VedicSkt.htm
Excerpts from A History of Sanskrit Literature, by
by A. A. Macdonell, 1900,
-
AAMacdonell-HistSktLit<Ô> /
Bkp<Ô>
(link chk 200314)
-
AAMacdonell-HistSktLit<Ô> /
Bkp<Ô>
- not user friendly
Edited, with additions from Pali sources, by U Kyaw Tun (UKT) (M.S., I.P.S.T., USA) and staff of Tun Institute of Learning (TIL) . Not for sale. No copyright. Free for everyone. Prepared for students and staff of TIL Research Station, Yangon, MYANMAR : http://www.tuninst.net , www.romabama.blogspot.com
UKT 200405: The English transcription "Rig" of "Rigveda" has been misleading for me. The R
{ra.kauk a.þän} is not a consonant. It shows the rhotic pronunciation of vowel
{þa.ra.}
{i.} /i/. "Rig" is the rhotic version of vowel letter
{I.} इ from the word
{I.þi.} or Rishi. My transcription and translation of "Rigveda" ऋग्वेद «ṛgveda» (= ऋ ग ् व े द) is
{iRRi.} "Knowledge of Rishis}.
00. Prefaces of UKT, Macdonell, and Esoteric nature
of the Myanmar akshara
- VedicSktPreface.htm -
update 2020
Apr
01. Introductory by Macdonell, with notes by UKT -
VedicSktIntro.htm -
update 2020Apr
02. The Vedic Period :
{vé-da. hkít} (c.1500 – c.500 BCE)
03. The Rigveda :
{iRRi.} "Knowledge of Rishis"
04.
Poetry of the Rigveda
05.
Philosophy of the Rigveda
06.
The Rigvedic Age : earlier part of Vedic Age
07. The Later Vedas
08. The Brāhmaṇas
09. The Sūtras
10. The Epics
11. Kāvya or Court Epic
12. Lyric Poetry
13. The Drama
14. Fairy Tales and Fables
15. Philosophy
16. Sanskrit literature and the West
---- Appendix on Technical literature - Law
- Grammar - Poetics - Mathematics and Astronomy
- Medicine - Arts
Bibliographical notes
Index
UKT notes
• Aryans
• Egyptian Book of the Dead
• Reincarnation :
{lu-wín-sa:}
• Tibetan Book of the Dead
(MacH029)
{vé-da. hkít}
On the very threshold of Indian literature more
than three thousand years ago, we are confronted
with a body of lyrical poetry which, although far
older than the literary monuments of any other
branch of the Indo-European family, is already
distinguished by refinement and beauty of thought,
as well as by skill in the handling of language
and metre.[UKT ¶]
From this point, for a period of more than a
thousand years, Indian literature bears an exclusively
religious stamp ; even those latest productions of
the Vedic age which cannot be called directly
religious are yet meant to further religious ends. This
is, indeed, implied by the term "Vedic." For
veda
{vé-da} (or in Bur-Myan
{wé-da.}) primarily signifying "knowledge"
(from vid, " to know "), designates
"sacred lore", as a branch of literature.
Besides this general sense, the word has also the
restricted meaning of "sacred book".
In the Vedic period three well-defined literary strata are to be distinguished. The first is that of the four Vedas, the outcome of a creative and poetic age, in which hymns and prayers were composed chiefly to accompany the pressing and offering of the Soma juice or the oblation of melted butter ( ghṛita ) to the gods. [UKT ¶]
The four Vedas are "collections," called संहिता «saṃhitā» , of hymns and prayers made for different ritual purposes. They are of varying age and significance. By far the most (MacH029end-030begin) important as well as the oldest -- for it is the very foundation of all Vedic literature -- is the Rigveda, the "Veda of verses" (from ṛich , " a laudatory stanza "), consisting entirely of lyrics, mainly in praise of different gods. It may, therefore, be described as the book of hymns or psalms. [UKT ¶]
UKT 200410: The four vedas are said to be being uttered by Mahabrahma's four mouths continuously:
1. Rigveda (RV)
2. Yajurveda (YV)
--- (with the main division TS vs. VS)
3. Samaveda (SV)
4. Atharvaveda (AV)
See also Dictionary of Pali-derived Myanmar words (in Bur-Myan) by U Tun Myint, Univ. of Rangoon Press, 1968,
- UTM-PDMD302UKT 200410: Since Rigveda was written by Rishis such as Vishvamitra
{waiþ~þa mait~ta. ra.þé.} who were held in high regard by Gautama Buddha, I'll interpret it as
{bé-dín kyûm:} - not important to Buddhism. I was one of those: little did I know that at least the Rigveda was written by rishis revered by Buddha himself.
The Sāma-veda has practically no independent value, for it consists entirely of stanzas (excepting only 75) taken from the Rigveda and arranged solely with reference to their place in the Soma sacrifice. Being meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, it may be called the book of chants (sāman). The Yajur-veda यजुर्वेद (= य ज ु र ् व े द ) differs in one essential respect from the Sāma-veda. It consists not only of stanzas ( ṛich ), mostly borrowed from the Rigveda , but also of original prose formulas. It resembles the Sāma-veda , however, in having its contents arranged in the order in which it was actually employed in various sacrifices. It is, therefore, a book of sacrificial prayers ( yajus ).
UKT 200407: I interpret this word
(MacH040) In the dim twilight preceding the dawn of Indian literature the historical imagination can perceive the forms of Aryan warriors, the first Western conquerors of Hindustan, issuing from those passes in the north-west through which the tide of invasion has in successive ages rolled to sweep over the plains of India. [UKT ¶]
UKT 200409: I cannot fully agree with Macdonell's term Aryan warriors. See my note on Aryans
The earliest poetry of this invading race,
whose language and culture ultimately
overspread the whole continent, was composed
while its tribes still occupied the territories on both sides
of the Indus now known as Eastern Kabulistan and the
Panjab. That ancient poetry has come down to us in
the form of a collection of hymns called the Rigveda
{iRRi.} "Knowledge of Rishis" . [UKT ¶]
UKT 200408: After coming to interpret Rigveda
The first invaders, on the other hand, were just nomads with flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle and horses. They infiltrated into India through mountain passes of the Hindu Kush , slowly and steadily. The invaders had not known settled urban life - a requirement for development art and culture. Even with rudimentary weapons, they could overpower the indigenous peoples. Thus, the earliest poetry of this invading race, is no better than lullabies and simple rhymes. On the other hand there was already a body of learning developed by men and women who had devoted their lives for the pursuit of a single task. They are
The cause which gathered the poems it contains into a single book was not practical, as in the case of the Sāma- and Yajur-veda, but scientific and historical. For its ancient editors were undoubtedly impelled by the motive of guarding the heritage of olden time from change and destruction. [UKT ¶]
The number of hymns comprised in the Rigveda in the only recension which has been preserved, that of the Çākala school, is 1017, or, if the eleven supplementary hymns (called Vālakhilya ) which are inserted in the middle of the eighth book are added, 1028. These hymns are grouped in ten books, called maṇḍalas, or "cycles," which vary in length, except that the tenth contains the same number (MacH040end-041begin) of hymns as the first. In bulk the hymns of the Rigveda equal, it has been calculated, the surviving poems of Homer.
(MacH059) Before we turn to describe the world of thought revealed in the hymns of the Rigveda, the question may naturally be asked, to what extent is it possible to understand the true meaning of a book occupying so isolated a position in the remotest age of Indian literature ? The answer to this question depends on the recognition of the right method of interpretation applicable to that ancient body of poetry. [UKT ¶]
When the Rigveda first became known, European scholars, as yet only acquainted with the language and literature of classical Sanskrit, found that the Vedic hymns were composed in an ancient dialect and embodied a world of ideas far removed from that with which they had made themselves familiar.
UKT 200408: Now what was the ancient dialect? Now, how are we to listen to this dialect spoken? It is unfortunate that not only Macdonell, but linguists in general to this fail to realize that language, or for that matter, dialects are speeches
{sa.ka:}, which are recorded in scripts
{sa}. The aim is to have a one-to-one mapping between
What Macdonell should have said is ancient script. Since the oldest script found on the Indian subcontinent is the Asokan-Brahmi, the first suggestion is to say that the ancient script is Asokan-Brahmi. It so happens that a similar script with similar pronunciations in a far-away place like the country of Georgia is not Asokan-Brahmi, but the Myanmar script. Note: the name of the capital of Georgia
{gyeo-gyi-ya neín-gnän} is spelled with Bur-Myan თ {ta.} /t/ - not Asokan-Brahmi
{ta} /t/.
The interpretation of these hymns was therefore at
the outset barred by almost insurmountable
difficulties. Fortunately, however, a
voluminous commentary on the Rigveda which explains
or paraphrases every word of its hymns, was
found to exist. This was the work of the great Vedic
scholar SĀYAṆA
{hsa.ra þa-ya.Na.} [aka Sāyaṇācārya
{þa-ya.Na. a-sa.ri.ya.} (died 1387)], who lived in the latter half of the fourteenth
century A.D. at Vijayanagara ("City of Victory"),
the ruins of which lie near Bellary in Southern India. [UKT ¶]
UKT 200408: Since the scholar Sāyaṇa
{poaN~Na:} who had lived in various centuries stretching from Vedic Age
As his commentary constantly referred to ancient
authorities, it was thought to have preserved the true
meaning of the Rigveda in a traditional interpretation (MacH059end-060begin)
going back to the most ancient times. Nothing further seemed to be necessary
than to ascertain the explanation of the original text which prevailed in
India five centuries ago, and is laid down in Sayana's
{hsa.ra þa-ya.Na.} work. This view is represented by the translation of the
Rigveda begun in 1850 by H. H. Wilson, the first professor of Sanskrit at
Oxford.
UKT 200413: Macdonell opens this section with the subject of Death and the King of the Dead, Yama
{ya.ma. mín:kri:} यम . Bur-Myan refer to him as
{mín:mrût} showing that they fear him but do not respect him.
It is well known that when a person dies his body is left lifeless as if asleep. Has his life or his soul also died, or left for another destination. At death, the person made up of Body
{roap} and Mind
{naam} (aka Namarupa
-
{na-ma. ru-pa} नामारूपा) breaks up into Body
If the Mind
"Nāmarūpa नामारूपा is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: nāma is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while rūpa refers to the physical."It is beyond me to explain what Narm
{wi.Ñaañ} are. Just look into the subject of Reincarnation and NDE (Near Death Experience). See my note on Reincarnation
Let's see what the Tibetans say about Death and Yama
(MacH116begin) According to the Vedic view, the
spirit of the deceased proceeded to the realm of eternal light on the path
trodden by the fathers, whom he finds in the highest heaven revelling with Yama
{ya.ma. mín:kri:} यम,
king of the dead पितृ «pitṛ» = प ि त ृ , and feasting with the gods.
In one of the funeral hymns (x. 14, 7) the dead man is thus addressed :
Go forth, go forth along those ancient pathways
To where our early ancestors departed.
There thou shalt see rejoicing in libations
The two kings, Varuna the god and Yama.UKT 200414: I wonder from where Macdonell got the above lines. Did he translate them himself? The following is from - Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T. H. Griffith, 1896, at sacred-texts. com. :
HYMN XIV. Yama . 7.Go forth, go forth upon the ancient pathways, whereon our sires of old have gone before us.
'Mere shalt thou look on both the Kings enjoying their sacred food, God Varuṇa and Yama.prehi prehi pathibhiḥ pūrvyebhiryatrā naḥ pūrve pitaraḥpareyuḥ |
ubhā rājānā svadhayā madantā yamaṃ paśyāsivaruṇaṃ ca devam ||परेहि परेहि पथिभिः पूर्व्येभिर्यत्रा नः पूर्वे पितरःपरेयुः |
उभा राजाना सवधया मदन्ता यमं पश्यासिवरुणं च देवम ||
Here a tree spreads its branches, in the shade of which Yama drinks soma
{þau-ma.} with
the gods, and the sound of the flute and of songs is heard. The life in heaven
is free from imperfections or bodily frailties, and is altogether delectable. It
is a glorified life of material joys as conceived by the imagination, not of
warriors, but of priests. Heaven is gained as a reward by heroes who risk their
lives in battle, but above all by those who bestow liberal sacrificial gifts on
priests.
Though the Atharva-veda [
{a-htûb~ba.Na.}
अथर्ववेद
«atharvaveda»] undoubtedly shows a belief in a place of future punishment, [UKT
¶]
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atharvaveda 200413
"The Atharva Veda is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life". [1] The text is the fourth Veda, but has been a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. [2] [3] ...
... The ancient Indian tradition initially recognized only three Vedas. [5] [27] The Rigveda, the verse 3.12.9.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana, the verse 5.32-33 of Aitareya Brahmana and other Vedic era texts mention only three Vedas. [3] The acceptance of the Atharvanas hymns and traditional folk practices was slow, and it was accepted as another Veda much later than the first three, by both orthodox and heterodox traditions of Indian philosophies. The early Buddhist Nikaya texts, for example, do not recognize Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda, and make references to only three Vedas. [28] [29] "
the utmost that can be inferred with regard to the Rigveda from the scanty evidence we possess, is the notion that unbelievers were (MacH116end-117begin) consigned to an underground darkness after death. So little, indeed, do the Rishis say on this subject, and so vague is the little they do say, [UKT ¶]
UKT 200414: I'm not surprised that the original Rishis of highly culturally-developed Harappan civilization did not say about "consignment to an underground darkness after death". When they did not even have kings with armies to rule over them, they did not have to consider about reward and punishment after death. However, Rishis who came with the invaders, who had gods like the Sun to worship, because of their weak cultural background, had to develop fanciful pictures of reward and punishment which their followers can understand. Gautama Buddha did revered the original Rishis, but not the latter ones.
that Roth held the total annihilation of the wicked by death to be their belief. The early Indian notions about future punishment gradually developed, till, in the post-Vedic period, a complicated system of hells had been elaborated.
Some passages of the Rigveda distinguish the path of the fathers or dead ancestors from the path of the gods, doubtless because cremation appeared as a different process from sacrifice. In the Brahmanas the fathers and the gods are thought to dwell in distinct abodes, for the "heavenly world " is contrasted with the "world of the fathers."
The chief of the blessed dead is Yama, to whom three entire hymns are addressed. He is spoken of as a king who rules the departed and as a gatherer of the people, who gives the deceased a resting-place and prepares an abode for him. Yama it was who first discovered the way to the other world :
Him who along the mighty heights departed, .
Him who searched and spied out the path for many,
Son of Vivasvat, gatherer of the people,
Yama the king, with sacrifices worship, (x. 14, i).UKT 200414: In place of the above by Macdonell, I got the following from:
Rig Veda, tr. by Ralph T. H. Griffith, 1896, at sacred-texts. com.
HYMN XIV. Yama . 1.HONOUR the King with thine oblations, Yama, Vivasvān's Son, who gathers men together,
Who travelled to the lofty heights above us, who searches out and shows the path to many.pareyivāṃsaṃ pravato mahīranu bahubhyaḥ panthāmanupaspaśanam |
vaivasvataṃ saṃghamanaṃ janānāṃ yamaṃrājānaṃ haviṣā duvasya ||परेयिवांसं परवतो महीरनु बहुभ्यः पन्थामनुपस्पशनम |
वैवस्वतं संगमनं जनानां यमंराजानं हविषा दुवस्य ||
Though death is the path of Yama, and he must consequently have been regarded with a certain amount of fear, he is not yet in the Rigveda, as in the Atharvaveda and the later mythology, a god of death. The owl and pigeon are occasionally mentioned as emissaries of Yama, but his regular messengers are two dogs which guard the path trodden by the dead proceeding to the other world. (MacH116end)
(MacH139begin) The survey of the poetry of the Rigveda presented in the foregoing pages will perhaps suffice to show that this unique monument of a long-vanished age contains, apart from its historical interest, much of aesthetic value, and well deserves to be read, at least in selections, by every lover of literature. The completeness of the picture it supplies of early religious thought has no parallel. Moreover, though its purely secular poems are so few, the incidental references contained in the whole collection are sufficiently numerous to afford material for a tolerably detailed description of the social condition of the earliest Aryans in India. Here, then, we have an additional reason for attaching great importance to the Rigveda in the history of civilisation.
In the first place, the home of the Vedic tribes is revealed to us by the geographical data which the hymns yield. From these we may conclude with certainty that the Aryan invaders, after having descended into the plains, in all probability through the western passes of the Hindu Kush, had already occupied the north-western corner of India which is now called by the Persian name of Panjāb, or "Land of Five Rivers." (fn139-01) [UKT ¶]
UKT 200414: What Macdonell, Roth and other distinguished scholars have missed are the tectonic changes resulting in the growth of mountains, and the amount of snow on the Himalayas. The sea-level has also changed. So has the climate. These changes can result in rivers changing courses and silting up leading to disappearance and appearance of rivers.
Mention is made in the hymns of some twenty-five (MacH139end-140begin) streams, all but two or three of which belong to the Indus river system. Among them are the five which water the territory of the Panjāb, and, after uniting in a single stream, flow into the Indus. They are the Vitastā (now Jhelum), the Asiknī (Chenab), the Parushṇī (later called Iravātī, "the refreshing," whence its present name, Ravi), the Vipāç (Beäs), and the largest and most easterly, the Çutudrī (Sutlej). [UKT ¶]
Some of the Vedic tribes, however, still remained on the farther side of the Indus, occupying the valleys of its western tributaries, from the Kubhā (Kabul), with its main affluent to the north, the Suvāstu, river "of fair dwellings" (now Swat), to the Krumu (Kurum) and Gomatī, "abounding in cows" (now Gomal), farther south.
(MacH141) ... Mention is often made in the Rigveda of the «sapta sindhavaḥ», or "seven rivers," which in one passage at least is synonymous with the country inhabited by the Aryan Indians. It is interesting to note that the same expression «hapta hindu» occurs in the Avesta [language of Persia], though it is there restricted to mean only that part of the Indian territory which lay in Eastern Kabulistan. [UKT ¶]
If "seven" is here intended for a definite number, the "seven rivers" must originally have meant the Kabul, the Indus, and the five rivers of the Panjāb, though later the Sarasvatī may have been substituted for the Kabul. For the Sarasvatī is the sacred river of the Rigveda, more frequently mentioned, generally as a goddess, and lauded with more fervour than any other stream. The poet's descriptions are often only applicable to a large river. [UKT ¶]
Hence Roth and other distinguished scholars concluded that Sarasvatī is generally used by the poets of the Rigveda simply as a sacred designation of the Indus. On the other hand, the name in a few passages undoubtedly means the small river midway between the Sutlej and the Jumna, which at a later period formed, with the Dṛishadvatī, the eastern boundary of the sacred region called Brahmāvarta, (MacH141end-142begin) lying to the south of Ambāla, and commencing some sixty miles south of Simla.
fn139-01 . The component parts of this name are in Skt «pancha» five, and «āp» water. - fn139-01b
Not to be confused with Aryans as a racial group. See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race 200411
"The Aryan race is a historical race concept which emerged in the period of the late 19th century and mid-20th century to describe people of Indo-European (IE) heritage as a racial grouping. [1]
UKT 200408:
The Macdonell's Aryan warriors can be linguistically identified as Sibilant speakers . They will be called later Sanskrit speakers.
BEPS recognizes 3 sibilant-thibilant phonemes,
represented as graphemes:
{sha.} श /ʃ/,
{Sa.} ष /s/,
{þa.} स /θ/. [Note: don't bring in
IAST (International Alphabet for Sanskrit
Transliteration), which is a transliteration
and not transcription. For those who are not familiar with IPA
representation remember: /ʃ/ is a husher, and /s/ is a hisser. Now
when the Sanskrit speakers mis-pronounce
{þa.} स as a thibilant /θ/ as a sibilant, they are in trouble
because they now have two hissers. They don't even seem to have a glyph for it
because of which they have to improvise, as in two other cases:
प + diagonal --> ष (hisser)
व + diagonal --> ब
ड + dot --> ङ
Remember Romabama
{ro:ma.ba.ma} - the intermediate language is based on Bur-Myan phonology, and it
fails when applied to Mon-Myan. Just as Skt-Dev has to devise new glyphs for
Basic Consonants , Romabama has to develop new ones for Mon-Myan:
{ßa.} and
{ßé}. For Eng-Lat and Skt-Dev:
{fa.}
and
{va.}.
BEPS defines a Basic Consonant as one which is not broken up under the action of Virama
{a.þût}. Thus the need to invent a new glyph for Skt-Dev श /ʃ/ :
{þhya.} breaks down under the viram.
When you speak Pali-Myan, use Bur-Myan phonology
and pronounce
{þa.} स as a thibilant /θ/. But,
when you speak Skt-Dev use Hindi-Dev phonology, and
pronounce
{þa.} स as a sibilant /s/. Now, try
and pronounce the dental fricative
{pwut-teik-þän}
{Sa.} ष.
Caveat: For those of
you who are not used to a thibilant /θ/,
pronounce it with the tongue tip between upper and
lower front teeth (TTBT). For those do not
pay attention how they pronounce sibilant
/s/, try to say
{Sa.} ष or palatal
{sa.} च with the tongue tip touching bottom of
lower front teeth (TTLB). BEPS differentiates
the dental and palatal entities by the way they behave
under the virama
{a.þût}:
• Palatal plosive-stop (present in Bur-Myan):
{c} च
• Dental fricative (absent in Bur-Myan): -----{S} ष
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the Aryans.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race 200409
The Aryan race is a historical race concept which emerged in the period of the late 19th century and mid-20th century to describe people of Indo-European (IE) heritage as a racial grouping. [1]
The concept derives from the notion that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or subrace of the Caucasian race. [2] [3]
Max Müller is often identified as the first writer to mention an "Aryan race" in English. In his Lectures on the Science of Language (1861), [11] Müller referred to Aryans as a "race of people". At the time, the term race had the meaning of "a group of tribes or peoples, an ethnic group". [12] He occasionally used the term "Aryan race" afterwards, [13] but wrote in 1888 that:
"an ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is as great a sinner as a linguist who speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar"; [14]
UKT 200409: For the meanings of dolichocephalic and brachycephalic , see Wikipedia:
¤ Dolichocephaly (from Ancient Greek δολιχός "long") is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected, [1] relative to its width. ¤ Brachycephaly is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species.
Go back Aryans-note-b
- UKT 200414:
This is the second book on subject of dying and death after reading the
Tibetan Book of the Death. There in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the
Bardo of the deceased enters into a womb (a woman, a cow, a bitch, or any
female animal) to be born again in a Body. The Bardo in Bur-Myan belief
would be equal to Laitpya
{lait-pra} 'animate part of human being; a butterfly' (MED2006-455). In addition
to this simple concept Bur-Myan also have the concept of Wi'nyin
{wi.Ñaañ} (MED2006-475) which will never leave a dying Body until it has found a
new (about to born) Body.
The Egyptian concept of a Person is more complex than Body
{roap} and Mind
{naam}. See:
-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_conception_of_the_soul 020415
"The ancient Egyptians believed that a soul (Ka/Ba) was
made up of many parts. In addition to these components of the soul, there was
the human body (called the Ḥa , occasionally a plural Ḥaw meaning
approximately "sum of bodily parts"). [UKT: I've shown unidentifiable vowel with
a. ]
From: Egyptian Book of the Dead , by E A Wallis-Budge, 1898, in TIL HD-PDF and SD-Libraries:
- EAWallisBudge-EgyptBkDead<Ô> / Bkp<Ô> (link chk 200414)(Roman037begin) Introduction: Long ago, in the earliest period of Egyptian civilization, the dwellers on the Nile were in the habit of preserving the dead bodies of their relatives and friends by means of salt, soda, ... ... The Egyptians embalmed their dead either because they wished to keep their material bodies with them upon earth, or because they believed that ... ... Whatever the motive, it is quite certain that it must have been a very powerful one, for the custom of embalming the dead lasted in Egypt without a break for at least five thousand years . It survived all the influence which the Greeks (Roman037end-038begin) and Romans brought to bear upon the habits and customs of the Egyptians, and only disappeared from the country about two hundred years before its conquest [by the Muslims] in 658 AD.
(Roman039) ... There is little doubt that when the body was laid to rest in the tomb, the priest pronounced certain words or formulae or prayers over it, and it is probable that the recital of these words was accompanied by the performance of certain ceremonies . Whatever these formulae were they formed the foundation of the Book of the Dead of later Egyptian times.
(Roman040begin) Certain portions of texts which have been incorporated into religious works of a later period shew that the life which the Egyptian hoped to live after death was one similar to that which he led upon earth, ...
This shows that the Life after Death, to the Egyptians is not a life on this earth, as in reincarnation belief of the Burman or Tibetan.
(Roman042) ... Passing from prehistoric times of which we know little, and that little imperfectly, we come to the tombs of the first four dynasties, which shew that a great development in the religious ideas and funeral ceremonies has taken place ...
(Roman043) ... At this time we find that certain priests called "priests of the Ka" were duly appointed, and that they performed their ministrations in "chapels of the Ka" which were attached to the tombs of kings and wealthy men ; this shews beyond a doubt that the doctrine of the existence of a "double" of a man (Roman043end-044begin) had been evolved, and the making of offerings to it at stated intervals at the tomb proves that it was believed to dwell therein, and that material meat and drink were necessary for its well-being. This is important also as indicating that the offerings were not consumed by the deceased himself, however needful the ceremony of offering them might be for his general welfare .
(Roman046) ... Where and by whom the texts of the Book of the Dead were composed is also unknown . There is no good reason for assuming that they are the offspring of the minds of Libyans or dwellers of Central Africa, they cannot be the literary product of savages or negroes, there is no evidence to shew that they are of Semitic origin, and the general testimony of their contents indicates an Asiatic home for their birthplace.
Go back EgyptBkDead-note-b
- UKT 200415
The basic belief of various Myanmar ethnics --
Bur-Myan, Karen-Myan, Mon-Myan, Shan-Myan, etc.
-- is an after life as a human Luwinsa
{lu-wín-sa:}, or as a Nanabawa
{na-na-Ba-wa.} 'ghost, evil spirit' (MED2006-222),
or as an animal. An after-life is available to
every human, in any of the 31 planes of existence.
The Nanabawa
{na-na-Ba-wa.} are to be feared, because they can make themselves visible to
humans to scare and do mischief, or even kill, and make the victim their slave.
They can also assume various human forms, but usually in the form of a pretty
girl to entice young men into their power.
Ma Aung Hpyu is what might be called the "Goddess of the Rolled Reed Mat". It is she, who young Myanmar girls would like to invite, when the elders are away, to ask her about their lovers. Little do they know that after the session she would refuse to go away at which point the human girls can become hysterical and possessed by other entities. I've heard of such ailments which is beyond the help of modern medicine. Usually the victim becomes insane or die.
If you would to read more, go to Section 5: ¤ Folk Elements in Buddhism - flk-ele-indx.htm (llink chk 200415)
With this back ground when we, U Aye Maung and I, discussed about reincarnation,
U Aye Maung told me about a friend of his who was working as Myanmar informant
for Dr. Ian Stevenson (1918-2007) doing research in various parts of the world.
When Dr. Stevenson came to Burma in 1976, I had the chance to listen to one of
his private lectures at the home of the-then director of USIS. See Wikipedia on
Dr. Stevenson
-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Stevenson 200415
Naturally, after our discussions on Reincarnation, we arrived at NED (Near-Death-Experience) the closest humans, we as living humans can know about Death. The person who coined the word NED, and doing research is Dr. Raymond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Moody 200415
Sad to say, many dismiss the work of Drs. Stevenson and Moody as not worthy of
genuine science like Thermodynamics. I can now understand why Gaudamma Buddha
refused to give yes-no answers to some questions:
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unanswered_questions 200415
Go back Reincarnation-note-b
- UKT 200413:
I became interested in the subject of dying and death only after
discussing various aspects of Buddhism with my former teacher, and then
co-brother, U Aye Maung, author of various books on Buddhism. He was married to
my eldest sister-in-law, Daw Than Yin. Naturally, we broached on the subject of
Reincarnation and
{lu-wín-sa:}. We also talked about Parapsychology.
From: Tibetan Book of the Dead, translated by Lāma Kazi Dawa-Samdup, publication date not given, in TIL HD-PDF and SD-PDF libraries:
- LamaKDawaSamdup-TibBkDead<Ô> / Bkp<Ô> (link chk 200413)
"The work has been traditionally attributed to Padma-Sambhava, an Indian mystic who was said to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century."(p001) This book is the first English language translation of the famous Tibetan death text, "The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State". Also known as the Bardo Thodol which means "liberation by hearing on the after death plane" (Bardo: after death plane, Thodol or Thotrol: liberation by hearing), it was originally written in the Tibetan language and is meant to be a guide for those who have died as they transition from their former life to a new destination. ...
The most famous of those that discovered and revealed Padma-Sambhava's writings was Karma Lingpa who was born around 1350 CE. According to his biography, Karma Lingpa found several hidden texts on top of a mountain in Tibet when he was fifteen years old. Within those texts, he found a collection of teachings entitled The Self-Emergence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities from Enlightened Awareness. These teachings contained the texts of the now famous Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo.
Since the story of how Karma Lingpa found the texts of the Book of the Dead
looks like a make belief story, you may or may not believe it. See:
-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_Lingpa 200415.
"Karma Lingpa (1326–1386) was the tertön (revealer) of the
Bardo Thodol, the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead.
[1]
Tradition holds that he was a
reincarnation
{lu wín-sa:} of
Chokro Lü Gyeltsen,
[note 1]
[2]
a disciple of
Padmasambhava. "
(p002) Book 1: The Chikhai Bardo and the Chönyid Bardo :
Herein lieth the setting-face-to-face to the reality in the intermediate state: the great deliverance by hearing while on the after-death plane, from 'The Profound Doctrine of the Emancipating of the Consciousness by Meditation Upon the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities'.The Obeisances:
To the Divine Body of Truth, the Incomprehensible, Bound-less Light; To the Divine Body of Perfect Endowment, Who are the Lotus and the Peaceful and the Wrathful Deities; To the Lotus-born Incarnation, Padma Sambhava, Who is the Protector of all sentient beings; To the Gurus, the Three Bodies, obeisance.The Introduction:
This Great Doctrine of Liberation by Hearing, which conferreth spiritual freedom on devotees of ordinary wit while in the Intermediate State, hath three divisions: the preliminaries, the subject-matter, and the conclusion.At first, the preliminaries, The Guide Series, for emancipating beings, should be mastered by practice.
The Transference of the Consciousness-Principle
By The Guide, the highest intellects ought most certainly to be liberated; but should they not be liberated, then while in the Intermediate State of the Moments of Death they should practice the Transference, which giveth automatic liberation by one's merely remembering it.Devotees of ordinary wit ought most certainly to be freed thereby; but should they not be freed, then, while in the Intermediate State [during the experiencing] of Reality, they should persevere in the listening to this Great Doctrine of Liberation by Hearing.
Accordingly, the devotee should at first examine the symptoms of death as they gradually appear [in his dying body], following Self-Liberation [by Observing the] Characteristics [of the] Symptoms of Death. Then, when all the symptoms of death are complete [he should] apply the Transference, which conferreth liberation by merely remembering [the process].
(p003) The Reading of this Thödol
If the Transference hath been effectually employed, there is no need to read this Thödol; but if the Transference hath not been effectually employed, then this Thödol is to be read, correctly and distinctly, near the dead body.If there be no corpse, then the bed or the seat to which the deceased had been accustomed should be occupied [by the reader], who ought to expound the power of the Truth. Then, summoning the spirit [of the deceased], imagine it to be present there listening, and read. During this time no relative or fond mate should be allowed to weep or to wail, as such is not good [for the deceased]; so restrain them.
If the body be present, just when the expiration hath ceased, either a lāma [who hath been as a guru to the deceased], or a brother in the Faith whom the deceased trusted, or a friend for whom the deceased had great affection, putting the lips close to the ear [of the body] without actually touching it, should read this Great Thödol.
The Practical Application of this Thödol by the Officiant
Now for the explaining of the Thödol itself:If thou canst gather together a grand offering, offer it in worship of the Trinity. If such cannot be done, then arrange whatever can be gathered together as objects on which thou canst concentrate thy thoughts and mentally create as illimitable an offering as possible and worship.
Then the 'Path of Good Wishes Invoking the Aid of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas' should be recited seven times or thrice.
After that, the 'Path of Good Wishes Giving Protection from Fear in the Bardo', and the 'Path of Good Wishes for Safe Delivery from the Dangerous Pitfalls of the Bardo', it together with the 'Root Words of the Bardo', are to be read distinctly and with the proper intonation.
Then this Great Thödol is to be read either seven times or thrice, according to the occasion. [First cometh] the setting-face-to-face [to the symptoms of death] as they occur during the moments of death; [second] the application of the great vivid reminder, the setting-face-to-face to Reality while in the Intermediate State; and third, the methods of closing the doors of the womb while in the Intermediate State when seeking rebirth.
(p004)
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End of TIL file.
