Once again we have the involvement of ‘angels’ at the point of conception or birth, as it seems to have happened with all the ancient prophets. When the Buddha's mother was about to give birth, she went for a walk in the garden. Four “pure-minded angels” appeared out of the blue and helped her bring the child into the world. The angels took the child, placed it in front of the mother and said: “Rejoice O queen, a mighty son has been born unto thee.” This was followed by a very similar event surrounding the birth of Christ. In that story, when Joseph returned to the cave with a midwife, the cave was ‘filled with light brighter than the sun’. The place surrounding the newly born Buddha experienced a similar event. “All the worlds were flooded with light.”
It certainly seems that the Anunnaki gods were there in greater numbers, observing the event and ‘shining some light on the subject’. Even the Buddha referred to ‘Heaven’ as being up in the sky. Why is that? Is it because that is where the gods would descend from and return to every now and then? “… One who looks up and spits at heaven; the spittle soils not the Heaven, but comes back and defiles his own person.”
But, just like all the other religions, there are many sects and cults in Buddhism. The two main ones are Theravada Buddhism which is practised in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kampuchea and Laos, while the other is Mahayana Buddhism practised mainly in China, Korea and Japan. In China we encounter Ch'an Buddhism and in Japan, Zen Buddhism, which are derivatives of the original Buddhist teachings introduced into China by an Indian monk called Bodhidharm around 500 AD. But Zen Buddhism in Japan only really took root in 1191 AD when a monk called Eisai established the first Rinzai school of Zen. Anew form of Buddhism called Shingon, began to emerge in Japan under the influence of Kukai who was born in 774 AD and is now regarded as the person responsible for the merging of Buddhism and Shinto, which became the feature of Japanese religion. But the concepts of compassion and salvation were much greater features of this new form of Buddhism, from which compassion and faith began to emerge as the most important tenets of the faith. Shinran was born in 1173, and later established Jodo Shinshu ‘The Pure Land Sect’. He became consumed with the struggle between the ‘good man’ and the ‘evil man’ in many ways absorbing much of Christianity. The subtle undertones of a place like ‘heaven’ is referred to in his teachings. “Even a bad man will be received in Buddha's land.”
There is one other fascinating aspect of the Buddhists that may have linked them to the Anunnaki for hundreds of thousands of years. Buddhists believe that a new Buddha comes along about every 5,000 years and the Buddhist tradition has a list of at least 24 Buddhas who preceded Buddha Gautama. This would give us a path of some 120,000 years back in time, approaching the origins of Humankind about 200,000 years ago. Is it possible that the human resistance to the Anunnaki masters' oppressive control over them could have begun so very long ago? This is obviously too much for any modern historian to digest, but the legends carry some overwhelming traditions and facts that will be very difficult to disprove or to come to terms with.
Shinto. Origin circa 500+ BC.
Ancient Japanese civilisation and their earliest semblances of religion, are truly fascinating, bearing instantly visible links to the prehistoric Anunnaki of the Sumerian tablets. The Japanese tradition talks about the age of ‘Kami’ which began with the emergence of the cosmos out of chaos, giving rise to the history of Humankind. The story continues with Ningi, the grandchild of the Sun Kami, who descended to the lower realms. It was his great grandson who later became the first emperor of Japan. The Sumerian tablets talk about a very similar set of events surrounding the creation of the heavens in the book of Enuma Elish (Epic of Creation), the great celestial battle in the sky during which Earth was created. After some time the Igigi, who were referred to as the “children of the stars”, descended from heaven to “marry the daughters of man” (Genesis) and in so-doing sped up the growth of the human population. Marduk was the son of Enki, who was the first settler on Earth, and destined to be the first commander of Earth. A further interesting thing is that from about 660 BC to around 600 AD, the authority lay with women rulers who acted as shamans or mediums. Could that be because the lands which included Japan were bestowed upon Inanna, Sumerian goddess of love and war, who was renowned for her enjoyment of wine, song and poetry? She was a strong, determined ‘goddess’ who ruled over the Indus Valley and spread her wings even further east as time went by. Japanese prehistoric mythology seems to gently transform into history without causing any ripples, claiming that Japan has a divine mission upon Earth. Fortunately, from around the 6th century AD, with the introduction of Buddhism into Japan, there are written documents to draw upon. Although Shinto was around before the arrival of Buddhism, they developed side by side in Japan but Shinto inherited many diverse influences from Mahayana Buddhists and other Indo-Chinese religions seeping into the region. In 1549 the Christians arrived to teach the heathens of Japan the story of their saviour. They were eventually banned from doing so by the first Japanese anti-Christian legislation in 1587. This caused the European powers to isolate Japan until Christian missions resumed in 1859.
The exact origins of Shinto are very blurry. The word Shinto is not a Japanese term, it was only coined in the 6thcentury AD to describe the older religious tradition “The way of the Kami”. It is described as Japan’s indigenous faith, similar to the many African indigenous faiths. Shinto is a religion closely tied to nature, which recognises the existence of various Kami, who are deities of nature. And once again we find immediate parallels to the gods of Sumer; taking control of different aspects of life and controlling Humankind in various ways. Their names may be different, but their functions and influence certainly were not. Kami is often translated as god, which is not really correct. Some Japanese scholars go as far as saying it is impossible to define the word Kami. Even Japanese people themselves do not have a clear idea regarding Kami. They are simply aware of it intuitively. If we accept this kind of logic, believing in something intuitively, should we not rethink our arrogant approach towards the possible existence of the ancient Sumerian gods, who were certainly not ‘intuitive’ but well documented in hundreds of thousands clay tablets? One Japanese scholar describes Kami as such. “All things whatsoever which deserve to be dreaded and revered for the extraordinary and pre-eminent powers which they possess, are called Kami.” Shinto shrines are frequented by ‘miko’ who are female shrine attendants, performing a ritual dance which symbolises the worshippers of that specific shrine. Is it coincidence that the goddess Inanna was the proponent of dance and music and such activities were also encouraged at her temples in Mesopotamia thousands of years earlier?
Shinto has many deity gods. Two of the leading deities are Izanagi and Izanami, who gave birth to the Japanese islands and whose children became the deities of the various Japanese clans. One of their daughters, Amaterasu (Sun Goddess), is the ancestress of the Imperial Family and is regarded as the chief deity. All the Kami sustain and protect. They are not seen as separate from humanity due to sin because humanity is “Kami's Child”. Followers of Shinto desire peace and believe that all human life is sacred. They revere ‘musuhi’, the Kami's creative and harmonising powers, and aspire to have ‘makoto’ – sincerity or true heart. Morality is based upon that which benefits the group. Shinto has four affirmations:
Tradition and family: The family is the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved.
Love of nature: Nature is sacred and natural objects are to be worshipped as sacred spirits.
Physical cleanliness: They must take baths, wash their hands and rinse their mouth regularly.
‘Matsuri’: A festival which honours the spirits.
The behaviour of Shinto people when entering a shrine is fascinating and raises many questions about the origins of such unusual rituals. Once again the similarity between Sumerian temple offerings and Shinto are remarkable. We read in Sumerian tablets how particular those gods were about their choice of food an
d drink, which they wanted to be offered in their temples. They also wanted a comfortable bed, a garden with trees for shade; a spring or rock pool with fresh water; a bath or cleansing area, and all had to be kept clean, neat and tidy. The Shinto gods in their shrines have obviously demanded a similar kind of service, which is evident in the customs surrounding the entering of, and worshipping in the shrines. You must wash your hands and mouth at a natural spring in the shrine or a rock pool. You can make a petition, request or ask a question, but it is preferred if you submit it in writing. Could this be so that the ‘god’ did not actually have to be present while you lament about your own hardship? You should present your offering, which in ancient times was preferably food. Today it is more symbolic, often giving money. Is it not amazing that the gods of Japan had the same materialistic needs as the gods of Sumer?
Confucianism. Origin circa 500 BC.
China stands alone among the world's great civilisations, developing almost in total isolation from the rest. It adds a deep mystery to the Great Human Puzzle and is a real marvel to behold. The Chinese people speak a language that has no affinities with any other language group. It is written in a script invented by the Chinese themselves, and is unlike any other. The script can be read all over China, irrespective of the dialect of the speaker, because the script is ideographic and therefore ancient scripts can be read with ease today. There are three major religions in China. Confucianism and Taoism, which had been in existence for at least 500 years before Buddhism arrived from India. The influence of Western and Indian cultures and religions caused new forms of neo-Confucianism and neo-Taoism to emerge while many other cults and sects flourished. It is important to remind Western readers that Confucianism and Taoism are actually ‘chiao’, Chinese teachings, which are not specifically religious doctrines as we would like to classify them in the West. The writers and creators of these two philosophies have been regarded as the collective cultural heritage of the Chinese.
Confucius or K'ung Fu Tzu was born in 551 BC in the state of Lu in China. He travelled throughout China giving advice to its rulers. His teachings and writings dealt with individual morality, ethics, and the proper exercise of political power. His sacred canonical works also contain secular documents pre-dating Confucianism and have been the mainstream of the Chinese educational curriculum for over 2000 years. But it was only after the introduction of Buddhism into China that Taoism followed the path of instituting a priestly order and hierarchy, temples and monasteries and a sacred canon, attracting its own converts to a new faith. Chinese recorded history only really began with the Shang dynasty around 1600 BC. The discovery of a large number of ‘oracle bones’ exposed us to much of the Shang dynasty's religious beliefs of ancient times. Some 100,000 fragments of bone and shell are covered with requests of all sorts, addressed to the spirits of their dead kings. So now we know that the people of the pre-Confucian era, dating back many thousands of years, believed in spirits who could intervene in their trials and tribulations. But more importantly, the ‘deities of the hills and streams, and other gods were worshipped’. Here we have a clear link to the same ancient rituals of Sumer and Egypt, where kings were seen as half-human, half-god, and therefore they were often worshipped themselves as gods by the common people. Many of these rites passed on to the modern forms of Chinese religion, maintaining an air of mysticism, and possibly even divinity, around the Chinese royalty. Just as in Sumer, early Chinese monarchs were often priests and kings simultaneously, who would wage war. The Chou dynasty rulers believed that they received a “mandate from heaven” to rule. The kings had to perform sacrificial rituals to please the gods and report to the gods on progress. They would also receive communication from the gods to deliver to the people. The Chinese had a complete hierarchical structure which went “Heaven to king; king to feudal lords; feudal lords to sub-feudal lords; sub-feudal lords to the rest of the community”. The king had full control of his lands but the ultimate control lay in the “will of heaven”. Such was the feudal pyramid of the Chou dynasty, not far removed from the structures set up by the Sumerian gods, attesting to the ongoing violent character of the growing human race. A characteristic which was very cunningly controlled by the Anunnaki gods. Prehistoric Chinese records are very cloudy but it is evident from these ancient rituals that the gods of Sumer were just as active in China thousands of years ago, as they were all over the world's emerging civilisations. Teaching humans the art of cohabitation, agriculture, writing and through the different characters of the ‘god in charge’, injected very specific cultural diversity, like music, dance, poetry, architecture, and more. Poetry, song and dance played a major part in religious rituals in China, clearly inspired by the neighbouring Indian culture, which was undoubtedly driven by the talented Inanna/Ishtar, goddess of love. Just like in Sumer, the priests were also warriors, who would protect their sacred shrines and temples. The great temple courts were used to sacrifice war captives in front of the home crowd. In the following extract from a temple liturgy we can compare the Chinese subservience to the ‘gods of heaven’ as they were worshipped in Sumer:
“Majestic never ending
is the Charge of Heaven
Your virtue descending
Oh illustrious King Wen
Overwhelms with blessing
Your servants on Earth….
May we always
Fear the wrath of heaven
So to keep his favour
And our ways even.”
Is it not fascinating that, as distant and diverse as the Chinese culture may be to the Western culture, the image of a vengeful god who is feared by his followers and who will unleash his ‘wrath’ upon man, seems to follow every single group of early humans to the farthest corners of the world, even today. Confucius stressed a number of fundamental values:
Li - ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc.
Hsiao - love among family members
Yi - righteousness
Xin - honesty and trustworthiness
Jen - benevolence towards others; the highest Confucian virtue
Chung - loyalty to the state, etc.
Unlike most religions, Confucianism is primarily an ethical system with rituals at important times during one's lifetime. The most important periods recognised in the Confucian tradition are birth, reaching maturity, marriage, and death.
Taoism. Origin circa 440 BC.
While the ‘activist’ philosophers in China were advocating their theories in the courts of the cities, a whole new ‘Quietist’ philosophy was developing in the countryside. Their concerns were ‘other-worldly’, seeking self-awareness and self-cultivation through yogic practice. They saw the unchanging 'oneness' underlying a world of change. They called it ‘Tao’. While all ancient Chinese philosophers spoke of their Tao, the Quietists spoke of ‘Tao-ness’ itself. It was these Taoists who eventually inspired the birth of Taoism, a mystical religion.
There are two collections of Taoist works that survive from the age of the philosophers. They are Chuang Tzu and the Lieh Tzu. Towards the end of this period another Taoist work appeared called the Tao Te Ching. These three works are the earliest writings in a vast collection which forms the Taoist canon. While there is some doubt about the true identity of Lao Tzu, a contemporary of Confucius, he is seen as the patriarch and the original founder of Taoism. In his writings the Tao Te Ching (The Way and its Power), he describes the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler should lead his life. Lao Tzu hoped it would help end the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts of his time. Taoism became a religion in 440 BC when it was adopted as a state religion. Tao can roughly be translated as ‘path’, which is a force flowing through all life and is the first cause of everything. The goal of Taoists is for everyone to become ‘one’ with the Tao. Tai Chi, a technique of exercise using slow deliberate movements, is used to balance the flow of energy or ‘chi’ within the body. One of the beliefs arising from the Chuang Tzu, is that a man of ‘lesser knowledge’ or mundane t
hought, cannot conceptualise ‘greater knowledge’ or the vision of the mystic. This knowledge can only be attained in a state of trance, referred to as a state of “I lose me”. People should develop virtue and seek compassion, moderation and humility. One should plan any action in advance and achieve it through minimal action. Yin (the dark side) and Yang (the light side) symbolise pairs of opposites that are seen through the universe, such as good and evil, light and dark, male and female. Does this remind you a bit of Star Wars? The impact of human civilisation upsets the balance of Yin and Yang. Taoists believe that people are by nature, good, and that one should be kind to others simply because such treatment will most likely be reciprocated.
Our link to the gods of Sumer comes in the Taoist description of what should happen in a state of trance. The person should take off “on a journey, riding upon the wind” borne by “cloud chariots”. There were several people who were taken up into the realms of ‘heaven’ by the Anunnaki. An experience of that nature would have changed their lives. On their return they marvelled at the beauty, the sights from up high, the feeling of flying through the sky ‘on clouds of heaven like an eagle’ and other poetic descriptions of their adventure. When stories like this get handed down orally over millennia, they would have had different effects on different people. There must have been a contact between the protagonists of Taoism and their Sumerian Earthling brethren, who had had such cosmic experiences under the rule of the Anunnaki gods, a long time ago. It is also interesting that the Taoists believe that the cycle of life is made up of five recurring cycles that are represented by the five elements. Earth, wood, metal, fire and water. Each element conquers its predecessor in recurring cycles. There is a very strong parallel to the Inca belief in their five Cycles of Life. Is it possible that the ancient gods may have had something to do with this? China to Bolivia is a long way away, so how did these philosophies cross paths between South America and China thousands of years ago?
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