Transcript FAR EAST AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

FAR EAST AND THE
PACIFIC ISLANDS
India, China, Japan, Polynesia
Hawaii
Myths of India
Myths of India
• VISHNU-associated with the sun
Many images of Vishnu exist
Myths of India
• Rudra is associated with storms
Many images of Rudra also
HINDU= REINCARNATION
• VISHNU IS IN THREE FORMS:
– AS BRAHMA,THE CREATOR OF LIFE ON EARTH
– AS VISHNU, THE PRESERVER OF LIFE ON EARTH
– AS SHIVA-RUDRA –THE DESTROYER OF LIFE ON
EARTH
Reincarnation
VISHNU
• Vishnu often descends to earth and becomes
reincarnated as a human hero to protect gods
and mortals against the forces of evil beings
(demons)
Hindu= reincarnation
birth
Rebirth
maturity
death
4 stages of life on earth
Krita Ugavirtue and
moral
perfection
Treta Ugavirtue and
moral
perfection
declined
Kali Ugawealth and
sex
Dvapara Ugadisease and
death
First stage
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Krita Yuga
Age of virtue, moral perfection
Dharma walks steadily on all 4 feet
Everyone is good and lives happy, contented,
unselfish, and beautiful life
Krita Yuga
Second Stage
• Moral perfection still exists but walks less
steadily
• Dharma is only on 3 legs
• People are devoted to the pursuit of
knowledge
Treta Yuga
Third stage
• Dvapara Uga-eternal dharma totters
unsteadily on 2 feet
• Virtue and moral perfection have declined
• People devote themselves to sacrifice-which
they consider to be the highest virtue
• People have become more passionate and
greedy and war is common
Dvapara Yuga
Fourth Stage
• Kali Yuga-people achieve rank in society based
on money and property and not on moral
virtue
• Virtue is measured by material wealth
• Sexual passion alone binds husband and wife
• People become successful by lies
• Their only enjoyment is sex
• There is hunger, disease, death
Kali Yuga
At the end of stage 4
• Vishnu will end all 3 worlds:
– heaven,
– Earth
– Underworld
Only the great god Vishnu will remain
After Vishnu destroys all
• First with fire, then with floods, all is
destroyed.
• Then a large golden egg will appear
• Vishnu will awaken
• A large lotus flower comes out of his navel in
the form of Brahma-creator of life on earth
• He will break open the egg to initiate the
rebirth process
3 stages
Brahma
creator of
the world
Shiva
Rudradestroyer
of life
Vishnu
protector
of humans
CHINESE MYTHS
• NOT AS OLD AS OTHERS BECAUSE THE
EMPORER IN 213 BC BURNED ALL BOOKS
• FROM ABOUT 200 BC TO 200 AD THE
EMPORERS INSTITUTED CONFUCIANISM AS
THE STATE RELIGION.
• CONFUCIANISM RELIES MORE ON THOUGHT
AND PHILOSOPHY
Yin Yang symbol
• The circle represents Tao - the
undifferentiated Unity out of which all of
existence arises. The black and white halves
within the circle represent Yin-qi and Yang-qi the primordial feminine and
masculine energies whose interplay gives birth
to the manifest world: to the Five
Elements and Ten-Thousand Things.
Yin Yang
In Chinese Myth, the universe is
two parts only
• The creation myth of Pangu shows creation
out of chaos
• It shows that order is preserved
• This order comes from yin/yang (sunlit vs
shaded)
• Yin/yang also represent heaven and earth
Creation of earth
• Story of Pangu
• Pangu was formed from within the dark mass
of an egg
• He decided to bring order into the universe
• Yang rose and yin sank
• Pangu decided he had to hold up the heavens
or life would not be able to exist on earth
Story of Pangu
When Pangu laid down to sleep..
• The earth formed from Pangu
– Head and feet-mountains
– Hair on his head and eyebrows-planets and stars
– Left eye-the sun
– Right eye-the moon
– Flesh-soil
– Blood-oceans and rivers
Also…
– His teeth and bones-rocks. Minerals,gems
– Breath-clouds and wind
– Voice-lightning and thunder
– Perspiration-rain and dew
– Hair on his body-trees, plants and flowers
– Parasites on his skin-animals and fish
Mother Goddess Nugua
• She created the first people
• She herself looked human except that she had
the tail of a dragon
• Note: she made two different kind of peoplesome more superior than others. (those she
made one at a time were richer and more
intellectual)
Mother Goddess-Nugua
Quest for the Sun
hero: Bao Chu
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Like other heroes, he:
Has unusual birth
His growth is unusual
He has a huge task (to cover the sun)
His task will lead to fertility of the earth
He is willing to sacrifice himself for society
Quest for the sun
Bao Chu also
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Has a number of trials
These trials show his remarkable strength
Also his creative intelligence
He achieves great fame
He is mortal, so he does die;, but not until he
saves the world
• His mother, Hui Niang is also a heroine
JAPANESE MYTH
• Similar to the Chinese Yin/Yang, the Japanese
myth tells us that, in the beginning, the world
was like a shapeless egg.
• The lighter part remained above and became
heaven
• The denser part sank below and became earth
• From a floating object came the first god-the
two youngest: Iznagi and iznami\
Japanese Creation story
Izanagi and Izanami
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Married each other
Had a horrible child they set loose in a boat
Learned from the gods, Izanami’s proper place
Then they had 8 lovely children that made up
the land we know as Japan
• They also created the wind, the beautiful
mountains, brooks, and streams
Izanami and Izanagi
Amaterasu
• Together they created the goddess of the sun,
Amaratsu Omikami
• She was so beautiful that she went to heaven
• Then they created the god of the moon and
he would become Amaterasu’s husband
• Unfortunately they created some more
children who were not so pleasant and
became rulers of the underworld and of fire
Amaterasu
Myths of Polynesia and Maori
• To be continued