Removing The Sheen From Buddhism

[Husky]

This post has been a long time coming. The matter to be touched on has been bothering me no end. But even after foreshadowing it earlier, remained torn between whether to bring up this very important matter because it is important, or simply leave it unmentioned because I don't know if it's the sort of thing others give a toss about. But I've decided that it *does* belong here, because it affects a bunch of *actual* heathens that matter (to me): Daoists.





1. Back in 29 December 2008, I put up what wacky said about the Daoist God Nezha in a post:

What wacky currently says about this God:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezha_deity

Nezha (deity)

Nezha or Na Zha (Chinese: 哪吒; pinyin: N zhā; Japanese: Nataku or Nata) is a deity, the enfant terrible trickster, originally of Chinese mythology, though in the West he is perhaps more well known from Japanese anime. His official Taoist deity name is Zhongtan Yuanshuai (中壇元帥) or Nezha Qiansui (哪吒千歲).



Life

Nezha is often depicted flying in the sky with a wheel of fire under each foot, a golden hoop, the "cosmic ring", around his shoulder and a spear in his hands. Sometimes he is given multiple arms. Nezha is usually depicted as a youth and rarely as an adult.



As the third son of a military commander called Li Jing, a military leader in Chentangguan Fortress, his birth was peculiar. When his mother Lady Yin got pregnant, she waited for three years and six months to deliver the boy, but unfortunately a ball of flesh was born. His father got so angry that he split it with a sword, which caused Nezha to jump out and grow fully, even though his mind and temperament were that of a child.



After he killed Li Gen, a yaksha, and Ao Bing, the third son of East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang, Nezha flayed and disemboweled himself in order to save his parents that were taken hostage by Ao Guang, but was brought back to life by his master, Taiyi Zhenren, a Taoist immortal sage who used lotus blossoms to reconstruct a body for his soul to inhabit.[1]



Nezha's two elder brothers are also powerful warriors. The eldest is Jinzha (金吒), who is a disciple of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and the second eldest is Muzha (木吒), a disciple of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.



Some traced his origins to the Vedic god Nalakuvara, and legend goes that he was born in the Shang dynasty

A photo of what's apparently a Nezha vigraham from someone's puja room:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nezhafamilyaltar.jpg

Appearance in ancient Chinese mythology and literature

Nezha has frequently appeared in Chinese Mythology and ancient Chinese Literature such as the Fengshen Yanyi (or Investiture of the Gods), although the story of Nezha conquering the sea is the most famous among Chinese households. In Journey to the West, Nezha was a general under the leadership of his father Li Jing. He entered into combat against Sun Wukong when the latter rebelled against the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, but Nezha was beaten by Sun Wukong and had to retreat.

I think "Journey to the West" is the story of the Monkey King travelling west to India (Buddhism-related). IIRC, Sun Wukong is the Monkey King about whom there are Chinese animations as well (such as "Uproar in Heaven" and entire animated series).

2. Now, the same page at wikipedia on Nezha starts with:

Nezha (deity)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Nezha (on the left) in Fengshen Yanyi



Nezha, Na Zha or Nataku (Chinese: 哪吒; pinyin: Nézhā or Núozhā[1]; is a Taoist protection deity, the trickster, originally of Chinese Buddhist mythology. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (中壇元帥). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" (莲花三太子) after he became a deity.

Note the following changes to the wiki page between the excerpts in 1 and 2:

- the original page only stated the plain fact that Nezha is a Daoist God

- the current page suddenly claims he was "originally" of Chinese Buddhist mythology

- and curiously, the page no longer admits to the full Buddhist claim: that the Buddhists always said Nezha was derived from a *Vedic* God. Instead the wacky page now claims that he has "Chinese Buddhist mythological" origins. I.e. specifically not Indian - which is what would have happened if they had claimed "Vedic". But "Chinese Buddhist" implies that he is specifically not indigenous to China (i.e. not an ancient Chinese character, meaning not Daoist), but is instead to be imagined as a Buddhist invention (mythology) in Chinese territory.



In short, they are implying Daoism stole a character from Chinese Buddhist mythology and made him into a Daoist God. When in reality, he is but yet another indigenous God whom Chinese Buddhist mythology wove into Buddhism's little inventions to convert the indigenous Chinese religionists (i.e. the Daoists).



The Chinese Buddhist argument for Nezha's "Buddhist" origins consistently trace their claim to Nezha being a Vedic God. But even if (note the if) he had been originally based on a Vedic God, that would still make his origins specifically NOT Buddhist, but Hindu. (How dare I differentiate.)



(BTW, Vedic God doesn't at all automatically imply that it would therefore be Buddhism that introduced him into China. It could at least just as well imply the pre-Buddhist Hindu presence in China. After all, the Vedic Gods familiar to the Siberians after the pre-Buddhist Hindu influence there were hijacked by Buddhism when converting Siberians to Buddhism.)



But one notes that the current state of wikipedia has erased even the Chinese Buddhist version of events of Nezha being originally a "Vedic God", which actually formed the basis of their argument, yet now states only the remaining part of the Buddhist claim: that Nezha has "Buddhist origins" - in specific, that his character had Chinese Buddhist mythological origins (Buddhism doesn't like to admit to the existence of Gods) - even as the wiki page acknowledges that he is in fact a Daoist God.





3. On 23 February 2009 I already explained:

[...]

Consider the Chinese Buddhist narrative of "The Monkey King". It is about a Chinese Buddhist (the 'monkey') who IIRC even challenged the Jade (?) Emperor Of Heaven - someone quite central to traditional Chinese Religio, Taoism. Now, it's not at all a Taoist motif to have anyone challenge the Emperor of Heaven. This part of the narrative represents a Buddhist challenge to Taoism's authority. This antagonism with the existing status quo is subsequently echoed by how the narrative has the Monkey King fight the champion representing Heaven: Nezha - an ancient Taoist child God, who is particularly known for his eternal invincibility in battle. And what happens in the encounter (an encounter that is not there in Taoism, btw, since this is entirely a Buddhist narrative)? The Buddhist narrative has the Monkey King best Nezha! Impossible, but it symbolises something: Buddhism's claim to supremacy over Taoist Gods, over Taoism.

Of course, the truth is - and the proof is always easy for the indigenous Chinese heathens themselves: the traditional Daoists still see their Gods. So when they say that they know their Nezha is a *Daoist* God (and not anything Buddhist), for the onlooker it comes down to the question of who Hindus think are more likely to be speaking the truth on the matter:

a. Buddhism - famous for hijacking other people's Gods and turning them into Bodhisattvas to peddle Buddhism. (And, other than in Chinese-influenced countries, where else do you know Nezha from?);

b. Daoism - which *has* indigenous Gods, wherein Nezha fits inside the Daoist universe of the Dao, the Yin-Yang the Tai Ji, the well-known Chinese Trimoorti, the Jade Emperor, their famous Goddesses Triples, the many other indigenous Chinese Gods of their Pantheon.



c. Daoist traditions on Nezha predate the Daoist written work Nezha Nao Hai (or so I think it was called), whose dating is somewhat undetermined 'hence' dismissed as being "late" especially in contrast with the Buddhist work on Nezha, so Buddhists claim it is younger than the Chinese Buddhist work "Journey to the West" which insinuates not only Nezha but also the Jade Emperor of Daoist heaven into their Buddhist narrative. Then, the Daoist work Nezha Nao Hai (NNH) is dismissed by Buddhists as being written by "someone who doesn't seem to know Daoism well (therefore it may not be accurate)". But Buddhists cannot be the judge of how accurate to Daoism that work is, and the experts in the matter - Daoists themselves - do think it is Daoist indeed. (It is traditional Chinese religion, which falls under the native Chinese religion that has been called "Dao-ism" since the religion and its Gods are intimately associated with the Dao. And NNH is a religious text in the traditional Chinese religion, i.e. in "Daoism").



Moreover, the Buddhist novel "Journey to the West" already admits that:

- Nezha is the champion of Daoist Heaven, fighting on the Jade Emperor's behalf. (The Jade Emperor is himself well-known as a Daoist God. And as Daoists say: Daoists worship him, Buddhism doesn't - since it wasn't easy to hijack him for Buddhism as he is one of the upholders of Daoism.) This means that Nezha represented Daoism in the Buddhist work.

- Since, as per the Buddhist Journey of the West itself, Nezha is the champion of the hosts of Daoist Heaven who was appointed to fight Sun Wukong (the Buddhist "Monkey King") who had come to challenge the King of Daoist Heaven - the Jade Emperor himself - this implies an admission in the very Buddhist text that alludes to Nezha that Nezha is a Daoist God. Sun Wukong is the Buddhist hero while his opponent is from the ranks of *Daoist* Heaven.





4. Hmmm, this is unexpected. Last time I had saved the following wacky page, it still contained the material I wanted to paste. But this next change to wacky - coming as it does in the wake of the above-mentioned change on Nezha - is surprising.



Anyway, in a recent month, the wacky page on Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy, the female Chinese Goddess equated with the Buddhist Avalokiteshwara) still alluded to Buddhism's usual pattern of action in the heathen east. Though in highly understated words.

See how my lips are not moving:



The wackypedia page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin stated, in that very recent past (October 2010) -

Guanyin

[...]

Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. [...] Commonly known in English as the Goddess of Mercy[3], Guanyin is also revered by Chinese Taoists (sometimes called Daoists) as an Immortal. However, in Taoist mythology, Guanyin has other origination stories which are not directly related to Avalokiteśvara.



[...]

Origin



Guanyin's origin is debated among scholars. The root of this debate lies in the history of religion in China. [color="#FF0000"]China's indigenous religion is Taoism.[/color] It is possible that Guanshi'yin originated as a Taoist deity, the Queen Mother of the West. With the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism to China in around the 4th to 5th centuries, Taoism and Buddhism became religious rivals in China. The Buddhist tactic was to change, and even supplant, indigenous Taoist deities in favor of Buddhist deities. Over the centuries, this trend has had the effect that it is now virtually impossible to determine Guanshi'yin's true origin. The official Buddhist view is that Guanyin originated with the male Avalokiteśvara, though Guanyin's origin may be more complex than this simple, linear derivation. While it is certain that the name "Guanshi'yin" is derived from the name "Avalokiteśvara", the image of the Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Vietnamese Bodhisattva (along with her femininity) may be at least partly derived from other sources.

And in keeping with the official Buddhist view again, one no longer sees the above paragraph in Wikipedia's page on Guanyin. I am sure you can still find it on the page's Edit History.

"Curious" isn't it, how both the Nezha page and Guanyin page have changed to sideline the indigenous view of the indigenous Gods who have been hijacked by Buddhism to instead proclaim that they were Buddhist in origin and that *Daoism* stole them from Buddhism. An entire inversion.

The cruelty never ceases.



But the above rather mildly-expressed para - now missing from Wacky's main page on Guanyin - can still be found at various places (search the web for it) including

http://guan-yin.co.tv/ - which seems a copy of Wacky's Guanyin page as at some older date.



"Who do you think is telling the truth?" Only one of the versions is the truth - and it is NOT the Buddhist version. (The initial conconction and then constant opportunistic re-invention of Avalokiteshwara can be traced not just in the Indian subcontinent but in the rest of Bauddhafied Asia. The bodhisattva/multiple Buddha characters of Mahayana always came in handy in hijacking other Gods for Buddhism.) As the purging of inconvenient facts in wackypedia show, "clearly, it must have been the Daoists' fault". Those eeevil Hindoos. Sorry, eeevil Daoists.



The Daoist Mother Goddesses were extremely popular among the indigenous laity of China and Taiwan to Japan and Korea to Southeast Asia (i.e. everywhere where Daoism travelled and had colonies). In Daoism, besides being worshipped for being one of their beloved Mother Goddesses, the one being referred to as "Goddess of Mercy" had for instance since ancient times been the go-to for childless couples as well as those concerned for their babies' welfare.



Yet there will be the usual Buddhism fans - of Hindu origin of course, famous for lecturing Hindus on Buddhism's superiority and automatic right to everything Hindu (since "we're all one religion onlee, else you don't exist" threat) - who will spout that Buddhism is a great (if not The Very Best) thing that happened to the rest of what's now Bauddhafied Asia.

When it's not at all. In fact: those people would have been better served if the Indian subcontinent that had originated Buddhism had kept Buddhism confined to itself, instead of missionising it on other native peoples who have their own religions (in the case of Daoism and aspects of Shinto, these are quite the local indigenous equivalents of the traditional Hindu religion as the old Hindoos knew it).





INSERT:

[quote name='Swamy G' date='01 February 2011 - 07:12 AM' timestamp='1296524043' post='110499']you who has mastered the art of <...>[/quote]If true, can chalk it up to "Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you" - as the old song goes.