I'm reading SN 1.11 and all of sudden there are these mythical creatures:
Sakka: Lord of the Devas? Ruler of Trāyastriṃśa, the 33 gods on Mount Meru. "The commentator Buddhaghoṣa has identified Sakka as being identical to Vajrapāṇi." And "Śakra is equated with Haneullim in Korean folk religion." Heneullim is the sky God of Cheondoism and Jeungsanism. And "In Chinese tradition, he is equated with the Jade Emperor."
I feel like we're in a kind of Santa Claus situation.
Suja is Sakka's wife, daughter to Vepacitti.
Vepacitti (Vemacitrin): Lord of the Asuras. "On another occasion, Vemacitrin and Śakra had a contest of verses, before a joint company of devas and asuras. Each of them alternated with a verse of his spontaneous composition, to see who could speak best. Śakra was awarded the prize by both sides, because it was judged that Vemacitrin's verses tended entirely to contention and violence, whereas Śakra's were edifying and tended to peace and harmony. (Subhasitajaya-sutta, SN.xi.5)"
As I try to reach back into the mist of time, the mythology is unruly, disorganized, undocumented. In a way that's what I'm looking for.
Verocana: Lord of the Asuras.
Sambara: Lord of the Asuras.
I couldn't find anything on Sambari magic.
The Wikipedia entry on Buddhist Mythology is fairly unhelpful beyond this sentence: "Buddhist myth adopted several Indian figures such as Brahma, Indra (also known as Sakka) and Prithvi."
Yaksha has an entry: They are a broad class of nature spirits.
Nagas are another class of demigods.
Garudas are bird like creatures
Tusita is the 4th of 6 realms.
Buddhist Cosmology is another large Wikipedia entry. Not even sure if this graphic helps although you can find Tusita on it:
Now I understand that the mythology gets developed in Mahayana and beyond, but I wonder if there are any early works on Theravada mythology.
I like the ancient Greek/Roman gods and goddesses. And I have enjoyed a Mahayana journey through the Bodhisattvas. I rack my mind for Buddhist examples of books:
Joan Halifax has a great Jungian Buddhist book, The Fruitful Darkness.
I did find a book by Sujato White Bones Red Rot Black Snakes is about the feminine in early mythology.
Vessantara's Meeting The Buddhas was excellent. I guess I need to reread that one.
I ordered Ka by Roberto Calasso because it's about Buddhist mythology embedded in Hindu mythology which would be about right for those times, and because I could get an inexpensive copy. "The fundamental thematic concept of his oeuvre is the relationship between myth and the emergence of modern consciousness." Seems to be about what I'm looking for.
Please add any references you think might be helpful. Might have to write what I need myself. But when I read these names at the top, I feel nothing, so I'd like to build up my mythological knowledge so that I felt something reading the text.
I also want to develop an American mythology of Buddhism. Who is Paul Bunyan in Buddhist mythology?
Sakka: Lord of the Devas? Ruler of Trāyastriṃśa, the 33 gods on Mount Meru. "The commentator Buddhaghoṣa has identified Sakka as being identical to Vajrapāṇi." And "Śakra is equated with Haneullim in Korean folk religion." Heneullim is the sky God of Cheondoism and Jeungsanism. And "In Chinese tradition, he is equated with the Jade Emperor."
I feel like we're in a kind of Santa Claus situation.
Suja is Sakka's wife, daughter to Vepacitti.
Vepacitti (Vemacitrin): Lord of the Asuras. "On another occasion, Vemacitrin and Śakra had a contest of verses, before a joint company of devas and asuras. Each of them alternated with a verse of his spontaneous composition, to see who could speak best. Śakra was awarded the prize by both sides, because it was judged that Vemacitrin's verses tended entirely to contention and violence, whereas Śakra's were edifying and tended to peace and harmony. (Subhasitajaya-sutta, SN.xi.5)"
As I try to reach back into the mist of time, the mythology is unruly, disorganized, undocumented. In a way that's what I'm looking for.
Verocana: Lord of the Asuras.
Sambara: Lord of the Asuras.
I couldn't find anything on Sambari magic.
The Wikipedia entry on Buddhist Mythology is fairly unhelpful beyond this sentence: "Buddhist myth adopted several Indian figures such as Brahma, Indra (also known as Sakka) and Prithvi."
Yaksha has an entry: They are a broad class of nature spirits.
Nagas are another class of demigods.
Garudas are bird like creatures
Tusita is the 4th of 6 realms.
Buddhist Cosmology is another large Wikipedia entry. Not even sure if this graphic helps although you can find Tusita on it:
Now I understand that the mythology gets developed in Mahayana and beyond, but I wonder if there are any early works on Theravada mythology.
I like the ancient Greek/Roman gods and goddesses. And I have enjoyed a Mahayana journey through the Bodhisattvas. I rack my mind for Buddhist examples of books:
Joan Halifax has a great Jungian Buddhist book, The Fruitful Darkness.
I did find a book by Sujato White Bones Red Rot Black Snakes is about the feminine in early mythology.
Vessantara's Meeting The Buddhas was excellent. I guess I need to reread that one.
I ordered Ka by Roberto Calasso because it's about Buddhist mythology embedded in Hindu mythology which would be about right for those times, and because I could get an inexpensive copy. "The fundamental thematic concept of his oeuvre is the relationship between myth and the emergence of modern consciousness." Seems to be about what I'm looking for.
Please add any references you think might be helpful. Might have to write what I need myself. But when I read these names at the top, I feel nothing, so I'd like to build up my mythological knowledge so that I felt something reading the text.
I also want to develop an American mythology of Buddhism. Who is Paul Bunyan in Buddhist mythology?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment