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October 8 , 2003
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Sacred Songs
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Posted at 07:24 EST
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Three Tantric Buddhist Women's Songs (8th - 11th c.)
"Upon coming into a state of awakened mind (often after years of disciplined practice), many women practitioners of Tantric Buddhism in India would spontaneously speak or sing of their experience.... These poems were recorded by others present at the time, and some have been preserved in volumes assembled by Tibetan-speaking-women--a rare example of women prior to our own time deliberately collecting the poetry and teachings of other women explicitly because they were women."
1
KYE HO! Wonderful!
Lotus pollen wakes up in the heart's center--
The bright flower is free from mud.
Where do the color and fragrance come from?
What reason now to accept them or turn away?
2
WHO SPEAKS the sound of an echo?
Who paints the image in a mirror?
Where are the spectacles in a dream?
Nowhere at all -- that's the nature of mind!
3
KYE HO! Wonderful!
You may say "existence," but you can't grasp it!
You may say "nonexistence" but many things appear!
It is beyond the sky of "existence" and "nonexistence" --
I know it but cannot point to it!
From SACRED SONGS by Early Taoist and Buddhist Women Poets, poems from a large collection of sacred songs by women called: "Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women," edited and with introductions by Jane Hirschfield (HarperPerennial, 1996).
Illustration: from the CD-ROM, KYOTO GARDENS: A VIRTUAL STROLL THROUGH ZEN LANDSCAPES, produced by LUNAFLORA, 1996
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October 7 , 2003
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Saraswati
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Posted at 06:00 EST
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Saraswati is the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge. Saraswati literally means "one who gives the essence (sara) of our own Self (swa)". The goddess Saraswati is always referred to as extremely beautiful, fair complexioned, with four arms, ever youthful and gracious looking. Her color is white, the color of peace. Her robe and appearance show serenity.
She is represented as sitting on a lotus accompanied by her swan. She holds the sacred scripture (standing for sciences and learning) in one hand and a lotus, a rosary or a water pot in the other, symbols of the spiritual sciences and the religious rites With the third and fourth hands she plays the Indian lute (veena), symbolizing the arts, especially the musical arts.
The seat of the lotus indicates that the Goddess is firmly established in the experience of the supreme Reality. She is rooted in Truth which the lotus represents. By holding the lotus in her hand Saraswati indicates to man the supreme goal that he should reach in his life time, the goal of self-realization. The path of that goal is shown by her other hands: the path of knowledge and the path of devotion.
The path of knowledge is shown by the sacred book. This path is called gnana marga in Sanskrit. By careful study and reflection the seeker unravels the mystery of his inner life until he reaches the core of his supreme Self. This path is meant for the intellectuals.
The path of devotion is called bhakti marga. This path also leads to the goal of self realization. This is meant for those who are predominantly devotional, who use their heart to sing praises of their Lord. Through music, keertans or bhajans they maintain a single-pointed devotion to the Lord and thereby attain godhood. This is indicated by Saraswati playing the veena.
The four hands of the Goddess represent the four aspects of the inner personality of man namely manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), aharnkar (ego) and chitta (conditioned-consciousness).
In the Vedas, Saraswati’s character and attributes are associated with the mighty Saraswati River. She is the earliest example of a goddess who is associated with a river in the Indian tradition suggesting the sacrality inherent in rivers or water in general. The symbolism of water is associated in Vedic descriptions of Saraswati with bounty and fertility. Her waters enrich the land so that they can produce. Saraswati also represents purity, as does water, particularly running water. It is stated frequently in the Vedas that the banks of Saraswati were especially sacred for ritual purposes. This also suggests the purifying powers of the river.
The river as a metaphor: another particular association with rivers in Hindu and Buddhist thought (and others!) is the imagery of crossing from the world of ignorance or bondage to the far shore, which represents the world of enlightenment or freedom. The river in this metaphor represents the state of transition, the period of birth, in which the spiritual sojourner undergoes a crucial metamorphosis. The river represents a great purifying power in which the pilgrim drowns his old self and is born anew, free and enlightened – a kind of baptism, as in Christian beliefs?
In later Vedic literature she is also related as the goddess of speech, known as Vak. The entire creative process is said to be held in the sacred syllable OM, and the idea of creation proceeding from shabda –brahman (ultimate reality in the form of sound) is often mentioned in the ancient texts. A mantra too, which may consist of words or of sounds alone, is said to possess great power. Indeed, the mantra of a given deity is declared to be equivalent to the deity itself. To pronounce a mantra is to make the deity present. Therefore, Saraswati embodies this potent quality of sound, and the Goddess is present wherever speech exists: poetry, literature, sacred rituals, and rational communication between individuals.
Adapted from Lakshmi and Saraswati - Tales in Mythology and Art
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October 6 , 2003
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The Lotus
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Posted at 12:12 EST
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"Rooted in the mud but blossoming above the water, completely uncontaminated by the mud, the lotus represents spiritual perfection and authority. Furthermore, the lotus seat is a common motif in Hindu and Buddhist iconography. The gods and goddesses, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, typically sit or stand upon a lotus, which suggests their spiritual authority. To be seated upon or to be otherwise associated with the lotus suggests that the being in question: God, Buddha, or human being-has transcended the limitations of the finite world (the mud of existence, as it were) and floats freely in a sphere of purity and spirituality."
From an article on Lakshmi and Saraswati (tales on Mythology and Art) |
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