Ancient Universal
principles and archetypes in Buddhism
In spite of
all its beneficence
Buddhism is undoubtedly a patriarchal religion.
Many of the visitors to websites like this feel a deep longing in their
hearts for eco-spirituality,
a way of being which embraces non-hierarchical, non-species-ist,
non-exploitative, and non-violent, etc. ideas. A spirituality that includes
the sacredness of the physical world here and now, as well as other
dimensions.
This is why, very briefly, I will sum up some of the ancient universal
principles and archetypes incorporated in Buddhism, which have their foundation
in the old Nature religions.
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Maya,
His Mother
The name of Buddha's mother: Maya or Maia originates from the root 'ma'
from which such words as Mama, making, magic, majesty, moon,
month, menses, measure, meter, men, mental, mind, etc. are derived.
She is the pregnant womb of infinite potentiality, the World Virgin, the
Cosmic Cauldron of Creativity, Nature made Manifest. She is the endless
play of manifestations, which may seem similar yet are never exactly the
same. She is the Mother of us all and the magical month of May was
called after her.
In Greek myth Maia also was the Mother of the God Hermes, who was a
healer and the messenger of the Gods. We come across her in many
cultures and with many name variations. Examples are: Maga the Grandmother- goddess who bore Cu Chulainn's mother;
Mary, who was the Mother of Jesus Christ; the May-maiden of Scandinavian
mythology.
She is often portrayed as an enchantress for she is the one who appears
to make something out of nothing. She has been called 'the
self-projection of the Supreme'. She is much maligned, especially in
patriarchal religions as a 'temptress', 'the (oh, so temporary)
pleasures of the flesh', the one who brought pain and death by the
virtue of giving life. The
Hindu Maya was said to be 'She who measures' and 'Illusion'.
However, her world of appearances gives Divine intelligence (of which we
are a little spark) the opportunity to know its own true nature
and to experience its own endless possibilities.
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Born
and enlightened in the April/May month
It seems to me that the emphasis on the timing of Buddha's birth and
enlightenment points in the direction of the Buddha being
not only himself but also a representation of the much older archetype of
the Green Man, son of Mother Nature or the Earth Goddess. Buddha's growth
and flowering resonate to her great cycles.
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The
Union with Nature: Trees, Nature Spirits, Rain making
In the life story of the Buddha there are countless instances where
is he and Nature all around him are completely in tune and at one. We've
already explored how his relationship with various trees is described,
and especially how he becomes at one with or receives enlightenment
under the tree. We've also heard how all the Nature spirits delighted in
his attainment and celebrated it. There are also various accounts of
Buddha making rain when he visits drought-stricken areas.
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The
compassion that includes all
Buddha did not
seek enlightenment just for his own sake, but to relieve the suffering
and pain of all beings.
This too is an ancient theme as a quality which belongs to the son of
Nature's growth. The Green Man (vegetation) is harvested so all
creatures can eat, and grow and 'become'. The God Hermes, also the son
of the Goddess Maia, is a healer. Jesus, the virgin Mary's sun, is
sacrificed to save the world.
Similarly Buddhism nurtures compassion and non-violence to all beings, a
manifestation of the enlightened knowledge that we are all One.
Note
(added in August 2006): Since writing this article in 2004, I
have become aware of the FWBO
(Friends of the Western Order of Buddhists). Those practitioners of the
FWBO community I have met, have touched me, both with their lifestyle
and deep active practical concern for the environment. From their
website: "The FWBO is an international network dedicated to
communicating Buddhist truths in ways appropriate to the modern world.
The essence of Buddhism is timeless and universal. But the forms it
takes always adapt according to context. Now that Buddhism is spreading
around the globe, the task is to create new Buddhist traditions relevant
to the 21st century." The FWBO has a Buddhist
Ecopractice website,
which has been created for anyone with an interest in Buddhism to share
information and inspiration.
My thanks to Lokabandhu
of the FWBO Buddhafield
Community for
sending us the photo of the Lumbini tree below, taken on a pilgrimage
about three years ago with people from the Croydon FWBO sangha.
"The tree at Lumbini
which is said to be THE one the Buddha's mother
held onto when she gave birth to him...
It's certainly big enough and old-looking enough and venerated
enough..."
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Buddha
and the Sal tree
According
to the various scriptures Buddha was both born and died under Sal
trees. A branch of the tree bend down to support his Mother Maya and
as soon as she held on to the tree, the baby appeared. He choose to
lay down between two Sal trees to die and although this is said to
have happened on the "15th day of the waxing moon, on the sixth
lunar month, or the month of visakha" the trees were in full
bloom when he died.
This is of course partly an allegory, but also indicates again his
miraculous relationship with these trees. Usually the tree blossoms
earlier at the onset of spring. I have never seen this myself but have
read that the festival of Sarhul
which means the sal blossom festival is to this very day celebrated by various
tribes of the Chotanagpur plateau.
(This seems to be a festival of ancient Pagan origins. Prayers and
sometimes sacrifices are made to the
Gods and Goddesses
of Nature to ask for for protection and blessings on all beings in the forest.
Where hunter-gathering is no longer practiced and agriculture has
taken over, prayers are made for a good and abundant crops. Where the
forest has been cleared a cluster of Sal trees has usually been kept
as a place of worship or communication with the Nature Spirits. This
is called "The Saran" or Sacred Grove. Last years seeds,
such as rice, are blessed and ceremonially mixed with cow dung and this
will be mixed with the rest of the seeds to be sown. Sal flowers and
other blossoms are collected and offered to the Deities. There is also
much merry-making.)
We will
have a closer look at these trees, which featured so prominently in
the Buddha's life. Hopefully this brief glimpse will give us some
appreciation of the abundant and varied uses of this one single tree
species in addition to its rich spiritual and ecological significance!
The Sal tree and its
forest
The
lovely Sal tree grows in the foothills and plains south of the
Himalayas from Nepal and India all the way into Burma. It is not
surprising therefore that it has many different local common names,
such as Sarai, Sargi, Salwa, Sakhu, Sakher, Shal, Kandar and Sakwa to
mention but a few.
It's scientific name is Shorea robusta and it belongs to the Dipterocarpaceae
family.
Sal is classified as a 'Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest' tree.
Nevertheless it is seldom without any leaves at all. In dry condition
it will shed its leaves from February to March. New
ovate-oblong leaves appear in April/May and will be shiny on top when mature.
They have a tough texture and vary in size from 10 x 5cm to 25 x 15
cm. The creamy white spring flowers mature into fruit during the
summer and the seeds ripen already in June/July. They often germinate
whilst still on the tree, which is something we do not tend to see in
our trees in Britain.
Sal is
the dominating tree in the forests, in which it grows, hence we speak
of 'Sal Forests'. However, that does not mean monoculture, because in
natural Sal woods we can find as many as 500 species in the
understorey.
Young trees have a linear crown, which becomes rounder and flatter as
time goes by. In favourable conditions the tree can attain a height of
30-35m (100-117 ft) and a girth of 2-2½m (7-8 ft) in about 100 years.
With its erect trunk and excellent wood, Shorea robusta has
always been used for building local houses, but is now also much
sought after as a commercial timber, even to the extent that the
supply does not match the demand.
The sapwood is whitish in colour and the heartwood becomes dark brown
on exposure. The pores in the wood are filled with a resin which makes
the timber very durable. With the Deodar and the Teak tree it forms a
trio of the longest lasting Asian woods. It is very heavy (nearly 25 to 30 kg to a cubic
foot), strong and fibrous. This last quality makes it hard to plane or
to apply a polish. Hammering nails in the wood can also be a tough
job.
The high quality timber has been used for all those jobs where
strength, durability and elasticity are essential and a polished
surface is not so imported. Examples are: All general construction
purposes, load-bearing timbers in bridges, wheels and carts,
foundation piles for bridges and houses, telegraph poles, boat
construction and also general carpentry and furniture.
Sal
trees are also economically valuable for the many non-timber forest
product they yield.
Tapping the tree yields a white opalin oleoresin (aromatic gum),
variously known as 'Sal damar', 'Rhal', 'Ral', 'Guggal', 'Laldhuna', 'Dhoom',
etc. It has a great variety of uses, which include making paints
and varnishes, incense (popular in Hindu
homes during religious ceremonies), caulking boats and ships, a plastering
medium for walls and roofs, a cementing material for asbestos and
plywood sheets, medical uses such as a skin ointment, making carbon
paper and type writer ribbon, and so on.
The leaves have many different uses as well! They have always been
used for serving and carrying food in a variety of ways. They are
collected and made into platters, bowls, cups, often lacquered. They
are also used for making plates and small baskets to serve dry foods.
Tribal people have used the leaves for preparing rice cakes and for
smoking. Distilled leaves produce an oil used in perfumery and for
flavouring chewing and smoking tobacco.
Quantities of lopped leaves can be used as roughage for cattle. Fallen
leaves make a good fertiliser and are collected for this purpose. Like
the oleoresin, the roots and the fruits, the leaves too have medicinal
qualities. An interesting cultural use of the leaves is their
employment as marriage invitations. The folded Sal leaves are given with a little bit of turmeric and a few rice grains
inside.
Last but not least
we come to the fruits and seeds of this useful tree.
The fruits have been ground by poor people into flour to ward off
starvation and the pounded fruits have been given to people suffering
from diarrhoeal diseases. The oil pressed from the seeds is edible and
has been known as Sal butter. It can be used for cooking, as
well as for burning in simple oil lamps and has often been used to
adulterate ghee (clarified butter).
In addition the seeds have been used as animal fodder in the form of
pressed seedcakes. Like many tree products these cakes contains
tannins (5-8%) and furthermore the protein in them tends to remain
undigested. Nevertheless it is very useful to supply a portion of the
dietary energy demands of animals. It can be used for cattle as 20% of
their concentrates. The seedcakes may be given to pigs and poultry up
to 10% of their daily rations with good results.
The many pressures
on Sal forests (such as over-exploitation, deforestation,
excessive leaf-litter collection, encroachment, inconsiderate collection
medicinal supplies and fodder, other form of human interference)
have been added to in recent years by an increase in the appearance of
the Sal-borer (Hoplocerambyx spinicornis), whose attacks
since 1997 in India has destroyed many thousands of trees.
Sal Forest © Banglopedia
The Lotus
Flower and its symbolism
It is
interesting to note that in the Sal Forests, which feature so large in the
Buddh'as life story, we find another plant closely associated with
Buddha: the sacred lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, also known as the Indian or Oriental
Lotus.
It is native to southern Asia, where it grows in ponds and still waters, and is found at altitudes of up to 1,600
metres.
Legend tells how Gautama Buddha could walk straight after he was born and
wherever he stepped Lotus flowers appeared.
The chakra's (meaning energy wheels) in our body have traditionally often
been portrayed as varying Lotus flowers. The crown chakra, the energy
wheel located at the very top of the head, is also
called "The Thousand-Petalled Lotus",
This top chakra opens on enlightenment, just as the Lotus flower unfolds
gradually in the morning, one petal at the time, in response to the light of
the sun.
The
Lotus has been a symbol of Spiritual Liberation, of the Sun, of
Creation and Rebirth since ancient times, both in Asia, as well as in
the Middle east and Egypt.
There are creation stories which tell how the world was born through a
"Golden Lotus", which was a sort of doorway or an opening from
the womb of the universe. It is also told how the giant lotus which came forth
from the
watery chaos at the beginning of time gave rise to the Sun on its first day.
In Hinduism there is a similar story
that it arose from the navel of God Vishnu, and at the center of the flower sat
Brahma. Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Protector) and Siva (the Merger), as
well as other Gods and Goddesses are all
associated with the Lotus In India the plant has therefore sometimes been
called "God's favourite flower". The response of the Lotus
which awakes at the first rays of the morning sun has also made the
flower sometimes a symbol of Love.
The
roots of the Lotus plants grow deep in the muddy soil below the water
and they send up a long cylindrical stalk, which grows leaves
and flowers on the surface of water.
The muddy earth is usually compared to our earthly, material being.
The water is compared to the astral world and the stalk is like the
famous 'silver cord', which people who have experienced astral travel,
have so often described.
The world of air and light is compared to the way the spiritual world
feeds our being.
The theme of sun and rebirth is reinforced by the fact that the flower closes
its petals and (just like the sun) sinks underwater at night and rises
up at dawn and opens again.
The perennial rise of the Lotus can thus be compared to similar
spiritual themes, such as making Gold from base metals. Like the Lotus
human consciousness can rise from a limited form of material being
(and identification with just our ego and our body) to immense
spiritual liberation (and the merging with the Divine Nature of All).
Meditating on the lotus
is said to bring harmony into all aspects of our
being.
In yoga, the lotus position (padmasana and known by most people
as the classic meditation position) is adopted to help us reach the highest level of consciousness, which itself is
found in the chakra at the top of the head (symbolised as
the thousand-petalled lotus).
Hindu scriptures proclaim that Atman (the soul) lives in the
lotus within the heart and looks like a brilliant light
about the size of a thumb. You can practice seeing your heart as an
opening lotus flower right in the centre of your chest. Within
behold the radiant glow your soul, your Self God, your radiant being,
your connection with the root of All Being.
"In
the Vimalakirti Sutra, the bodhisattva Manjushri addressing the Buddha,
says, "Noble sir, one who stays in the fixed determination of the
vision of the Uncreated is not capable of conceiving the spirit of
unexcelled perfect enlightenment. However, one who lives among
created things, in the mines of passions, without seeing any truth, is
indeed capable of conceiving the spirit of unexcelled perfect
enlightenment. {For] Noble sir, flowers like the blue lotus, the
red lotus, the white lotus, the water lily, and the moon lily do not
grow on dry ground in the wilderness, but do grow in swamps and mud
banks.
Just so, the Buddha-qualities do not grow in living
beings certainly destined for the uncreated but do grow in those living
beings who are like swamps and mud banks of passions. Likewise, as seeds
do not grow in the sky but do grow in the earth, so the Buddha-qualities
do not grow in those determined for the Absolute but do grow in those
who conceive the spirit of enlightenment, after having produced a Sumeru-like
mountain of egoistic views. "(1)
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The Bodhi tree
was already the tree of awakening in the Hindu religion
To
conclude our fleeting exploration of Buddha and the Bodhi tree, we must mention the fact that Ficus religiosa was
already a sacred tree and described as the Bodhi tree long before
the Buddha was born.
The archetypal tree has always taught us difficult and paradoxical
concepts like:
All these
ideas deserve much more contemplation and study. But in order not to make
this article far too long, we will content ourselves for now with a couple
of quotes relevant to the Bodhi tree/Peepal/Pippala/Ashwatta.
Peepal (Ficus religiosa) Tree of eternal
life
"The peepal tree, with its heart-shaped leaves,
is considered sacred by most Indians. It is also called ashwattha
and has its mythical origin in the personality of Indra, the ruler
of the skies. In scriptures, the Peepal is recognised as the tree of
eternal life whose roots originate in heaven. Its branches spread on
Earth to bring munificence to mankind. The peepal has inspired
artists and sculptors for centuries to create graphic designs and
sculptural friezes which stylise its branches as a symbol of a rich
life. The ashwattha symbolises the continuity of life because
the tree itself lives and grows for hundreds of years. Childless
couples devoutly believe in its powers and worship it, tying threads
of white, red and yellow silk around it to pray for progeny and
rewarding parenthood." (2)
"The leaves of the
Ashwattha are said to be the Vedic hymns, representing the sacred
scriptures of all times, which are but reformulations by men of
portions of the eternal verities. These formulations are properly
symbolized by "leaves," for they perpetually renew
themselves."
This means that we must try not to call a leaf a tree, because the we enter
the world of dogma and fixed religious ideas and we loose the truth.
 Here
is a quote from an excellent Hindu
dharma website, which reminds us
again that the story of the World Tree has many variations. The Bodhi tree
of Hinduism was not only the natural ancestor to the Buddhist Tree of
enlightenment, but it was also the ancestor to the Biblical Tree of Knowledge
in the garden of Eden:
"The Upanisadic
story speaks of two birds perched on the
branch of a
pippala tree. One eats the fruit of tree
while the order merely watches its companion without eating. The pippala tree
stands for the body. The first bird represents a being that regards himself as
the jivatman or individual self and the fruit it eats signifies sensual
pleasure. In the same body (symbolized by the tree) the second bird is to be
understood as the Paramatman. He is the support of all beings but he does not
know sensual pleasure. Since he does not eat the fruit he naturally does not
have the same experience as the jivatman (the first). The Upanisad speaks with
poetic beauty of the two birds. He who eats the fruit is the individual self,
jiva, and he who does not eat is the Supreme Reality, the one who knows himself
to be the Atman."
It is this jiva that has come to be
called
Eve in the Hebrew religious tradition.
"Ji" changes to "i" according to a rule of grammar and
"ja" to "ya". We have the example of "Yamuna"
becoming "Jamuna" or of "Yogindra" being changed to "Joginder
". In the biblical story "jiva" is "Eve" and "Atma"
(or "Atman") is "Adam". "Pippala" has in the same
way changed to "apple". The Tree of Knowledge is our "bodhi-vrksa".
"Bodha" means "knowledge". It is well known that the Budhha
attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. But the pipal (pippala) was
known as the bodhi tree even before his time.
The Upanisadic ideas transplanted
into a distant land underwent a change after the lapse of centuries. Thus we see
in the biblical story that the Atman (Adam) that can never be subject to sensual
pleasure also eats the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. While our bodhi tree
stands for enlightenment, the enlightenment that banishes all sensual pleasure,
the biblical tree affords worldly pleasure. These differences notwithstanding
there is sufficient evidence here that, once upon a time, Vedic religion was
prevalent in the land of the Hebrews." (3)
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http://www.khandro.net/nature_plants_lotus.htm
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http://www.soulkurry.com/v2/culture/article.php3?articleid=64
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http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part2/chap2.htm
Article last updated
21/7/2004
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