Mystic beings

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
form
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Mystic beings

Post by form »

https://sg.yahoo.com/news/largest-flyin ... 00792.html

The remains of such large animals is very seldom found. Maybe this is why remains of a Naga etc. has never been seen before.
justindesilva
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by justindesilva »

form wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:14 pm https://sg.yahoo.com/news/largest-flyin ... 00792.html

The remains of such large animals is very seldom found. Maybe this is why remains of a Naga etc. has never been seen before.
We understand that all sentient as nama rupa are mind and form. Mind of course not seen by eyes after a death vanishes from our awareness. Yet form (rupa) as from apo , tejo, vayo , patavi , apo tejo vayo diminishes from our conscience as of anitya with deterioration. Patavi as of its hardness remains for a time which from time to time is exposed. This is why remains of large animals are not seen.
Remains of a Naga as of its nature in form in structure will not remain to show its picture compared to a dinosaur or an elephant.
chownah
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by chownah »

Of course the most elusive mystic being is the delusional self.....neither its existence nor its remains are easy to discern.
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Aloka
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by Aloka »

form wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:14 pm
Maybe this is why remains of a Naga etc. has never been seen before.
Remains of Nagas haven't been found because they are mythical creatures from Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist stories.

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Re: Mystic beings

Post by alfa »

justindesilva wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:19 am
form wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:14 pm https://sg.yahoo.com/news/largest-flyin ... 00792.html

The remains of such large animals is very seldom found. Maybe this is why remains of a Naga etc. has never been seen before.
We understand that all sentient as nama rupa are mind and form. Mind of course not seen by eyes after a death vanishes from our awareness. Yet form (rupa) as from apo , tejo, vayo , patavi , apo tejo vayo diminishes from our conscience as of anitya with deterioration. Patavi as of its hardness remains for a time which from time to time is exposed. This is why remains of large animals are not seen.
Remains of a Naga as of its nature in form in structure will not remain to show its picture compared to a dinosaur or an elephant.
Why do you say that? Dinosaur was also a large animal. If they can be found, then why not other large animals? :shrug:
polo
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by polo »

Aloka wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 10:29 am
form wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:14 pm
Maybe this is why remains of a Naga etc. has never been seen before.
Remains of Nagas haven't been found because they are mythical creatures from Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist stories.

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In ancient days they had seen huge serpents which were just super large serpent nothing more, however, human imaginations run wild, they imagine all the horns and feets as well so you finally got your Nagas.
If a large reptile were to evolved into a nagas it would not last long and quickly die out because a reptile with horns and claws are not efficient to movement . The horns would be heavy for the head and the claws get in the way of movement. They wouldn't be efficient to hunt for other mammals to eat so they died out. Simple .
It's a mythical creature because we keep hoping it exists . It's a hope against hope. Nothing come out of it, still the story keep going on and on for generations.
form
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by form »

It is quite strange that they are imaginary creatures and the Buddha have verbal interactions with them.
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confusedlayman
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by confusedlayman »

form wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2019 10:01 pm It is quite strange that they are imaginary creatures and the Buddha have verbal interactions with them.
maybe they don't appear to our eyes
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
chownah
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by chownah »

Maybe they are allegorical.
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form
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by form »

Even beings like Yeti are considered as from another dimensions according to the tribal people there.
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Dhammanando
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by Dhammanando »

From the most thorough survey yet on nāgas in the Pali texts.
The term nāga, then, refers to three levels of the hierarchy, from the nāgadevas, through the nāga peoples to the snake nāgas. The nāgadevas express themselves primarily through the fire element (tejodhātu). The range (gocara/āyatana) or world (loka/bhavana) which they project is imbued with this quality; and at the same time gives rise to forms that embody it. These forms include peoples (gotta/kula) who both inhabit a certain location and exhibit certain characteristics; and this location and these characteristics are equally the expression of the nāgadeva. Snakes also have their own ecology and nature - again, as a manifestation of the tejodhātu.

It may well be that this magical cosmology is pre-Buddhist. But it would be wrong to think that Buddhism rejected it; the kāmadhātu and rūpadhātu of Buddhist cosmology are totally magical. It can certainly be argued that Buddhism superceded this magical wor!dview, but in doing so it simply extended the magical principles that we have outlined. Hence, when nāgas observe the uposatha vows or take the three refuges, they are entering, as it were, a sphere of influence that is larger and more powerful than the one they usually inhabit. When a bhikkhu is exhorted to practise loving kindness towards a snake (ahi), the unlimitedness of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the samgha is emphasised and the practice is called a protection (rakkhā) or a charm (parittā).

Buddhist cosmology is therefore super-magical rather than non-magical and it necessarily follows that the Buddha is a super-magician. Hence not only is he equal to the nāgas in magical power, he goes far beyond it. That is, the Buddha possesses the ultimate magical power: its range is unlimited and his ability to transform is unrestricted. It is common to depict the Buddha as one who has gone beyond saṃsāra, yet one could equally well argue, on the contrary, that he includes it. Such a view is not just a concession to folk superstition, which sees the world as imbued with magical forces. Buddhism itself accepts such a worldview. The Buddha who is unattached and therefore cannot be touched is no more true than the Buddha who is unrestricted and can therefore touch everything. The muni and the magician are both the true Buddha.

If we are to take accounts of nāgas seriously, we must understand the magical principles that explain why those accounts are as they are. But we cannot just stop there because we have to go on and ask how these principles square with Buddhism as a whole. Our argument has been that magic pervades Buddhist cosmology and is not peripheral to it. And such a cosmology naturally gives rise to the Buddha as the ultimate magical being: a mahānāga, the one who sits under the tree of enlightenment and transforms the world.

— Andrew Rawlinson, Nāgas and the Magical Cosmology of Buddhism (Religion, 1986, 16, 135-153, link)
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
chownah
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by chownah »

Dhammanando wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:44 am From the most thorough survey yet on nāgas in the Pali texts.
......
......
???????
.......
The term nāga, then, — Andrew Rawlinson, Nāgas and the Magical Cosmology of Buddhism (Religion, 1986, 16, 135-153, link)
I think it is best to note that "in the Pali texts" is not in any way the same as "in the Pali canon" and that is in no way the same as "in the Pali suttas".

Also, I think that it is misleading to call this article "the most thorough survey yet on nagas in the Pali texts" because it is much more then that......I think it is more accurate to call the article "one man's musings about nagas which incidently also contains the most thorough survey yet on nagas in the Pali texts."

Also I think it is best to disclose that I have not read the article.....I approached the article hoping to find easy accessability to how nagas are mentioned and presented in the Pali canon but was disappointed to find that based on the first paragraph alone it declares itself to be the author's musings so I looked at the bibliography and found some swami being mentioned more often then anything that I could recognize as a refernce to the Pali canon (likely that my ignorance is a factor here) so I went no further....so perhaps my views are biased from preconceived notions.....it would be nice if the article actually was a thorough survey of how nagas are mentioned in the Pali canon (and nicer yet if it was constrained to the Pali suttas) without all the creative thought and writing of an author who does not appear to be unbiased.
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Dhammanando
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by Dhammanando »

chownah wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:52 am I think it is best to note that "in the Pali texts" is not in any way the same as "in the Pali canon" and that is in no way the same as "in the Pali suttas".
As this isn't the Beginners Forum I shouldn't think most readers would need reminding of this distinction. Still, for safety's sake I attach a Euler diagram to clarify matters.

{Pali texts}⊃{Pali Canon}⊃{Pali Suttas}

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Euler.gif
chownah wrote: Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:52 amAlso I think it is best to disclose that I have not read the article.....
Which relieves me of the burden of responding to your uninformed comments about it. Ananda Coomaraswamy, to take one example, wasn't a swami but (inter alia) a Sri Lankan expert on yakṣas.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
sentinel
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by sentinel »

Is this real ?


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Aloka
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Re: Mystic beings

Post by Aloka »

sentinel wrote:Is this real ?

Its as real as the dragons in"Game of Thrones." or in a "Harry Potter" movie.





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