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John Campbell Thread
buddhafoot
Veteran
Okay... since it's so quiet out here, I thought I'd give awl of you a tawpic t' discuss amongst ya'selves (heavy on the Yiddish accent)...
I'm re-reading a John Campbell book called "The Power Of Myth". It's just as interesting as it was years ago when I first read it.
Goes into teachings and sayings from Native American Indians, to Eskimos (I hope that's not an un-PC term anymore), Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. Very good stuff.
A lot of what John Campbell discusses seems very Buddhist in it's nature. Almost like, "life is not to live" but more of "life is to experience" and how these experiences shape our inner being.
One area that I found very interesting was a discussion concerning what is wrong with our society today. And that being: we have no myths. We have nothing anymore that is handed down generation to generation. Things are changing so quickly that people that were born in the 60's (which was a time of huge change) can be outdated with society, television, technology, etc.
Also, how our society gorges itself on the "trajedy of the day". How news reports the ills of our society - but doesn't really report anything of any lasting significance.
How myths used to be used to raise children, teach lessons, provide a guidance in their life for long term growth - instead of the next hit series on the W.B.
How, for examply, boys were raised as children. They could remain children for the rest of their lives if they wanted to - but would also be treated as boys. Becoming of man was a process - scarification, circumcision, etc. There was a definite process of moving from one stage to the next. And going through this stage - they were expected to put away childish things and act like an adult.
But, that we really don't have anything like that anymore. Not that being a child is bad - but that you can't go through society and act like a child or expect the leniency of a child. You're an adult and expected to act like and take on the responsibility of an adult.
I was just having an interesting read last night and thought I would post this and see what some other people's thoughts are - since it's been so danged slow today.
-bf
I'm re-reading a John Campbell book called "The Power Of Myth". It's just as interesting as it was years ago when I first read it.
Goes into teachings and sayings from Native American Indians, to Eskimos (I hope that's not an un-PC term anymore), Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. Very good stuff.
A lot of what John Campbell discusses seems very Buddhist in it's nature. Almost like, "life is not to live" but more of "life is to experience" and how these experiences shape our inner being.
One area that I found very interesting was a discussion concerning what is wrong with our society today. And that being: we have no myths. We have nothing anymore that is handed down generation to generation. Things are changing so quickly that people that were born in the 60's (which was a time of huge change) can be outdated with society, television, technology, etc.
Also, how our society gorges itself on the "trajedy of the day". How news reports the ills of our society - but doesn't really report anything of any lasting significance.
How myths used to be used to raise children, teach lessons, provide a guidance in their life for long term growth - instead of the next hit series on the W.B.
How, for examply, boys were raised as children. They could remain children for the rest of their lives if they wanted to - but would also be treated as boys. Becoming of man was a process - scarification, circumcision, etc. There was a definite process of moving from one stage to the next. And going through this stage - they were expected to put away childish things and act like an adult.
But, that we really don't have anything like that anymore. Not that being a child is bad - but that you can't go through society and act like a child or expect the leniency of a child. You're an adult and expected to act like and take on the responsibility of an adult.
I was just having an interesting read last night and thought I would post this and see what some other people's thoughts are - since it's been so danged slow today.
-bf
0
Comments
It was along time since I read Joesph Campbell. But just to let you know, A lot of my people, ( White Mountain Apache) Still teach the old legends to the children. Although Society has made it very difficult for the kids to take them seriously. It is a shame.
Wow...that is really cool...
I guess it would be too much to have you share a couple of those with us????
-bf
People today are also crying out for meaning in their lives. So many are seeking a sense of direction.... how many times have I heard the term 'Inner Child' and about releasing or exposing it?
I work with an alternative therapy, which has, via a circuitous route, led me to study Chinese Astrology. This is unique in that it works intermingled with aspects of Life other forms of astrology do not take into account... C.A. maintains that all of life is inter-woven , interconnected and inseparable from all else.... so Nature, Heritage, Family and Social Influences all play their part..... and one of the things it states, is that because women are the more emotive members of society, and have traditionally expressed themselves more openly - in fact, Western Society is guilty of encouraging men to supress their natural emotional tendencies - women have therefore a better balance between their social persona and their Inner Child. Men, unfortunately, through no individual fault of their own (remember that 'society' is made up of women, too!) have been encouraged through the 'stiff upper lip' school of life - so whenever they have the opportunity to expose their Inner Child, it's stuck in infancy and immaturity, and men can have real tantrums when cornered! I believe this to be extremely sad. And some 'Men' have really had major tantrums - most wars have been started by men, haven't they.....? Maybe if some of these men had been more equipped and better enabled to express themselves as I believe they should have, all this shit history talks about might not have come about the way it did.... Who knows.....?
Just a theory.....
Uhhh... no. At least I hope not.
That's more like a B-film fantasy. Bad acting, bad script.... just plain ole bad.
-bf
Here is our legend on the creation of the earth.
In the beginning nothing existed--no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon, only darkness was everywhere.
Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above. As if waking from a long nap, he rubbed his eyes and face with both hands.
When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above. He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he created yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of many colours appeared everywhere. There were also clouds of different colours.
Creator wiped his sweating face and rubbed his hands together, thrusting them downward. Behold! A shining cloud upon which sat a little girl.
"Stand up and tell me where are you going," said Creator. But she did not reply. He rubbed his eyes again and offered his right hand to the Girl-Without-Parents.
"Where did you come from?" she asked, grasping his hand.
"From the east where it is now light," he replied, stepping upon her cloud.
"Where is the earth?" she asked.
"Where is the sky?" he asked, and sang, "I am thinking, thinking, thinking what I shall create next." He sang four times, which was the magic number.
Creator brushed his face with his hands, rubbed them together, then flung them wide open! Before them stood Sun-God. Again Creator rubbed his sweaty brow and from his hands dropped Small- Boy.
All four gods sat in deep thought upon the small cloud.
"What shall we make next?" asked Creator. "This cloud is much too small for us to live upon."
Then he created Tarantula, Big Dipper, Wind, Lightning-Maker, and some western clouds in which to house Lightning-Rumbler, which he just finished.
Creator sang, "Let us make earth. I am thinking of the earth, earth, earth; I am thinking of the earth," he sang four times.
All four gods shook hands. In doing so, their sweat mixed together and Creator rubbed his palms, from which fell a small round, brown ball, not much larger than a bean.
Creator kicked it, and it expanded. Girl-Without-Parents kicked the ball, and it enlarged more. Sun-God and Small-Boy took turns giving it hard kicks, and each time the ball expanded. Creator told Wind to go inside the ball and to blow it up.
Tarantula spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball, crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south, a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north. With mighty pulls in each direction, the brown ball stretched to immeasurable size--it became the earth! No hills, mountains, or rivers were visible; only smooth, treeless, brown plains appeared.
Creator scratched his chest and rubbed his fingers together and there appeared Hummingbird.
"Fly north, south, east, and west and tell us what you see," said Creator.
"All is well," reported Hummingbird upon his return. "The earth is most beautiful, with water on the west side."
But the earth kept rolling and dancing up and down. So Creator made four giant posts--black, blue, yellow, and white to support the earth. Wind carried the four posts, placing them beneath the four cardinal points of the earth. The earth sat still.
Creator sang, "World is now made and now sits still," which he repeated four times.
Then he began a song about the sky. None existed, but he thought there should be one. After singing about it four times, twenty- eight people appeared to help make a sky above the earth. Creator chanted about making chiefs for the earth and sky.
He sent Lightning-Maker to encircle the world, and he returned with three uncouth creatures, two girls and a boy found in a turquoise shell. They had no eyes, ears, hair, mouths, noses, or teeth. They had arms and legs, but no fingers or toes.
Sun-God sent for Fly to come and build a sweathouse. Girl- Without-Parents covered it with four heavy clouds. In front of the east doorway she placed a soft, red cloud for a foot-blanket to be used after the sweat.
Four stones were heated by the fire inside the sweathouse. The three uncouth creatures were placed inside. The others sang songs of healing on the outside, until it was time for the sweat to be finished. Out came the three strangers who stood upon the magic red cloud-blanket. Creator then shook his hands toward them, giving each one fingers, toes, mouths, eyes, ears, noses and hair.
Creator named the boy, Sky-Boy, to be chief of the Sky-People. One girl he named Earth-Daughter, to take charge of the earth and its crops. The other girl he named Pollen-Girl, and gave her charge of health care for all Earth-People.
Since the earth was flat and barren, Creator thought it fun to create animals, birds, trees, and a hill. He sent Pigeon to see how the world looked. Four days later, he returned and reported, "All is beautiful around the world. But four days from now, the water on the other side of the earth will rise and cause a mighty flood."
Creator made a very tall pinon tree. Girl-Without-Parents covered the tree framework with pinon gum, creating a large, tight ball.
In four days, the flood occurred. Creator went up on a cloud, taking his twenty-eight helpers with him. Girl-Without-Parents put the others into the large, hollow ball, closing it tight at the top.
In twelve days, the water receded, leaving the float-ball high on a hilltop. The rushing floodwater changed the plains into mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers. Girl-Without-Parents led the gods out from the float-ball onto the new earth. She took them upon her cloud, drifting upward until they met Creator with his helpers, who had completed their work making the sky during the flood time on earth.
Together the two clouds descended to a valley below. There, Girl- Without-Parents gathered everyone together to listen to Creator.
"I am planning to leave you," he said. "I wish each of you to do your best toward making a perfect, happy world.
"You, Lightning-Rumbler, shall have charge of clouds and water.
"You, Sky-Boy, look after all Sky-People.
"You, Earth-Daughter, take charge of all crops and Earth-People.
"You, Pollen-Girl, care for their health and guide them.
"You, Girl-Without-Parents, I leave you in charge over all."
Creator then turned toward Girl-Without-Parents and together they rubbed their legs with their hands and quickly cast them forcefully downward. Immediately between them arose a great pile of wood, over which Creator waved a hand, creating fire.
Great billowy clouds of smoke at once drifted skyward. Into this cloud, Creator disappeared. The other gods followed him in other clouds of smoke, leaving the twenty-eight workers to people the earth.
Sun-God went east to live and travel with the Sun. Girl-Without- Parents departed westward to live on the far horizon. Small-Boy and Pollen-Girl made cloud homes in the south. Big Dipper can still be seen in the northern sky at night, a reliable guide to all.
I will see if I still have one on the origin of the animals. Enjoy.
Now as promised here is pur myth on the origin of animals.
When Apaches emerged from the underworld, they traveled southward for four days. They had no other food than two kinds of seeds, which they ground between two stones.
Near where they camped on the fourth night, one tipi stood apart from the others. While the owner and his wife were absent for a short time, a Raven brought a quiver of arrows and a bow, hanging them on the lodge pole. When the children came out of the lodge, they took down the quiver and found some meat inside. They ate it and instantly became very fat.
Upon her return, the mother noticed grease on the hands and faces of her children, who told her what had happened. The woman hurried to tell her husband the tale. All the tribe marveled at the wonderful food that made the children so fat. How they hoped the Raven might soon return with more of his good food.
When Raven discovered that his meat had been stolen, he flew eastward to his mountain home beyond the normal range of man. A bat followed Raven and later informed the Apaches where Raven lived. That night the Apache Chief called a council meeting. They decided to send a delegation to try and obtain some of Raven's special kind of meat.
In four days the Apache delegation reached the camp of the ravens, but could not obtain the information they desired. They discovered, however, a great circle of ashes where the ravens ate their meals. The Apaches decided to spy upon the ravens. That night the Medicine Man changed an Apache boy into a puppy to spy from a nearby bush. The main delegation broke camp and started homeward, leaving behind the puppy.
Next morning the ravens examined the abandoned camp of the Apaches. One of the young ravens found the puppy and was so pleased, he asked for permission to keep it under his blanket. Toward sunset, the puppy peaked out and saw an old raven brush aside some ashes from the fireplace. He then removed a large flat stone. Beneath was an opening through which the old raven disappeared. But when he returned he led a buffalo, which was then killed and eaten by all the ravens.
For four days the puppy spied upon the ravens, and each evening a buffalo was brought up from the depths and devoured. Now that he was certain where the ravens obtained their good food, the puppy resumed his normal shape.
Early on the fifth morning, with a white feather in one hand and a black one in the other, he descended through the opening beneath the fireplace.
In the underworld, he saw four buffaloes and placed the white feather in the mouth of the nearest one. He commanded it to follow him. But the first buffalo told him to take the feather to the last buffalo. This he did, but the fourth buffalo sent him again to the first one, into whose mouth the boy thrust the white feather.
"You are now the King of the Animals," declared the boy.
Upon returning to the above-world, the boy was followed by all the animals present upon the Earth at that time. As the large herd passed through the opening, one of the ravens awoke, hurrying to close the lid. Upon seeing that all the animals willingly followed the Apache boy, the raven exclaimed, "When you kill any of the animals, remember to save the eyes for me."
For four days the boy followed the tracks of the Apaches and overtook them with his giant herd of animals. Soon they all returned to the camp of the Apaches, where the Chief slew the first buffalo for a feast that followed. The boy remembered and saved the eyes for the ravens.
One old grandmother who lived in a brush lodge was annoyed with one of the deer that ate some of her lodge covering. Snatching a stick from the fire, she struck the deer's nose and the white ash stuck there leaving a white mark that can still be seen on the descendants of that deer.
"Hereafter, you shall avoid mankind," she pronounced. "Your nose will tell you when you are too close to them."
Thus ended the short period of harmony between man and the animals. Each day the animals wandered farther and farther from the tribes. Apaches prayed that the animals would return so they could enjoy the good meat again. It is mostly at night when the deer appear, but not too close, because the old grandmother told them to be guided by their noses!
Apaches developed skill in using the bows and arrows to hunt the good animal meat they liked so much, especially the buffalo.
And is a Vision Quest a Buddhist Prayer Ritual?
Thank you Simon for the Offering, I really appreciate it.
Yoga Mama- A vison Quest is a Native American Ritual, That I try to do as often as I feel I need to.The fasting is for the entire quest. Most quest are 1-3 days depending on the person and the quest they seek. If you are going to try a fasting just remember to drink plenty of water. While not eating will not harm you , not getting water for any longer than 24 hours can leave you very dehydrated.