elaborate tiered palace on the central cosmic mountain and the world around it organized into 3 planes: celestial or sky zone, the surface of the earth, and the subterranean. This threefold ordering of space is tribhubvana in Sanskrit (So gsum in Tibetan). The 24 Tantric power places of India are arranged in this system with eight existing on each of the three planes. Lapchi or Godaqua are listed as one of the 'eight sites of celestial actions'." (Lopez: 1997...pg 124)...

"Tirich Mir.....Krumai lives on her sacred mountain Tirich Mir...She had a shrine at Badáwan, where the Afghan Kalasha used to make offerings.....Robertson first thought Krumai was a male god, “but after seeing her effigy in one of the dancing-houses in Presungul, no doubt could remain concerning her sex. She is worshipped everywhere probably…”...The goddess Krumai came over from Tirich Mir* and went among them, but none recognised her ... Tirich Mir was a sacred mountain......

Power place...(gnas ri) "a venerated mountain power place, a place that has been empowered by the presence and by the activities of famous religious practitioners throughout the centuries." (Blondeau:1996..pg3)...
"Every twelve years (during the Horse year) a great pilgrimage to Amnye Machen (Magyel Pomra) takes place. The pilgrimage route is marked by various power places." (Blondeau: 1996..pg 80)....Tibetan, a pilgrim is called a gnas skor ba
"the 25 power places of Eastern Tibet."..(Kongtrul: 1995..pg 30)...

.......power: ནུས་པ (nus pa)......power: ནུས་ཤུགས (nus shugs).....place: ས་ཆ (sa cha)......place (H): གཞུགས་ས (gzhugs sa).......sacred: རྩ་ཆེན་པོ (rtsa chen po).....pilgrimage: གནས་འཇལ (gnas 'jal)....

"24 Famous Tantric places of India. Some were already significant to Tibetans as being the dwellings of powerful mountain gods and goddesses, along with a host of other local spiritual forces. Lapchi is one such area with the mountain of Gaurishankar." (Lopez: 1997...pg 123)

TIRTHAS....."Hindus call the sacred places to which they travel tirthas, and the action of going on a pilgrimage tirtha-yatra. The Sanskrit word tirtha means river ford, steps to a river, or place of pilgrimage. In Vedic times the word may have concerned only those sacred places associated with water, but by the time of the Mahabharata, tirtha had come to denote any holy place, be it a lake, mountain, forest, or cave. Tirthas are more than physical locations, however. Devout Hindus believe them to be spiritual fords, the meeting place of heaven and earth, the locations where one crosses over the river of samsara (the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth) to reach the distant shore of liberation."....http://sacredsites.com/asia/india/pilgrimage_places.html

"....As a threshold between heaven and earth, the tirtha is not only a place for the upward crossings of people's prayers and rites, it is also a place for the downward crossings of the gods. These divine descents are the well-known avataras of the Hindu tradition. Indeed, the words tirtha and avatara come from related verbal roots....one might say that the avataras descend, opening the doors of the tirthas so that men and women may ascend in their rites and prayers.".....Banaras: City of Light, Diana Eck

"India.... the primary pilgrimage sites include the Four Dhams or Divine Abodes at the four compass points; the Seven Sacred Cities and their primary temples; the Jyotir, Svayambhu, and Pancha Bhutha Linga temples; the Shakti Pitha temples; the Kumbha Mela sites; major Vaishnava sites; the Nava Graha Sthalas (temples of the planets); the seven sacred rivers (Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Kaveri, and the Sarayu); the four Mutts of Sri Adi Sankaracharya (Badrinath/Joshimath, Puri, Sringeri, and Dwarka); the Arupadaividu (the six sacred places of Lord Kumara)"....http://sacredsites.com/asia/india/pilgrimage_places.html

Region of Iranian culture like Commagene, an Iranian Dynasty of the 1st Century BC. Rock carved underground chamber in the Hierothesion of Mithridates I Kallinikos at Arsameia on the Nymphaios.

"There are many gods....They are always present everywhere.....the dieties of the indigenous traditions of Western Europe and The Americas especially were dismantled, suppressed, undermined, abused, forgotten...followers were not even allowed to mention them.....but they still have not been able to destroy them, even with the desecration of the entire planet...the drala principle exists everywhere, always."..(Naropa Institute 1975.....Trungpa)

Celtic Power places in France: Perigueux (Dordogne), Oisseau-le-Petit (Poitiers), Nimes, Glanum, Metz, Compiegne...

"In Jainism, a tīrtha (Sanskrit: तीर्थ "ford, a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is used to refer both to pilgrimage sites as well as to the four sections of the sangha. A tirtha provides the inspiration to enable one to cross over from worldly engagement to the side of nirvana.....

"Kshetra..... (Sanskrit: क्षेत्र "field, area, tract of land") denotes a holy precinct or temenos. The Kurukshetra specifically is the "field" or "precinct" where the Pandavas and Kauravas fought a religious war as told in the Bhagavad Gita section of the Mahabharata. In common parlance, kshetra may denote a place where there is a temple or where there is held to have been a person or event of sacred, religious or dharmic importance. As sacred precincts, both yantras and mandalas are kshetras.....Kshetra is also an etymon of the Avestan term Xšaθra "[Desirable] Dominion", which holds the semantic field "power" and is also a personal name for a divinity or immortal who comprises one of the Amesha Spentas of Zoroastrianism. Xšaθra or Shahrevar conquered that which was evil and annexing territory thus won, proffered it to the honest, peaceable and humble."......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirtha_and_Kshetra

"The word "satrap" originates ultimately (via Ancient Greek and Latin) from Old Persian xšaçapāvan ("protector of the province"), from xšaça ("realm" or "province") and pāvan ("protector"). In Greek, the word was rendered as σατράπης, satrápēs (later borrowed into Latin as satrapes), from a Western Iranian cognate xšaθrapā(van). In modern Persian the descendant of xšaθrapāvan is شهربان (shahrbān), but the components have undergone semantic shift so the word now means "town keeper" (شهر "shahr", meaning "town", بان "bān" meaning "keeper").".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satrap

Sakyong .....meaning "earth protector".....earth: ས (sa).......protector (n): ཆོས་སྐྱོང (chos skyong).....

**************************

DELPHI...in Greece...site of the sacred meteoric stone the Omphalos....An omphalos (ὀμφαλός) is a religious stone artifact, or baetylus.

EMESA...Black meteoric stone in Syria. See: Hawkes 1962..pg 194....A temple called the Elagabalium was built on the east face of the Palatine Hill, to house the holy stone of the Emesa temple, a black conical meteorite...ORCUS..."At Emesa in Syria there was a large black meteoric stone which bore the Phoenician name of Elagabalus. It was considered to be an image of the sun. The stone was moved to Rome to the site of the ancient Roman god Orcus, by Elagabalus." (Hawkes: 1962..pg 195)...

HYSTASPES...Oracle of Hystaspes. (Mithra as order-restorer in this Greek text)

MERV..."Manichaean center on the Amu Darya (Oxus). Also in Balkh and Zamm (Zamb)." (Litvinsky: 1992..pg 417)...

PALMYRA..."Palmyra was the center of Syrian sun worship. Razed by Aurelian in 272 AD. Temple of the Sun was restored in 274 AD. Was extremely influential to Rome."...(Hawkes: 1962..pg 190)...There had been a temple at Palmyra for 2000 years before the Romans ever saw it. Its form, a large stone-walled chamber with columns outside

ROQUEPERTUSE, Boches-du-Rhone...Celtic santuary 300 BC...

TARA...Meath, Ireland...Cicular temenos. Abandoned 600 AD. Stone of Fal.: sacred standing stone cries out when touched by the rightful king. site of the ancient kings of Ireland...the Lia Fail: a magical stone) stood there that was brought to Ireland by the Tuatha De Danann (legendary god-like people) 20 miles NW of Dublin...there are 70 know 'sheelas' (feminine fertility carvings) in Ireland...

TEL BRAK...temple in Eastern Syria (3500 BC). Staring divine eyes. (Gimbutas: 1989..pg 54)

ZAITUN...."A Manichean shrine at Hua-pi'o Hill near Zaitun in China houses the only known statue of Mani as the 'Buddha of Light'." (Acta: 1985...pg 418)...

CUZCO...the famed Sun temple at Cuzco...in southeastern Peru.....

AKHETAN...capital city of the Egyptian sun...

Harne Peak..in the Black Hills South Dakota (Black Elk)..Harney Peak is the site of the Sioux Native American Black Elk's "Great Vision" which he received when nine years old and the site to which he returned as an old man, accompanied by writer John Neihardt, who popularized the medicine man in his book Black Elk Speaks.

Gokart...(Elburz)...site of the Persian World tree....Alborz ( listen (help·info) Persian: البرز), also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The highest mountain in West Asia, Mount Damavand, Amol, Mazandaran is located in the range....Zoroastrians may identify the range with the dwelling place of the Peshyotan, and the Zoroastrian Ilm-e-Kshnoom sect identify Mount Davamand as the home of the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart'). In his epic Shahnameh, the poet Ferdowsi speaks of the mountains "as though they lay in India." This could reflect older usage, for numerous high peaks were given the name and some even reflect it to this day, for example, Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, and Mount Elbariz (Albariz, Jebal Barez) in the Kirman area above the Straits of Hormuz. As recently as the 19th century, a peak in the northernmost range in the Hindu Kush system, just south of Balkh, was recorded as Mount Elburz in British army maps......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alborz

Temple of Apollo...Island of Cos in Greece

Chaco Canyon...New Mexico..modern Pueblo people all trace their roots to Chaco Canyon, and consider it a sacred place.

Canyon De Chelly .....the Navajo who live in Canyon de Chelly have their own name for this sacred place: Tsaile (SAY-hi), which simply means “home.”

San Francisco Peaks in Arizona...The San Francisco Peaks have considerable religious significance to thirteen local American Indian tribes (including the Havasupai, Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni.) In particular, the peaks form the Navajo sacred mountain of the west, called Dook'o'oosłííd. The peaks are associated with the color yellow, and they are said to contain abalone inside, to be secured to the ground with a sunbeam, and to be covered with yellow clouds and evening twilight. They are gendered female......For the Hopi people, the San Francisco Peaks are associated with the cardinal direction southwest, constitute ritually pure sacred spaces, and are used as sources for ceremonial objects.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Peaks

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

**************************

"Tibetan and Navajo life is a process of constant re-balancing....both groups see the process of living as a spiritual journey.....both cultures lack our word "religion," which literally means to bind back, to link back. In the Tibetan and Navajo cultures, spirituality is a way of life, and there is no sense of linking back to anything. This sense of full and present participation in a spiritual way of living contrasts sharply with Western culture where religion is often seen as a counter-force to everyday life, where being spiritual means being different and having to swim against the current.".....Peter Gold: "Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom: The Circle of the Spirit."

Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods") is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possibility is derivation from a reduplicated *le-ligare, an interpretation traced to Cicero connecting lego "read", i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully". Modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell favor the derivation from ligare "bind, connect", probably from a prefixed re-ligare, i.e. re (again) + ligare or "to reconnect," ......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

"Both the Tibetans and the Navajos perceive life as a journey toward the unity of matter and spirit, real and ideal. The Tibetans use two words to express this ideal state of being: "tashi," a harmonious relationship with the universe, and "sangye se," Buddha nature or enlightenment. The Navajos, on the other hand, use the word "hozho" or "beauty" to describe an "empowered state of the deities.....Both have developed vast traditions of knowledge and sacred rites of transformation, called 'haatal,' or 'chantway,' by the Navajo and 'gyud' or 'tantra' by the Tibetans...Both people believe that humans contain an inborn divinity, though this aspect may be obstructed by deluded thinking and unbalanced living."...PARABOLA, Volume XXI, Number 4, November 1996

"....the ancient concept one finds throughout central Asia of 'joining heaven and earth,"

"...numerous equivalencies of color, symbol, method, belief, and motive.....the Navajo deity Talking God, (White Body) Hashch'eelti'i bears a striking resemblance to the Buddhist deity Vajrasattva (here called "Diamond Being"), symbolizing the incisive mind of enlightenment.... Hashch'eoghan, the nurturer of life, harvest, and home, is likened to Amitayus, Amitabha, and Avalokitesvara (here called "Boundless Life," "Boundless Light," and "Boundless Love"). Gold directly compares the Navajo Night Way rite, essentially a healing ritual, and the Tibetan Kalachakra initiation...."......Peter Gold: "Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom

"....because the Navajo and Tibetan spiritual practices both contain strong shamanistic elements (the Buddhism of Tibet representing the eighth-century marriage of the older indigenous shamanistic Bon-po with Indian Buddhism), they would, of course, resemble one another, as they would many other shamanistic cultures. Mircea Eliade's exhaustive work, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, indicates that shamanism worldwide is startlingly homogeneous. And rather than pointing to some historical contact and exchange of ideas between groups, this homogeneity more strongly suggests an agreement of human experience; it is a widely experienced perception of reality--perhaps this simply is what is.".....Sharon M. Van Sluijs,.....http://www.ancientwaysproject.org/images/Two_Reviews-NTSW.pdf

Hozho, Sa'a Naghai Bik'e Hozho....Navajo....he prefix hó- plus the verb stem -zhǫ́ (“beautiful”, “peaceful”)....hózhǫ́: beauty and harmony, peace, balance, happiness and contentment, wholeness, goodness....bił hózhǫ́ — he is happy....baa shił hózhǫ́ — I am happy about it....hózhǫ́ náhásdlį́į́ʼ — it has become beauty again; beauty is restored

"Basic goodness is a term used both to discuss the experience of reality and also basic human virtue.....In the 1980 Seminary Trungpa associates this term with both absolute bodhicitta and specifically the Tibetan term kun.gzhi.ngang.lugs.kyi.dge.ba.....unborn, nondwelling, and beyond conceptual reference points....also referring to personal wholesomeness and dedication to others.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_goodness

PURE AGATE TIBETAN SWASTIKA DZI BEAD.....The Swastika symbol has been used for thousands of years already in almost all human civilizations as a sign for good luck, protection, as a materialization of life and the changing seasons of the year. It is believed that this Dzi bead will bring happiness, wealth and prosperity to its owner.

".....the Shambhala Training notion of natural hierarchy is akin to an arranged mandala where people are connected, interdependent, and communicate in natural ways. The Chinese triune notion of Heaven, Earth and Man is considered the prototypical pattern of natural hierarchy....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala_Training

"NATURAL HIERARCHY: "Living in accordance with natural hierarchy is not a matter of following a series of rigid rules or structuring your days with lifeless commandments or codes of conduct. The world has order and power and richness that can teach you how to conduct your life artfully, with kindness to others and care for yourself." "The discovery of Natural Hierarchy has to be a personal experience - magic is something you must experience for yourself." "You will be inspired to serve your world, to surrender yourself completely." When we refer to hierarchy, we refer to the structure and order of the universe-a sense of heritage that the warrior must appreciate. But appreciating isn't enough. There is a need for discipline, and that discipline comes from realizing that such a world as this was created for you, that people expended energy to bring you up, that in your weak moments you were helped, and that, when you were ready for inspiration, you were inspired. So, the discipline of genuinely working for others comes from appreciating hierarchy." "The warrior's journey of discovering natural hierarchy of reality and his place in the world is both exalted and very simple. It is simple, because it is so immediate and touching. It is touching your origin - your place in this world, the place you came from and the place you belong.".....http://www.glossary.shambhala.org/#NATURALHIERARCHY

"After the sandpainting is completed and used during the ceremony, it is destroyed....the sandpainting "has a life span…its purpose in healing...[to remove] the illness" (the imbalance of hózhó), it is removed from the ritual space and disposed of quite quickly and must be done so in a proper manner. The map is not needed anymore. Just as a sandpainting can restore hózhó, so too can it cause an imbalance (hóchxó) if left manifested indefinitely. The Navajo need the Holy Beings to take the illness away, but they do not want them around all the time which can result in an imbalance. To the Navajo, taking a picture of a completed sandpainting then framing it (as art) "would be like if I locked you up in a closet for thirty days and didn't let you come out. You would be weakened from the experience and would need to be renewed and strengthened."......http://www.colorado.edu/religiousstudies/TheStrip/features/Navajo/living.htm

"Kalachakra sand mandala....The painting/construction of a mandala is a ritual act of devotion that not only aligns the Buddhist artist(s) with their belief, but manifests their belief in a tangible and physical embodiment of it. The veil that separates the believer from the divine is lifted, and then, as quickly as it is breathed into existence, is ritually destroyed (in the case of sand mandalas)."....."The Temporary Artist: An essay On Kalachakra Sand Mandalas

In the Tibetan Bon tradition, the Yungdrung is a symbol of that which is beyond impermanence and indestructible..... the Bön, one of the oldest traditions in Central Asia, has used Swastika as its most important religious symbol since an everlasting time. Today this tradition which existed in Tibet before the introduction of Buddhism is still very much present and continuing its teachings (Bön)......The yungdrung is the principal symbol of the Bon Religion, also known as the Yungdrung Bon, Ever-lasting Truth.".....http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1232

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Kalachakra Deity & Vishvamata (World Mother)

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

Kalachakra refers a Tantric deity (Tib. yidam) of Vajrayana Buddhism .... The consort of Kalchakra is called Vishvamata . She is in pratyalidha attitude.

Kalachakra (Sanskrit: कालचक्र, IAST: Kālacakra; Tibetan: དུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ།, Wylie: dus-kyi 'khor-lo; Mongolian: Цогт Цагийн Хүрдэн Tsogt Tsagiin Hurden; Chinese: 時輪) is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles".

Kala....time
Chakra....cycles, wheel

"The Kalachakra deity resides in the center of the Mandala in his palace consisting of four Mandalas, one within the other: the Mandalas of body, speech, and mind, and in the very center, wisdom and great bliss.....Kalchakra has four faces and tow legs . His front face is blue with bare fangs symbolizing anger , his right face is red embodying attachment , his left is white symbolizing peaceful state and his rear is yellow symbolizing calm abiding . Each has three eyes . His blue face is wrathful . He is adorned with may jewel ornaments , such as earrings , bracelets , necklace , crown , bangles and anklets and so on . He wears a tiger skin . Of his 24 arms , 12 arms are on each side . The first four arms are black , the middle red and the last four arms are white .".....http://www.ritualthanka.com

Vishvamata (World Mother)..... "Kalachakra and Vishvamata locked in passionate embrace, lovingly gazing at each other. Both figures are four-headed, with the lips and eyes on each face marked with pigments, lending added naturalism to the sculpture. Typical of Heruka Buddhas, Kalachakra strikes an energetic, lunging pose and Vishvamata mirrors his stance. Both figures wear elaborate jewellery, studded with brilliant blue turquoise and inlaid with semi-precious stones....Kalachakra’s twenty-four hands and Vishvamata’s eight, surrounding the couple like a golden aura, each originally held an attribute. Among the objects that survive in Kalachakra’s hands are the ‘vajra’ and bell, a partially broken sword, a flaying knife, a double-sided pellet drum, the Buddhist wheel, a ‘vajra’-tipped noose, a conch shell and a gem-encrusted jewel. In Kalachakra’s uppermost raised hand dangles the severed head of the four-faced Hindu god Brahma (‘Brahmakapala’). Although seemingly gruesome, this attribute symbolises Kalachakra’s infinite compassion towards all beings (Beer 1999: 309). Vishvamata holds a flaying knife and skull cup in her main hands hidden behind Kalachakra’s neck. Other implements that remain in her additional hands include a noose, a pellet drum, a lotus and a jewel. The figures’ striking pose, the intimacy they share and the dazzling display of arms create a dynamic tour de force.".....Chaya Chandrasekhar, ‘Goddess: divine energy’, pg.252.

"The Kalachakra deity resides in the center of the Mandala in his palace consisting of four Mandalas, one within the other: the Mandalas of body, speech, and mind, and in the very center, wisdom and great bliss. The palace is divided into four quadrants, each with walls, gates and a center and a specific color. The colors represent the elements and mental types. Black in the east is associated with the element of air and wind. The south is red, representing the element of fire. The west is yellow and associated with the element of earth. The north is white, representing the element of water."....http://www.thewildrose.net/tibetan_buddhism.html

"HISTORY OF THE KALACHAKRA.....Kalachakra is clearly related to the ancient Vedic tradition which existed long before Buddhism appeared....The Kalachakra refers to many different traditions, for example the Hindu; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism. For example, the Kalachakra mandala includes deities which are equally accepted by Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists.....

Zurvanism....."Like the Kalachakra deity, the Iranian Zurvan carries the entire universe in his mystic body: the sun, moon, and stars. The various divisions of time such as hours, days, and months dwell in him as personified beings. He is the ruler of eternal and of historical time. White light and the colors of the rainbow burst out of him. His worshippers pray to him as “father-mother”. Sometimes he is portrayed as having four heads like the Buddhist time god. He governs as the “father of fire” or as the “victory fire”. Through him, fire and time are equated. He is also cyclical time, in which the world is swallowed by flames so as to arise anew".....http://www.american-buddha.com/aggres.myth.htm

"Kalachakra Dasa.....Kalachakra (wheel of fortune) is one of the most important Dasas of Vedic Astrology. It is very powerful although difficult to handle....Kalachakra is (like Vimsottari and Yogini) a Nakshatra based Dasa that depends on the position of the Moon in her Nakshatra. But Kalachakra is the only Navamsa based Nakshatra dasa.....Kalachakra Dasa is extensively described in Maharishi Parasara's Hora Shastra and in Vaidhyanatha Dikshita's Jataka Parijata. The former tells us that he appreciates Kalachakra as even supreme to Vimsottari Dasa."......Sumeet Chugh's Yogini and Kalachakra Dasa.

"...Kalachakra literally means “the wheel of Time”. It shows how the wheel of time unfolds events in the life of an individual. Parasara said that Lord Shiva explained this dasa to Goddess Parvati."....http://astroveda.wikidot.com/kalachakra-dasa

"Vedic Time System...... Kala (Time) is regarded as not linear or single-directional movement, like an arrow speeding from past to future. The idea of Time itself was quite advanced in Hindu Heritage. The Hindu concept talks of Rhythm or universal order which is manifested as Time. Time Rhythm range from the fast ticking of the atom to the expansion of the entire cosmos — Time unfolding within the geological process of the Earth the change of the season, the life cycle of a fly etc.......Kala (Time) itself is connected to Siva in Indian Heritage. Siva is called Maha Kala — “the great Time”. His consort Kali personifies the energy of Time.....Time (kala) is one of the five tattvas (realities) of existence which are the five subjects of the Bhagavad-gita. (The other ones are: isvara - God, jiva - living being, prakrti - material nature, and karma - material activity).."....http://veda.wikidot.com/vedic-time-system

"The Bhojakas, (600–700 C.E.), believed that they emanated from the body of their sun god. They also proclaimed themselves to be the descendants of Zarathustra. In India they created a mixed solar religion from the doctrines of the Avesta (the teachings of Zarathustra) and Mahayana Buddhism. From the Buddhists they adopted fasting and the prohibitions on cultivating fields and trade. In return, they influenced Buddhism primarily with their visions of light. Their “photisms” are said to have especially helped shape the shining figure of the Buddha Amitabha. Since they placed the time god, Zurvan, at the center of their cult, it could also be they who anticipated the essential doctrines of the Kalachakra Tantra.".....http://www.american-buddha.com/aggres.myth.htm

"Buddhism's Kalachakra uses the Hindu Vedic legend of Mount Meru (Avestan Hara Berezaiti) and surrounds Mount Meru with the mythic kingdom of Shambhala, a Sanskrit word meaning the land of peace. Shambhala, also spelt Shambala or Shamballa, is said to be the land of the Living Fire and Gyanganj, the home of immortal wisdom and the omniscient wise god of time (descriptions some use for Ahura Mazda, God, in Zoroastrianism). The concept, description and qualities of Shambala coincide with those for Arya Varta / Airyana Vaeja......" ....http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/aryans/location.htm

"In the Kalachakra tradition, the soul (bla-gnas) resides at the bottom of the left foot (men), or right foot (women) at the new moon. Then it rises higher each day, residing at the top of the head on the full moon. Then returns." (Stein: 1972..pg 226)...

"...according to Kuznetsov, the Indians used to name Iran and can be translated as "the holders of the world (good)." From Iran as the Indians borrowed the doctrine of eternal time (Zurvan Akarana), which then became the basis of the Buddhist Kalachakra......It is assumed that such a doctrine was created by the western Iranian Magi under the influence of the ancient Babylonian tradition, according to which the story is divided into long cycle times, and within each of them are recurring events.....s for the doctrine of the Kalachakra, it is, as suggested by Allen, comes from ancient Gandhara (area encompassing northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan). One of the areas of Gandhara — Uddiyana, located among the spurs of the Hindu Kush in northern Pakistan, is considered the cradle of Tantric Buddhism. Visited this valley in 629 Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang was surprised to find there the remains of almost a thousand Buddhist monuments (monasteries, stupas) and settlements, suggesting a fantastic flourishing of Buddhism in Uddiyana in the preceding period (II-V century)."....http://survincity.com/2011/02/shambhala-the-mystical-and-the-real/

"...Cronus (the Greek), Zurvan (the Persian), Xiuhtecuhtli (the Aztec) and Kalachakra (the Hindu).....Cronus is associated with Time, Chronos (Kronos, Cronus, and Cronos) is the Greek god of time, Fertility, Chaos and Prophecy......Xiuhtecuhtli is associated with Fire, Earth and Time......Zurvan is associated with Time, Psychopomp, Justice and Guardian......Kalachakra is associated with Time, War and Prophecy....Egyptian Atem, the Mother Goddess of Time..... the Aztec god of time (Tonatiuh, pictured in the center of the Aztec calendar stone), which destroys everything. As the sun was associated with the passage of time, so Aton-at-i-uh personified both the supreme solar and temporal deity. The real name of the Calendar Stone was Cuauhtlixicalli (literally, the “House of the Eagle,” the “Eagle Bowl,” or, closest to the real meaning of its name, “The Vessel of Time”)....Kali the Hindu goddess of time....Mahakala is the Japanese name for Shiva as the god of time ....Menat is a Middle East goddess of time (Also known as Manat). Her father is Allah....Orus, or Horus as he is more generally known, was the son of Isis and Osiris. He was the god of time....In the Egyptian ritual, Seb, the god of time and of the Earth, is spoken of as having laid an egg, or the Universe....Zervan (also as Zurvan, Zrvan, _ ‘time’) was the Iranian god of time, the creator of all the paths which lead to the Cinvat bridge – the crossing-point into the Beyond. In Zervanism, which was spread by magi, he figured as the supreme god...."....

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Monday, May 27, 2013

Vishvamata: World Mother of Diversity

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

viśva — the universe
Vishwa is Sanskrit meaning Whole, universe
mātā — mother

"In the center of the ring of mountains lies the country’s capital, Kalapa by name. By night, the city of light is lit up as bright as day, so that the moon can no longer be seen. There the Shambhala king lives in a palace made from every conceivable gem and diamond. The architecture is based upon the laws of the heavens. There is a sun temple and a moon temple, a replica of the zodiac and the astral orbits. A little to the south of the palace the visitor finds a wonderful park. In it Suchandra ordered the temple of Kalachakra and Vishvamata to be built. It is made from five valuable materials: gold, silver, turquoise, coral, and pearl. Its ground plan corresponds to the Kalachakra sand mandala.".....http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Part-1-10.htm

"Kalachakra has four heads, twelve eyes, six shoulders and twenty-four arms. His heads and sets of arms are blue, red, white and gold. He is standing in yabyum with his consort Vishvamata, the Universal Mother....Each of Kalachakra's twenty-four hands and Vishavamata's eight hands hold tantric implements or tantric weapons. Kalachakra's front arms embrace Vishvamata and are crossed holding vajras..........http://www.thangkapaintings.com/kalchakra_dukyi_khorlo.php

"Kalachakra is time and everything is under the influence of time, Kalachakra knows all. Whereas Kalachakri or Kalichakra, his spiritual consort and complement, is aware of everything that is timeless, untimebound or out of the realm of time. In Yab-yum, they are temporality and atemporality conjoined. Similarly, the wheel is without beginning or end. The Kalachakra refers to many different traditions, for example the Hindu; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism. For example, the Kalachakra mandala includes deities which are equally accepted by Hindus, Jainas and Buddhists.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalachakra

"Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) and Vishvamata (World Mother).....Kalachakra’s partner (his Wisdom) is Vishvamata. The “time” part of the deity’s name, regarded as relative, refers to compassion; the “wheel” part, regarded as absolute, refers to wisdom (the realization of the emptiness of all phenomena). Kalachakra and Vishvamata fused together symbolize Buddhist enlightenment...Kalachakra’s twenty-four hands and Vishvamata’s eight, surrounding the couple like a golden aura, each originally held an attribute."...http://chulie.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/kalachakra-and-vishvamata/

"Here, the main mother is yellow, and she is called Vishvamata, which means "Mother of Diversity....Our right and left energy-channels are now fully empowered as Kalachakra and Vishvamata....Melting into a drop of bodhichitta and passing through his vajra-organ, we enter the lotus-womb of Vishvamata....We transform into a simple Kalachakra, with one face and two arms, holding vajra and bell, with a blue body, right leg red and outstretched, left leg white and bent, and embracing a blue Vishvamata, with one face and two arms, holding a cleaver and skullcup.” .....Kalachakra....Rikon, Switzerland, July 29-31, 1985

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Kalapa: Physical Descriptions of Shambala

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

Qala, Kala, Qila (Persian: قلعہ; meaning fort or castle).....Kala pa: place of the castle.....As an alternate spelling of Qala, or "fortress" in Persian....Qila (Persian: قلعه‎), (Urdu: قلعه‎, Hindi: क़िला) or Qala is a Persian word meaning a fort or castle. Qala is used in names of places as a prefix in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Pakistan and Palestine

"In the center of the ring of mountains lies the country’s capital, Kalapa by name. By night, the city of light is lit up as bright as day, so that the moon can no longer be seen. There the Shambhala king lives in a palace made from every conceivable gem and diamond. The architecture is based upon the laws of the heavens. There is a sun temple and a moon temple, a replica of the zodiac and the astral orbits. A little to the south of the palace the visitor finds a wonderful park. In it Suchandra ordered the temple of Kalachakra and Vishvamata to be built. It is made from five valuable materials: gold, silver, turquoise, coral, and pearl. Its ground plan corresponds to the Kalachakra sand mandala.".....http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Part-1-10.htm

Art Blog/Eric Whollem.....A MAP TO SHAMBHALA/ The Way to Kalapa and the Lake of Shambhala Nor/ Shangri La and Shambhala/ Peach Blossom River/ Crossing the White Waters/ Mandala of the Four Rivers/ Altai Mysticism/ The Legend of Kalki/ Roseapple Island: a digression on Jambudvipa/ The Egyptian Tuat/ Tara Rising From the Waters/ The Nagas/ Pancha Raksha

"Like the Indian Maha Siddhas, the Kalkis have long hair which they tie up in a knot. Likewise, they also adorn themselves with earrings and armbands. “The Kalki has excellent ministers, generals, and a great many queens. He has a bodyguard, elephants and elephant trainers, horses, chariots, and palanquins. His own wealth and the wealth of his subjects, the power of his magic spells, the nagas, demons, and goblins that serve him, the wealth offered to him by the centaurs and the quality of his food are all such that even the lord of the gods cannot compete with him. ... The Kalki does not have more than one or two heirs, but he has many daughters who are given as vajra ladies during the initiations held on the full moon of Caitra each year” . It thus appears they serve as mudras in the Kalachakra rituals...( John Newman, 'Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context', 1985, p. 57)

"The Rigden King is seated upon a golden throne, supported by eight sculptured lions. In his hands he holds a jewel which grants him every wish and a magic mirror, in which he can observe and control everything in his realm and on earth....Shambhala king lives in a palace made from every conceivable gem and diamond....

Kalapa, the capital, from a classical thangka of the Kingdom of Shambhala

"....of the women of Shambhala we hear only something of their role as queen mother, the bearer of the heir to the throne, and as “wisdom consorts”. In the “tantric economy” of the state budget they form a reservoir of vital resources, since they supply the “gynergy” (Female creative energy) which is transformed by the official sexual magic rites into political power. Alone the sovereign has a million girls, “young as the eight-day moon”, who are available to be his partners."....John Newman, 'Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context', 1985

"The monks wear white, speak Sanskrit, and are all initiated into the mysteries of the Kalachakra Tantra. The majority of them are considered enlightened. Then come the warriors. The king is at the same time the supreme commander of a disciplined and extremely potent army with generals at its head, a powerful officer corps and obedient “lower ranks”.....The Shadow of the Dalai Lama....Victor & Victoria Trimondi

".....the protest of a group of no less than 35 million (!) Rishis (seers) led by the sage Suryaratha ("sun chariot”)..... [Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य Sūrya, "the Supreme Light") Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism. The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general.]......As the first Kulika king, Manjushrikirti, preached the Kalachakra Tantra to his subjects, Suryaratha distanced himself from it, and his followers, the Rishis, joined him. They preferred to choose banishment from Shambhala than to follow the “diamond path” (Vajrayana). Nonetheless, after they had set out in the direction of India and had already crossed the border of the kingdom, Manjushrikirti sank in to a deep meditation, stunned the emigrants by magic and ordered demon birds to bring them back.....The Rishis worshipped only the sun. For this reason they also called their guru the “sun chariot” (suryaratha). But the Kulika king had as Kalachakra master and cosmic androgyne united both heavenly orbs in himself. He was the master of sun and moon. His demand of the Rishis that they adopt the teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra was also enacted on a night of the full moon....The Rishis decided upon the latter. “Since we all want to remain true to the sun chariot, we also do not wish to give up our religion and to join another”, they rejoined (Grünwedel, 1915, p. 77.....Albert Grünwedel (July 31, 1856 – October 28, 1935) was a German indologist, tibetologist, archaeologist, and explorer of Central Asia.).

This resulted in the exodus.... But in fetching them back Manjushrikirti demonstrated that the “path of the sun and moon” is stronger than the “pure sun way”. The Rishis thus brought him many gold tributes and submitted to his power and the primacy of the Kalachakra Tantra. In the fifteenth night of the moon enlightenment was bestowed upon them....They could fit harmoniously into a Shambhala society by joining in one vajra caste, without renouncing thier religion..... Manjushrikirti integrated in his office the energies of both the priestly and the military elite. Within himself he united worldly and spiritual power, which — as we have already discussed above — are allotted separately to the sun (high priest) and the moon (warrior king) in the Indian cultural sphere. The union of both heavenly orbs in his person made him an absolute ruler."....

"Manjushrikirti’s interest to abolish all caste distinctions in an overarching militarily oriented Buddhocracy. The historical Buddha is already supposed to have prophesied that the future Shambhala king, “.. possessing the Vajra family, will become Kalki by making the four castes into an single clan, within the Vajra family, not making them into a Brahman family” ( John Newman, 'Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context', 1985, p. 64).

" Tönpa Shenrab, who was born in a completely pure and spiritual land named Tag-Zig Olmo Lung Ring [hereafter Olmo Lung Ring], which is beyond the impure nature of this existing world. The birthplace of all enlightened ones, it is a perfected realm where peace and true joy last forever and it is free from any danger of destruction by any of the elements of nature. The land of Olmo Lung Ring lies to the west of Mount Kailash.....Historical Bön texts state very clearly that the holy mountain Mount Kailash was in the center of the Kingdom of Zhang Zhung."...Opening the Door To Bön, Snow Lion Publications, 2005

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Āditya Solar Dynasty & the Sakya Clan of the Buddha

**************************

Click Here to View the Main Index

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

**************************

"Ādityas (Sanskrit: आदित्य, pronounced [ɑːd̪it̪jɐ]), meaning "of Aditi", refers to the offspring of Aditi. In later Hinduism, Aditya is used in the singular to mean the sun....the Sakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also claimed to belong to the race of Aditya i.e. solar race.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ādityas

"In the Skanda Purāṇa there is this description: upāyanaṁ daduḥ sarve vinā devān hiraṇyakaḥ. Hiraṇyakaśipu was so powerful that everyone but the three principal demigods—namely Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu—engaged in his service. Madhvācārya says, ādityā vasavo rudrās tri-vidhā hi surā yataḥ. There are three kinds of demigods—the Ādityas, the Vasus and the Rudras—beneath whom are the other demigods, like the Maruts and Sādhyas (marutaś caiva viśve ca sādhyāś caiva ca tad-gatāḥ). Therefore all the demigods are called tri-piṣṭapa, and the same word tri applies to Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu."

"The Shakyas were of the Kshatriya solar race and called themselves rajas.... The Buddhist text Mahavamsa calls Chandragupta a scion of the Khattya (Kshatriya) clan named Moriya (Maurya). ....The commentary on the Mahavamsa connects him with the Sakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also claimed to belong to the race of Aditya i.e. solar race. Ancient Jain texts Punyashrava Katha Kosh refers to Chanragupta as Kshatriya. A medieval inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the solar race of Kshatriyas. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestry_of_Chandragupta_Maurya

"...KALACHAKRA.....the protest of a group of no less than 35 million Rishis (seers) led by the sage Suryaratha ("sun chariot”)..... [Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य Sūrya, "the Supreme Light") Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism. The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general.]......As the first Kulika king, Manjushrikirti, preached the Kalachakra Tantra to his subjects, Suryaratha distanced himself from it, and his followers, the Rishis, joined him. They preferred to choose banishment from Shambhala than to follow the “diamond path” (Vajrayana). Nonetheless, after they had set out in the direction of India and had already crossed the border of the kingdom, Manjushrikirti sank in to a deep meditation, stunned the emigrants by magic and ordered demon birds to bring them back.....The Rishis worshipped only the sun. For this reason they also called their guru the “sun chariot” (suryaratha). But the Kulika king had as Kalachakra master and cosmic androgyne united both heavenly orbs in himself. He was the master of sun and moon. His demand of the Rishis that they adopt the teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra was also enacted on a night of the full moon....The Rishis decided upon the latter. “Since we all want to remain true to the sun chariot, we also do not wish to give up our religion and to join another”, they rejoined (Grünwedel, 1915, p. 77).

The Shakyas are mentioned in the Buddhist texts, which include the Mahāvastu (ca. late 2nd century BCE), Mahāvaṃsa and Sumaṅgalavilāsinī, mostly in the accounts of the birth of the Buddha, as a part of the Adichchabandhus (kinsmen of the sun) or the Ādichchas (solar race) and as descendants of the legendary king Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka).....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakya

"Ikshvaku (Sanskrit: इक्ष्वाकु,ikṣvāku (from the word Sanskrit: इक्षु,ikṣu which means ‘sugar cane’) pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Ikshvaku-Vansh, or Suryavansh/Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.....In Buddhism Ikshvaku is an epithet of Śakya Simha Buddha......ikṣvāku-kule — in the dynasty of Ikṣvāku (grandson of Vivasvān, the sun-god)...House of Ikshvaku.....Across the length and breadth of Greater India, numerous royal families have claimed to have belonged to the House of Ikshvaku, which was synonymous with the Solar Dynasty.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikshvaku

Statue of R̥ṣabha at Los Angeles County Museum of Art....Rishabha (R̥ṣabha, also known as Adinatha, Adishvara and Adeshvara "Primal Lord", is the traditional founder of Jainism. He was the first of the twenty-four tīrthaṅkaras or "ford-makers", teachers who established the Jain teachings. According to legends, he belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty of ancient Ayodhya. His son was believed to be the first chakravartin. Rishabha is also known as Rikhava and is sometimes called Rishabha of Kosala.

"Rishabha is usually depicted in lotus position or kayotsarga, a standing position. He is distinguished from other Tirthankara by his long locks of hair which falls on his shoulders......Rishabha (c. 7190 BCE) also known as Adinatha is an important figure in Jainism. He is referred to as the founder of Jainism.He was the first of the twenty-four Tīrthaṅkara. According to Jain beliefs, Rishabha founded the Ikshvaku Solar Dynasty.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabha_(Jain_tirthankar)

"In Indian Vedic mythology, Aditi is “infinity,” the source of all forms of consciousness including the divine characteristics of the gods themselves. Aditi is also “unity,” whereas her sister Diti or Danu is that force which separates things. Aditi is the source of the divine within humanity. Diti reflects its flawed aspect. Vedic mythology celebrates Aditi as Earth, the goddess who is the source of all living things. She is the mother by the sage Kasyapa of the Ādityas, the “sons of Aditi,” who are gods of the sun (one name for which is Āditya) and are the formative principles of the Universe. Among the personified Ādityas are Sūrya, Mitra , Varuṇa, Aryaman and, perhaps most important, the great Vedic king of the gods, Indra . In Buddhism, Āditya is a name sometimes applied to the Buddha."....Oxford Dictionary of Asian Mythology: Aditi and the Ādityas

"āditya-bandhu, ādityabandhu आदित्यबन्धु......... The Sun Friend; a name for Buddha Śākyamuni".....Jeffrey Hopkins' Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Sanskrit: āditya-bandhu; sūrya-mitra......kinsman or friend of the sun - Adityabandhu.....relatives of the sun, epithet of shakyamuni adityabandhu, epithet of sakyamuni buddha.....nyi ma'i gnyen/nyimenyen...http://dictionary.thlib.org

Shuddhodana (Skt. Śuddhodana; Wyl. rgyal po zas gtang ma) — King of the Shakyas and father of Prince Siddhartha, the future Buddha Shakyamuni....Siddhārtha Gautama as one belonging to the Shākya clan, a lineage in the solar dynasty whose members include figures from Indic legend.....http://www.universitypressscholarship.com

In the Rigveda, the Ādityas are the seven celestial deities, sons of Āditi, headed by Varuna, followed by Mitra (Vedic personification of Surya) :
Varuna... god of the sky, of water and of the celestial ocean.
Mitra (Surya)...some relation with the Zoroastrian divinity Mithra (Miθra)
Aryaman...creator of day and night, controls the movement of time.
Bhaga...god of wealth and marriage
Anśa or Aṃśa
Dhatri...god of health and domestic tranquility
Indra...god of rain and thunderstorms

"The Suryavanshi clan is an ancient Kshatriya clan of India. It is also known by many synonyms as Ādityavanśa (आदित्यवंश), Mitravanśa (मित्रवंश), Arkavanśa (अर्कवंश) and Ravivanśa (रविवंश). The early Suryavanshis considered the sun god (Surya, Aditya or Arka) as their kuladevata and mainly practised sun-worship. The Gurjars believe themselves to have descended from Suryavanshi & Chandravanshi Kshatriyas. The copper-plate grants of Gurjars bear an emblem of the Sun and on their seals too, this symbol is depicted. Also, the Gurjar title of honor is Mihir which means Sun.".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suryavansha

"...the Lunar Dynasty (Somavansha, Chandravansha) also known as Ailas is one of the three principal houses of the Kshatriya varna, or warrior–ruling caste. This legendary dynasty was descended from the moon (Soma or Chandra), while the other principal houses, the Solar Dynasty (Suryavanshi) claims descent from the sun (surya) and the Agnivanshi claim to have been born to the fire-god Agni, with the term vansh referring to descent. ".....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Dynasty

".... the myths of all the other Indo-European peoples is solar in nature. The great sun hero Siegfried/Sigurd is just such an example of a Norse solar hero. Wilhelm Richard Wagner[1813-1873] based much of his music dramas upon the myth of the sun hero with characters such as the afore-mentioned Siegfried, the swan knight Lohengrin,Tannhaueser and Parsifal......"....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology

"The name "Khorasan" (balkh Region) is derived from Middle Persian khor (meaning "sun") and asan (or ayan literally meaning "to come" or "coming" or "about to come"), hence meaning "land where the sun rises". The Persian word Khāvar-zamīn (Persian: خاور زمین‎), meaning "the eastern land", has also been used as an equivalent term."....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Khorasan

"BEL.....Belenos is unsusual in Celtic belief, as this deity (under the various version of his name) is known throughout the Celtic world. His symbols are the horse an wheel and his name means 'The Shining God'. He is one of the Celtic high gods, and is probably a solar deity."....http://www.celtnet.org.uk/gods_b/belenos.html

"The Maitraka dynasty ruled Gujarat in western India from c. 475 to 767.....The name Maitraka is said to derive from Mithra, the Sun or Sun deity, also a synonym of Mihira. The Maitrakas, the worshippers of Mitra/Mithra i.e. Sun-worshippers identified with the Mihiras. There is evidence that the Maitraka rulers had switched to Shaivism, but when Chinese traveller Hieun-Tsang visited Vallabhi during second quarter of 7th century, he found its ruler to be a Buddhist follower. When I-Tsing, another Chinese traveller, visited Vallabhi in the last quarter of 7th century, he found Vallabhi as a great center of learning including Buddhism. Gunamati and Sthiramati were two famous Buddhist scholars of Vallabhi at the middle of 7th century....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitraka

**************************

Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

John Hopkins.....Northern New Mexico….July 2014

**************************