I came across a book on stories and poems about Kuan Yin and was quite amused to read that in some Buddhist and Taoist temples, people worship statues and paintings of Monkey, Pigsy, and the pilgrim, Tripitaka. The authors suggest that they are based on a religious text that was originally written as a humorous novel called Journey to the West in the 16th century in China. The novel was based on an actual pilgrim, Hsuan Tsang (c. AD 596-664) who journeyed to India to fetch the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures to bring them back to China. The author of the novel added stories of the Monkey king, Pigsy and other characters as protective companions to the pilgrim. The novel was written for the Buddhist scholarly class who patronized such works in that period during which the literary arts thrived. It was not about actual beings and was never intended to be a religious text. The wonderful characters invented for the novel have now become a part of the pantheon of gods, inseparable from the historical pilgrim and are worshiped by people today.
This anecdote reminded me of a story one of my teachers used to tell. In short, it is about how some rituals come into being, empty of meaning but are blindly practiced without questioning their origin. The humorous story tells of the ritual of tying up a cat to a tree in the yard whenever students gather for spiritual discourses. In the early days when their master was still alive, he owned a cat that made loud noises, disturbing the master and the students. He ordered that the cat be tied up outside before the students arrive for the discourses. Since then, even after the cat and the master died, a cat was always tied up before discourses began.
These thoughts led to a lively discussion in our house about how a myth creates a culture. There are many cultures based on a myth that has become the basis of reality for that culture. In the West, it is Christianity, in the East, it is predominantly Buddism, Taoism, Hinduism and Islam. Though today, the myth of political and economic power has largely replaced religion in the West and is beginning to erode the traditional cultures in Asia.
The discussion continued on to the ridiculous notion, that perhaps many centuries from now, Harry Potter would be worshiped as the protector of young people. This led to another discussion on how saints and other deities come to be. We wondered how much of the ability to bestow miracles come from the power invested in them by their worshipers.
Joseph Campbell said “The gods and goddesses then are to be understood as embodiments and custodians of the elixir of Imperishable Being but not themselves the Ultimate in its primary state. What the hero seeks through his intercourse with them is therefore not finally themselves, but their grace, i.e., the power of their sustaining substance. This miraculous energy-substance and this alone is the Imperishable; the names and forms of the deities who everywhere embody, dispense, and represent it come and go. This is the miraculous energy of the thunderbolts of Zeus, Yahweh, and the Supreme Buddha, the fertility of the rain of Viracocha, the virtue announced by the bell rung in the Mass at the consecration, and the light of the ultimate illumination of the saint and sage. Its guardians dare release it only to the duly proven.”
Many miraculous stories are recorded about people who invoke Kuan Yin and are protected from disaster even though there is confusion around this deity. It is said that Kuan Yin who is widely worshiped in Asia as the goddess of compassion today, is the same masculine deity, Avalokita the Bodhisattva of Compassion of Indian and Tibetan lore. When Buddhism came to China, Avalokita was called Kuan Yin and worshiped as a male deity. Years later, Kuan Yin was depicted in a female form by artists and since then, Avalokita has been visualized in this female form and confused with the legendary Chinese Princess Miao Shan, a compassionate being. The Princess Miao Shan legends have since been assimilated into the legends of Kuan Yin. Perhaps the deities such as Kuan Yin have extraordinary power because so many people over the centuries hold the belief of their divinity and have therefore become the vehicles for the bestowal of grace. Does it matter if people pray to Kuan Yin or the Monkey god, Pigsy or the pilgrim, Tripitaka? And is it our search for the miraculous that create the manifestations of such visitations as the Lady of Guadeloupe which then becomes a powerful cult based on the vision of one person?
This is a fascinating subject and I reflect on what the Dalai Lama said in the movie, Short Cut To Nirvana, that people should not convert from one religion to another because they are all the same. Thich Nhat Hanh has also said that changing religions is not advisable because our grounding is shaken when we separate from our family roots. This topic continues to play in my mind about religion and its origins. Does it matter what religion we participate in since it is the “elixir of Imperishable Being” we are after?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I see that we make everything up, but I find that nothing is empty, but truly has a lot of meaning behind it. However, much of it has become unconscious, but it is still there. The cat being tied up, to me, is a metaphor for tieing up one’s independance to join in on group thinking or perhaps to even control the independent wandering mind.
Ritual is very powerful. Through intense focus and emotional release, we summon to us the manifestations and experiences we wish to place ourselves into. They become magical spells that attract to us that which we feel in the moment. They are a proven methodology of directing the energy within the world.
The monkey king story would also make sense to me. As I travel along the landscape upon my pilgrimages, I often summon up the image of a mountain goat. By taking in this energy, I flow upon the rocky landscapes as if I were a goat my self. So perhaps if one were to summon a monkey king, he would be king of the jungle as he traveled, warding off any bad experiences. ? Monkeys are flexible and can evade predators more easily than humans. ?
Its definitely an interesting discussion. We worship that which we place our faith upon and that which we siphon our energy towards.
This is a great post which poses some universal questions. It is our belief which creates, therefore it matters not what we call our belief, it matters what intent is behind the belief for that is what will create our version of reality.
Hello Bern,
You never fail to open up my understanding to a new dimension!
Yes ritual is a powerful means to transcend the density of the physical to other possibilities. Knowing the meaning behind the ritual brings even more potency to the practice. I like your suggestions for the cat ritual and perhaps it was meaningful to the students even though the story was meant to illustrate our lack of awareness in performing rituals.
I have used symbols successfully like you mention, imagining yourself to be a mountain goat. The power of the mind to take on the characteristics that we meditate on are remarkable. These are the teachings that are missing from our education of young people, that we become like what we put our faith and energy into.
Thanks for sharing a broader perspective with your wise words!
Hello Mark,
I agree, these thoughts do pose some questions that may put into perspective much of the suffering and pain that we inflict on others because of the beliefs that we base our reality on.
We will know peace in the world when we come closer to the “elixir of Imperishable Being” and know that we are all one and the same though we go by many names.
Deep peace to you!
Religion — a stepping stone or an obstacle? with due respect to all religious aspects, personally, i feel, all these got originated to transcend the individual to the unlimited, boundryless source. may be, some of the human mind in due course, got stuck with the surface and became bound in religion and rituals. The source , the ultimate gets lost in this process.
The one who is aware of this, neither rejects any religion nor can be bound by it.
I think its good to note that most people don’t understand what they are doing from moment to moment. When we engage in a pattern, in essence, we are engaging in a ritual. We are under a spell. The spell is broken when we can rise above the circle and see what we are up to. So when we become unconscious about our actions and don’t understand the root of our daily activities, then we become a slave to them. So if the cat that you mentioned continues to be showcased, the energy of the spell then influences those who brush up again its field of energy.
Another example of a spell or ritual is when Jesus of Nazarath takes the bread and the wine and summons the Christ Consciousness to enter him. I was raised catholic as a child, and from what I can see looking back at this ritual, most people, if they take this ritual to heart, and believe in it, will invoke a different Christ energy taught in the churches that I visited. In this case, they may be taking in energy of a man that is a martyr or sufferer on the cross or someone who takes in the sins of others. This energy is powerful too, but it is not Christ Consciousness. Therefore, we must be careful what energy we ingest from moment to moment. When we get excited while creating or conducting a ritual, the outcomes are always amplified.
Miruh,
This is a great topic to share, because as you spoke about, society gets wrapped up in ritual while loosing the meaning behind it. Perhaps this is because people take a message that is meant to empower them along their path, and turn it into an external power that they are expecting to save them.
One could step back and look at any ritual that they, or others perform. What do you see as the true meaning behind that ritual? How do you think it turned into the mindlessly performed pattern it is today? Ritual can be a powerful tool along your journey, but it is always wise to be aware of what you are practicing, and why.
Hello Merging Point,
I think it is impossible to argue about religion when all people have different ways of seeing the world. For some, their world-view is either black or white. For others they see the deeper meaning behind religion and its myths which point to the source. I like what you say, “The one who is aware of this, neither rejects any religion nor can be bound by it.”
Thanks for bringing your wisdom to the discussion.
Namaste!
Hello Bern,
Thanks for returning to add to the discussion.
This is a good point, even an empty ritual can lead to deeper awareness by virtue of the empowerment invested in it by those who practice it. I think that what you are saying is similar to what the Hindus believe. By repeating a mantra that has been given to you by an enlightened master, it will bear fruit because it has been enlivened by the master who attained enlightenment through its repetition.
The ritual of breaking bread and drinking wine is one of the most misunderstood. I too was raised Catholic and was always in awe of the moment of the offering. Years later I came to some understanding of the deeper meaning of this beautiful ritual. That it is about transformation, going beyond the mundane and becoming one with the divine.
Your thoughts continue to provoke a deeper contemplation.
Love and blessings!
Hello Stacey,
What you say is true. Many people would rather be locked into a ritual that has no meaning for them because they are afraid of not doing it. How will they find meaning in life, what can they hold on to, if the precepts they were given don’t make sense anymore and they have nothing to replace them with? This is the time for transformation to a new paradigm, one that only the brave-hearted undertake.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Love and blessings!
I love the photo of the water and it reminds me of the permeability of Kuan Yin myths. She/he seems to be the miracle people need when they are lost.
I have a collection of stories about her in a folder somewhere. One of my favorite stories was written by a man who describes becoming lost while hiking on a mountainside in Tibet. It started to snow as twilight fell and he began to freeze. Suddenly, a woman appeared with a lantern and showed him the way to a cave. There was a warm fire in the cave and a warm rug for him to wrap up in. When he awoke in the morning he was in a bare, stone cave and no one else was there. This is a true story btw.
You have a lovely blog and thank you for coming to visit mine now and then.
Best Wishes
Hello Princess Haiku,
I love this story! It really baffles the mind about the nature of reality. There are many planes of existence that sometimes merge with the one we call “real.” Princess Haiku knows all about these.
Thanks for dropping in and sharing this beauty!
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