Searching for the origin of the "卍" character

 

Searching for the origin of the "卍" character

 

                 

In a post station in Tibet, Agudengba and Lhacuo chatted with the owner of the post station, Sinval, about the "swastika" logo on the chest of the Buddha statue in the thangka.

Sinval claimed to be of Aryan descent. Sinval said to Agudemba and Latso:

Most people think that the "swastika" character is a symbol of Indian Buddhism and Hinduism, representing the teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism. There are generally two ways to write the character "卍", one is left-handed (卍), and the other is right-handed (卐). In Buddhism, the right-hand rotation is generally used. When Buddhist rituals are held, the right-hand rotation is used because Buddhists believe that the right-hand rotation represents auspiciousness.

But I always believed that the "Swastika" character originated from the Aryans.

In the culture of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the symbol "卍" has experienced various variations during the historical development process. However, no matter how the form of "卍" changes, "卍" has always existed and has become an indispensable part of religion and folk customs. A missing symbol.

The swastika symbols that appear in Tibetan rock paintings are all over the west, north, and south. They are distributed over a wide area, and they last for a long time, running through the early, middle, and late phases of Tibetan rock paintings. This also shows that "卍" is a very ancient symbol and has deep roots with the early civilization of Tibet.

In the history of Tibetan and Qiang culture, the "卍" or "卍" in Tibetan Ritu rock paintings represents the sun and its rays. At the beginning, I drew a circle with some lights around it. Later, as the configuration was simplified step by step, it evolved into this symbol. During the Shang Shung Dynasty, "Swastika" originally meant the eternal sun, and later became synonymous with indestructibility, eternity, auspiciousness and goodness.

Among the Tibetan people, the "卍" and "卐" symbols represent Buddhism and Bon religion respectively, and symbolize that the universe was first formed by air movement. During the Shang Shung Dynasty, the "卍" and "卐" symbols were auspicious symbols of the sect. Buddhism mainly Used to symbolize that Sakyamuni has 32 phases and 80 kinds.

In Tibetan folklore, the early swastika symbolized the sun god. Later, "Swastika" appeared in Tibet, and its meaning was more about the reincarnation of living Buddhas. In Tibetan folk custom, "Swastika" symbolizes light and auspiciousness. "Swastika" appears frequently in the bronze culture and painted pottery culture of Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia, symbolizing the endless spiritual connotation of the nation.

Sinval said:

In the history of Tibet, whether it is the later Tibetan Buddhism or the primitive Bon religion, the "swastika" symbol is closely connected with them.

In the original Bon religion, "swastika" is an auspicious symbol. When Bon religion was founded, it was called Yongzhong. The characters used were called Yongzhong sacred scripts. The place where Bon religion is located was called the ninth-level Yongzhong Mountain. , Yongzhong Sand Dunes, the Zen sticks held by the ancestors of the Bon religion also have the auspicious pattern of "swastika", and even the sites of Bon temples are mostly located in places with natural "fold" shaped patterns.

After Buddhism was introduced to Tibet, "Swastika" was widely used. All pictures of Buddha must have "Swastika" on the chest.

However, there are differences in the usage of swastikas in Bon and Buddhism. In Bon religion, the "Swastika" rotates counterclockwise, while in Buddhism, the "Swastika" rotates clockwise.

The "卍" (卐) character is the oldest spell, talisman or religious and cultural symbol in the world. In ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, India, Europe, West Asia and the Altaic-speaking peoples, the worship of the "卍" (卐) character was common , in addition to religion, it has different symbolic meanings and different styles and variations in different periods and cultures in the world.

In cultural areas around the world, archaeological examples and various variations of the "卍" character have been discovered. The worship of the "卍" character is very popular among many ethnic groups. It is a long-standing primitive cultural belief symbol, which combines the primitive cosmology and primitive Humanistic thought.

The "swastika" character has been recharged for thousands of years and can be found in almost every ethnic group living on the earth. It symbolizes the wheel of auspiciousness and the blessing of gods, as well as life and the alternation of the four seasons.

The earliest swastika character discovered today was painted on the wall in a cave at least 10,000 years ago. As early as the distant Neolithic Age, the "Swastika" character has been produced and existed in many areas of the world. For example, as early as 5000 BC, the "swastika" character was found on the pottery of the Hassuna period in Western Mesopotamia. The earliest "swastika" character in ancient Egypt can be traced back to the third century BC and was seen in the 10th century BC. On the foreign pottery fragments of Cyprus and Caria during the Second Dynasty; in ancient India, the "swastika" character has been seen everywhere for a long time. Before the Aryans invaded India (2nd century BC), it was commonly used by the local Indian indigenous people. The "swastika" character is used as a mark on silver coins.

Both Hinduism and Jainism in ancient India used the "swastika" character as an auspicious symbol, and its symbol often appeared on gates, offerings and account books.

The "Swastika" character is still used today in Buddhism and Jainism to represent their seventh saint. The four arms of the "Swastika" character remind believers of the four places of rebirth in reincarnation: plants or animals, hell, earth, and heaven. . India believes that the "Swastika" character is a symbol of the good god Xiangbitian. It represents the origin of the sun's polarity and represents the sun moving from east to west during the day. It is a symbol of light, life and glory; the "Swastika" character is It is the symbol of the goddess Time Mother, representing the feminine principle, representing the sun moving from west to east during the night, and is a symbol of darkness, death, and destruction. In Buddhist (Bonjiao) culture, the "卍" (卐) character is believed to be the footprints of the Buddha (Dongba), and sometimes also refers to the "wheel of life" or the "wheel of the sun and the moon."

Sinval added:

Historically, the Aryans, who belong to the Indo-European language family, came to Europe around 2000 BC and brought with them the "swastika" character (sun disk) that was included in their religious artworks at that time. This evidence can be seen in the cultural relics unearthed from the Kurgan Cave in the Siberian Steppes of Russia and the Aryan Cave in Xinjiang, China. In Greece, the ancient Cretans and Trojans widely used the swastika character in many decorations.

In the Indo-European culture, the "Swastika" character symbolizes "good luck and good luck". The "Swastika" character is associated with many things that represent auspiciousness and luck in India, because it is a symbol of "auspiciousness and good luck". The end of the cross in the "Swastika" character can be turned left or right, and its end points in all four directions to symbolize steady progress. The "Swastika" character is found in Asia, Europe and Native Americans, and has been used by many religions such as Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. In Sanskrit, the character "Swastika" (Srivatsa) means "auspicious sea and cloud phase" or "auspicious gathering", which means "well-being". In China, the "卍" character is well known as the auspicious symbol of Buddhism.

In India, both "卍" and "卐" characters exist, representing different meanings. Because it is not a simple cultural symbol, it is used differently in different human societies.

Sinval said:

In China, the "卍" character also has a long history. It is not only a graphic symbol, but also a Chinese character with sound, shape and meaning.

The earliest "Swastika" character in China was found in the Shipengshan Cemetery of Wengniute Banner of the Xiaoheyan Culture in the Liaohe River Basin in Northeast China. Four pieces of pottery engraved with twelve original text symbols were unearthed, and seven of them belonged to the "Swastika" character. About 4000-4500 years ago. The "swastika" character, which is slightly later than the Xiaoheyan Culture, can be found in the Machang type of the Majiayao Culture in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. There are a large number of left-hand twists on the unearthed painted pottery single-eared long-necked pots. "卍", "十", "X" and other characters, among which there are nearly 100 "卍" characters, most of which are located on the belly and bottom of the pottery, dating back about 4200 years.

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, a large number of extremely modified "卍" characters were also found. For example, a pottery tripod unearthed from the Erlitou site had a modified "卍" character on the belly, which seemed to be related to the sun and fire; another example, during the Warring States Period, A bronze pot with chariot and horse hunting patterns has "swastika" characters on the top and bottom.

In the 1970s, silk fabrics unearthed from Tomb No. 3 of the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha had the character "swastika" on the far left. After Buddhism was introduced to China in the Han Dynasty, the inherent meaning of the "卍" character began to fade, and instead the cultural significance of Buddhism became increasingly strengthened.

From the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the present, the "卍" character has been widely used in Buddhism and is also widely used in porcelain, jade, bronze, gold and silver, wood and stone carvings, paper-cutting, embroidery, knitting, headscarves, Pulu, bronze mirrors, etc. Pictures, costumes, thangkas, mandalas, decorations and other artworks, daily utensils, rock paintings and buildings have become an integral part of traditional Chinese culture.

The early "卍" character was derived from the "十" character and the "X" character. It was an image representation of the fertility worship of ancient ancestors. Later, the representation concepts of Yin Yang Bagua and Hexagram were derived.

The "卍" character is an expression of the philosophy of the unity of opposites of yin and yang. Its view of the male and female of all things summarizes the crystallization of ancient and modern human knowledge of understanding and transforming the world. It reveals that heaven has yin and yang, and yin and yang produce all things. "Heaven, the ancestor of all things, all things are not If the sky does not come into being, the yin alone does not arise, the yang alone does not grow, the yin and yang and the heaven and earth are combined and then come into being.”

The "Swastika" character is also deeply rooted in the folk, and it means good luck, turning bad luck into good luck, wealth and God's blessing, everlasting life, longevity and health, ten thousand blessings and auspiciousness, solid as a rock, happiness and contentment, and has become one of the auspicious patterns with Chinese characteristics.

Today, this word is often seen in Buddhism, especially in Tibetan Buddhism, where it often appears with white characters on a blue background, because blue is an eternal color in Tibetan culture. Later, it spread to the Central Plains, and the "Swastika" also underwent some changes, usually in yellow.

Sinval sighed:

The "swastika" character represents many things, but as a descendant of the Aryans, I never would have imagined that the "swastika" character became the emblem and flag of the German Nazis, and even symbolized "the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryans." "

In fact, the intention of the German Nazis was far from the true meaning of the "swastika" character.

Sinval sang a "Swastika":

 

If there is no faith,

It is difficult to get blessing;

If there is no blessing,

It is difficult to obtain treasure;

If you don't do farming,

It is difficult to get a banker;

If there is no effort,

It is difficult to succeed.

 

If you are lucky,

The road will also be smooth;

If you have the courage,

Weapons will also be sharp;

If there is fate,

There will be more gains;

If you free yourself,

The swastika is auspicious.