Joseph Campbell interviews.

Tiamat the Dragon

All across the globe images of dragons appear in ancient culture’s folk tales, myths, ceremonies and decorations. In childhood we are told stories of fearless knights rescuing damsels from evil dragons. Dragons are always treacherous, however they also are providers. “Chinese dragons are rain-producing…in India too the serpent kings guard both the waters of immortality and the treasures of earth” (Campbell 120 CM). The Maya viewed serpents as a “channel between the natural and supernatural realm” (Laughton 115). Once the dragon has been slain, subdued or controlled, they provide a doorway to treasure. Dragons appear as a common theme in almost every culture and in the “legends of Perseus and Andromeda, Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, Siegfried and Fafnir, Beowulf and Grendel” (17 S.E. Hooke).

Explanations for the appearance of dragons could be that ancient people simply found dinosaur remains and incorporated said remains into their lives. Maybe dragons were real. This pattern may have also been derived from Tiamat; a dragon from the ancient culture of Babylon:

Tiamat “is a huge, bloated female dragon that personifies the saltwater ocean, the water of Chaos.” At the dawn of Babylonian creation “nothing existed except Apsu, the sweet-water ocean, and Tiamat, the salt water ocean” (S.E. Hooke 42). These two beings exist alongside the void. They form a union and from that union the other gods are created. Not only are the gods created but also conflict. Now that there are others, Apsu and Tiamat are disturbed by the noisiness of all the young gods. So like any good parent, Apsu decides to destroy them. Apsu’s plan is “disclosed to the gods who are alarmed” (S.E.Hooke 43). The young gods devise a counter attack. The god Ea “casts a spell of sleep upon Apsu (and) slays him” (S.E. Hooke 43). Ea creates a fortress to rest in after the battle. He resides “in profound peace. In this chamber the birth of Marduk takes place” (S.E. Hooke 43). Marduk is beautiful and strong. Marduk would have to rely on his tremendous strength because Tiamat is angered with Apsu’s death and begins to build an army. Tiamat “begets a horde of monstrous beings, such as the scorpion-man and the centaur” (S.E. Hooke 43). The gods are faced with how to deal with these newly born monsters and an angry Tiamat. Marduk, born from the gods who slew Apsu, is given the challenge to fight against Tiamat. In return, he will be recognized as a king among the gods. Marduk arms himself to the teeth with “bow and arrows, mace, lightning and a net held at the corners by the seven raging hurricanes” (44 S.E. Hooke). Riding a storm chariot into battle, he confronts the horde of monsters and “challenges Tiamat to single combat; he casts his net to enclose her, and when she opens her mouth to swallow him he drives in the evil wind to distend her and transfixes her with his arrow, splitting her heart” (S.E. Hooke 45). By killing Tiamat, the hero has slain the dragon bringing great reward. Marduk “takes…the tablets of destiny and fastens them upon his own breast, thus assuming supreme authority among the gods” (S.E. Hooke). A great boon is not only bestowed upon Marduk in his supreme power, but mankind as well. Marduk creates the Earth from the slain dragon’s body and then follows this act by actually creating human beings to inhabit the Earth and serve the gods.

Campbell, Joseph. Creative Mythology. New York: Penguin, 1976.

Hooke, Samuel H. Middle Eastern Mythology. Baltimore: Penguin, 1968.

Laughton, Timothy. The Maya. New York: Barnes And Noble, 2004.

The Bhagavad-Gita

"Just as one sun illumines this entire world, so the master of the field illumines the entire field."-Lord Krishna

Tales of Creation: The Void

Many of the world’s creation myths share common patterns and themes. There may be a central myth that all myths sprang from, sharing the same origin point as mankind. During the evolution of the human species, language developed as oral tradition. Written language could have originated long after oral tradition developed. Over long periods of time societies began to emerge. They each developed their own language and script. Along with language and writing, religion flourished. Common themes and patterns in mythos could be caused by developing societies influencing or borrowing from other civilizations, or it simply could be coincidence. It could also be that these myths originate from one common myth; a single myth that developed shares the origin point of mankind. This myth started as an oral tradition shared by the first tribes of mankind. This myth could have been changed over time, growing and morphing according to the person retelling the myth until the myth barley resembled what was originally said, like playing a game of “telephone” or “pass it along.”

In the outset there seems to have been nothingness, some call it “chaos; a rough, unordered mass of things, nothing at all but lifeless bulk and warring seeds of ill-matched elements heaped in one” (Ovid 3). Some describe nothingness as a vast cosmic ooze or cloud. The ancient Mayas believed “according to the sixteenth-century-CE Popol Vuh, in the beginning nothing existed except the sky and a vast primordial ocean” (Laughton 94). There is an ancient Chinese myth where “Before heaven and earth had become separated from each other, everything was a great ball of mist, called chaos” (Campbell 223). In many myths, beings and planets spring from the void. In a Maori myth, the earth and sky extend “from the nothing the begetting, from the nothing the increase, from the nothing the abundance, the power of increasing, the living Breath. It dwelt with the empty space, and produced the atmosphere which is above us” (Campbell 234). If creation is not a child of the void, then in many myths it exists along side it. The Tahitian god Ta’aroa had no place of origin, he “simply lived in the void” (Campbell 238). Ta’aroa existed in an egg or shell and from this he created the world and placed it in the void. “There was no land, nor sky, nor sea. Land was nebulous: there was no foundation” (Campbell 238). Once Ta’aroa broke from his shell or egg he used the shell to shape the earth. Creation takes shape out of the darkness by God’s works. “In the beginning god created the sky and the earth. The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s spirit was moving the water” (Genesis 1:1). God fills the emptiness physically. He shapes the planet physically from the cosmic egg, or by using his own hands to gather elements present in the void.

Whether God existed before the void, created the void or sprang from the void, many myths acknowledge nothingness at the beginning of time, or man’s conception of time once he is created. The void and other commonalities in myths and religion are important in understanding the culture and history of man. If clear links can be made and traced through historical evidence, maybe one day a single myth can be discovered as the creator of creation myths.

Painting-Giovanni di Paolo, 1445

Refernces

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With A Thousand Faces. n.d.

Holy Bible New Century Version. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2003.

Laughton, Timothy. The Maya. New York: Barnes And Noble, 2004.

Ovid, Publius. The Metamorphoses. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2005.

Abandoned cars and houses litter the hillside.
Pillars extend out of the ground waiting for a fence to
be built around them. The signs warn of mountain roads.
Slow speeds traveling along cathartic, rocky mounds and snake winding trucks
spackled with mud. A paint bucket exploded along the long stretching blackness,
leaving one spot tie-died white, as if this was the only spot in the world where it snowed.
The road bends on forever. Chasing the virgin river now soiled by wheels and asphalt.

(written on my phone, while descending into the gorge.)

I'm staying in a home my parents have recently built in Utah. The desert is beautiful. Every time I look outside I am moved. I feel so connected to my soul. I want to wander into the desert naked. So if I ever disappear, just come find me in Utah and go mad with me.

The Skeleton in Armor

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


"Speak! speak I thou fearful guest
Who, with thy hollow breast
Still in rude armor drest,
Comest to daunt me!
Wrapt not in Eastern balms,
Bat with thy fleshless palms
Stretched, as if asking alms,
Why dost thou haunt me?"

Then, from those cavernous eyes
Pale flashes seemed to rise,
As when the Northern skies
Gleam in December;
And, like the water's flow
Under December's snow,
Came a dull voice of woe
From the heart's chamber.

"I was a Viking old!
My deeds, though manifold,
No Skald in song has told,
No Saga taught thee!
Take heed, that in thy verse
Thou dost the tale rehearse,
Else dread a dead man's curse;
For this I sought thee.

"Far in the Northern Land,
By the wild Baltic's strand,
I, with my childish hand,
Tamed the gerfalcon;
And, with my skates fast-bound,
Skimmed the half-frozen Sound,
That the poor whimpering hound
Trembled to walk on.

"Oft to his frozen lair
Tracked I the grisly bear,
While from my path the hare
Fled like a shadow;
Oft through the forest dark
Followed the were-wolf's bark,
Until the soaring lark
Sang from the meadow.

"But when I older grew,
Joining a corsair's crew,
O'er the dark sea I flew
With the marauders.
Wild was the life we led;
Many the souls that sped,
Many the hearts that bled,
By our stern orders.

"Many a wassail-bout
Wore the long Winter out;
Often our midnight shout
Set the cocks crowing,
As we the Berserk's tale
Measured in cups of ale,
Draining the oaken pail,
Filled to o'erflowing.

"Once as I told in glee
Tales of the stormy sea,
Soft eyes did gaze on me,
Burning yet tender;
And as the white stars shine
On the dark Norway pine,
On that dark heart of mine
Fell their soft splendor.

"I wooed the blue-eyed maid,
Yielding, yet half afraid,
And in the forest's shade
Our vows were plighted.
Under its loosened vest
Fluttered her little breast
Like birds within their nest
By the hawk frighted.

"Bright in her father's hall
Shields gleamed upon the wall,
Loud sang the minstrels all,
Chanting his glory;
When of old Hildebrand
I asked his daughter's hand,
Mute did the minstrels stand
To hear my story.

"While the brown ale he quaffed,
Loud then the champion laughed,
And as the wind-gusts waft
The sea-foam brightly,
So the loud laugh of scorn,
Out of those lips unshorn,
From the deep drinking-horn
Blew the foam lightly.

"She was a Prince's child,
I but a Viking wild,
And though she blushed and smiled,
I was discarded!
Should not the dove so white
Follow the sea-mew's flight,
Why did they leave that night
Her nest unguarded?

"Scarce had I put to sea,
Bearing the maid with me,
Fairest of all was she
Among the Norsemen!
When on the white sea-strand,
Waving his armed hand,
Saw we old Hildebrand,
With twenty horsemen.

"Then launched they to the blast,
Bent like a reed each mast,
Yet we were gaining fast,
When the wind failed us;
And with a sudden flaw
Came round the gusty Skaw,
So that our foe we saw
Laugh as he hailed us.

"And as to catch the gale
Round veered the flapping sail,
Death I was the helmsman's hail,
Death without quarter!
Mid-ships with iron keel
Struck we her ribs of steel
Down her black hulk did reel
Through the black water!

"As with his wings aslant,
Sails the fierce cormorant,
Seeking some rocky haunt
With his prey laden,
So toward the open main,
Beating to sea again,
Through the wild hurricane,
Bore I the maiden.

"Three weeks we westward bore,
And when the storm was o'er,
Cloud-like we saw the shore
Stretching to leeward;
There for my lady's bower
Built I the lofty tower,
Which, to this very hour,
Stands looking seaward.

"There lived we many years;
Time dried the maiden's tears
She had forgot her fears,
She was a mother.
Death closed her mild blue eyes,
Under that tower she lies;
Ne'er shall the sun arise
On such another!

"Still grew my bosom then.
Still as a stagnant fen!
Hateful to me were men,
The sunlight hateful!
In the vast forest here,
Clad in my warlike gear,
Fell I upon my spear,
O, death was grateful!

"Thus, seamed with many scars,
Bursting these prison bars,
Up to its native stars
My soul ascended!
There from the flowing bowl
Deep drinks the warrior's soul,
Skoal! to the Northland! skoal!"
Thus the tale ended.

"The Vikings lived in Scandinavia from around A.D. 750 to 1100. They are best known for their sea voyages and violent raids of churches and monasteries in Britain and France. The Norsemen also traveled to North America around A.D. 1000, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus set foot in the New World." Not only were Vikings the forerunners of Europe in coming to the New World and in having superior religion. They where ahead of the times in dental hygiene area as well. In 2006 "A Swedish anthropologist analyzed 557 Viking skeletons dating from A.D. 800 to 1050 and discovered that 24 of them bore deep, horizontal grooves across their upper front teeth. It's the first time that dental modification—a practice found in cultures around the world—has been seen in human skeletons from Europe."-Stefan Lovgren,for National Geographic News

If a viking ghost comes to visit you, it just wants to show you its teeth.

6/28/09

Today I visited the Higashi Hongaji Temple. It is a very beautiful and clean temple in Costa Mesa. The atmosphere is peaceful. The inside of the temple is adorned with amazing sculptures, statues, scrolls and iconography.

Each member of the temple that I encountered was very friendly and helpful. The sermon was given in English accompanied by a printed version of what was said. The Sensei was humble and insightful. This sect of Buddhism is very philosophical as opposed to being a ridged religious institution. I believe it is one of the most popular sects of Buddhism in Japan. The service began with a very long song lead by the Sensei who had a beautiful voice. The small congregation followed his chants and some offered incense at an altar. This seemed to be the only traditional activity taking place at the temple. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the song and had a hard time focusing on the translated text at the bottom of the book. I went from reading the Japanese words along with the group, to occasionally reading the English translation. Here are few quotes from the translation:

“Immeasurable is the light of wisdom, of all beings with limited attributes none is there unblessed by the light.”
“All those illuminated by the light are freed of being and non-being”-Buddha
“Enter the storehouse of dharma, and attain true wisdom as deep as the ocean.”

The Sensei's lesson was not very long. He had a very calming voice. He was not preaching; it was very different from christian sermons I've attended. There was no damnation or judgement in his voice, only a lesson on his point of view of Buddhism. The sermon was titled "Universal Truth." I have paraphrased what he said, adding some background information, comments and quotes...

“Judo Shinshu is a teaching for us commoners to seek the Buddhist way of living.
Buddha (awakened)-dharma (religion, philosophy or teaching) provides us the opportunity to reflect upon the falseness of our lives from the viewpoint of the truth, (Buddha’s view of truth).
“In India when Sakyamuni (Also known as Siddhartha Gautama was born 2,500 years ago in India achieved Buddha hood. However, he was not the first Buddha or the last. He taught that during this eon there would be 1,000 fully enlightened Buddha’s who would introduce Buddhism (after it has been totally forgotten). He then sat down in a place now called Bodhgaya (North India) under a Bodhi-tree and decided not to get up anymore until he discovered the truth. Just a short time later, he became a fully enlightened Buddha. This means that he actualized all positive potentials of a sentient being and rid himself of all negative qualities. With this, he realized the true nature of existence and suffering (emptiness), and how suffering can be ended. "Our teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, is one among the thousand Buddha’s of this eon. These Buddha’s were not Buddha’s from the beginning, but were once sentient beings like ourselves”-Dalai Lama,1)

was alive, the most popular belief was that every living being reincarnated over and over again…present incarnation was the result of the past incarnations…(the next incarnation was) determined by how they lived the present incarnation. This concept encourages people to behave in a good way, but at the same time it was used as an excuse for discrimination like the caste structure…moreover, popular religions were used to justify the discrimination. Distressed by this situation, Sakyamuni embarked on a journey to seek the truth because he realized the impermanence of life…seeing…aging, illness and death (of the poor class) 6 years later he awakened to become the Buddha…he found out that everything is interdependent, every moment…arising and the next moment another interdependent arising occurs. Our lives are also interdependent. I am who I am in relation to the conditions surrounding me in this moment…another “I” arises in relation to something else. Sakyamuni Buddha found the equality of every life in the concept of interrelatedness…He also found our sense of self is just an illusion…our sense of self is also called ego…ego creates many kinds of attachments like the concept of reincarnation. The falseness of ego is the source of all suffering we experience. ("One might compare the relation of the ego to the id with that between a rider and his horse. The horse provides the loco-motor energy, and the rider has the prerogative of determining the goal and of guiding the movements of his powerful mount towards it. But all too often in the relations between the ego and the id we find a picture of the less ideal situation in which the rider is obliged to guide his horse in the direction in which it itself wants to go."From New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, 1932.)

Historically speaking, we are living this moment because of countless lives of ancestors and countless species of animals and countless number of causes and conditions that created the lives on this planet. (Causes and conditions, society, agriculture and Evolution - "Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps."-Charles Darwin,On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection") The lives we are living are not our possessions...Life is living us…and we are sharing this moment with countless lives of people…we experience many kinds of sufferings…some are tragic and devastating. But from the Buddhist point of view, if we cannot appreciate the life we are living right now, it is the most tragic event. Our minds are easily distracted by…views, misconceptions and superstitions…Buddha tells us that they are just the projections of our own egos. (Apparent reality) Shinran Shonin expressed the essence of the…Buddha…in Bodhisattva Vasubandhu Wasan he states “Of those who encounter the power of the primal vow (Which states If, when I attain Buddha hood, sentient beings in the lands of the ten quarters who sincerely and joyfully entrust themselves to me, desire to be born in my land, and call my Name, even ten times, (This text could have created the ritual and importance of chanting Amida Buddha’s name. Many interpreted and taught that salvation could be attained by faithfully reciting the name of Amida Buddha. This form of Buddhism becomes appealing to the common people of Japan and other areas because it is simple. Even if you are a prostitute, beggar or suffer from other misfortunes of existence simply chanting Amida Buddha’s name brings peace and salvation, possibly meaning the escape from reincarnation. Some describe its purpose being “good for the health, and also leads us eventually to peace of mind”2. Even today, the key practice for Amida devotees is simply to chant Amida’s Nembutsu .3) should not be born there, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment. Excluded, however, are those who commit the five gravest offences and abuse the right Dharma.)
Not one passes by in Vain;
They are filled with the treasure ocean of virtues.
The defiled waters of their blind passions not separated from it”
“Only through our awakening to our falseness we can seek for the truth.”
(The Sensei told me his view of this was a...wish of the Buddha, (as a symbol) before he obtains enlightenment that all should turn towards enlightenment, turn their minds towards Buddha. Not by separating ourselves from “the defiled waters of their blind passions," like in many other Buddhist sects say to do, but by recognizing and utilizing these passions and our virtues we become enlightened. Once we see the falseness that surrounds.)

After the sermon the whole group gathered in a kitchen area for Green tea, cookies and cakes. It was a very humbling and unifying experience. I really enjoyed this temple and took to heart the profound message I received in my visit.

254 Victoria Street, Costa Mesa, California 92627

1.http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/buddha.html
2.http://www.manitobabuddhistchurch.org/