Chinese Pyramids -Earth Quest

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Chinese Pyramids

   Historically China is well known for things like the Great Wall of China, its dynastic rulers and of course it superb china ware. It is not very well known for its Pyramids, well China has a large number of pyramids, possibly over a 100. Most of them are located in a 70-mile area around the city of Xi'an. This has mostly been unknown by the out side world, thou as china opens up this may change.

  The first photo of a Chinese pyramid was taken in 1945 at the end of World War II. This White Pyramid is located in the Qin Ling Shan mountains about 60 miles Southwest of Xi'an. The photo was in the files of the US Military for 45 years before it became public knowledge.


  The biggest breakthrough came when Hartwig Hausdorf a writer and author from Germany, was able to visit some of the restricted areas in china, he then found and photographed a large number of pyramids. Hartwig Hausdorf has written his own account of his visit to china, as well his ideas on the Pyramids. These can be found, on the Extraterrestrial legacy web site.

  As we can see from the photographs the pyramids in china are as large as any that can be found in Egypt, Mexico and any other part of the world.


  These images and others that become available over time, will help all researchers of the ancient world to peace together our past. I would expect any new ideas to be as controversial and wide ranging, and probably have similar lines to the one's we have already seen, for other pyramid sites around the world.

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The main Pyramid areas are on the Qin Chuan Plains in central China.

Qin Lin Valley
Qin Ling Shan Mountains - 100km SouthWest of Xi'an
Moa Ling - Near Xianyang township 50km West of Xi'an
Wei Ho River - North of Xi'an (Chinese Imperium)
Stensi
Shandong - Stone Pyramid
Taibai Shan Mountain - 10,000ft highest point in the Qin Ling Mountains

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   Were the Pyramids constructed as tombs for the emperors of china or were they copies of an existing great white pyramid? In a television documentary "The First Emperor" some footage was shown of the pyramids describing them as tombs of the emperors of china.
An alternative view by the author Hartwig Hausdorf has suggested an Extraterrestrial connection, his ideas can be found in his book the "Chinese Roswell"

  In ancient texts the mound found near the terracotta army is described as resting place of Chin the first emperor of china. It is supposed to contain a model of the Chinese empire with rivers of flowing mercury and a roof covered with jowls that show the constellations and stars in the sky. The texts also describe the existence of the terracotta army, and as we know that they are correct in this respect then we can assume that the rest is also true.

  No one has excavated this tomb yet but attempts have shown traces of toxic chemicals that would make any attempt very hazardous indeed.

  The big question is are all the pyramids like this one or is this, the exception? These are questions that cannot be answered until a substantial amount of fieldwork is done.

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   New Photorecon images from the farshore web site they show a large number of pyramids in three areas. After careful examination of the images you can see that they are not of the same pyramids as the ones taken by Hartwig Hausdorf

   The second photograph is a larger view of the lower center in the first Photograph. It shows a few large pyramids and a large number of small pyramids.

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[펌]☞http://www.earthquest.co.uk/china/china.html

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The Theory of The Chinese Pyramids  -  by Mark & Richard Wells

    During our ongoing research in latter part of 1998 we had been using the Internet to search for information on ancient sites around the world. We came across a web site that had new information about Chinese Pyramids. The site had an article by Hartwig Hausdorf called The Exterritorial Legacy, this article gives his own ideas on the origin of the pyramids. The site had a number of Photographs that were taken by the author Hartwig Hausdorf, when he was able to gain access to a number of locations in China that are normally of limits to visitors. This is one of main reasons that so little is know about them, The Pyramids are located in a 100km area around the city Xi'an, which is well known as the location of the terracotta worriers. These Worriers guard another pyramidal mound that is supposed to be tomb of Chin, the first emporia of China. There could be up to 100 pyramids in this part of China.


    As there was no survey available for this site or any of the other Pyramid sites in China, we had no choice but to work on the small amount of material that was available. One of the Photographs shows a number of pyramids that appear to show some alignment. We decided that this photograph was worthy of closer examination. Using computer technology we first enlarged and enhanced the photo, then printed it out on two A3 sheets, this allowed us to work out an approximate layout of the pyramids on the ground.


    We now needed to know the Cardinal directions relative to the layout of the pyramids. As there was no information available, this might have been a problem. The solution was in part of the enlarged photograph. You can roughly work out the height and therefore the position of the sun by using the length of the shadows made by the trees (about 32 degrees). Now transferring this information and the reference to information form the photographer's article to a Dos version of skyglobe on the computer, we find it is about 14.30 Hrs in the afternoon and the Sun is in the Southwest. With this information we get an idea of the alignment of the site, with the four central pyramids lying on the east- west axis.


    Now with the sky ground ideas of Graham Hancock's in his books "Heavens Mirror", and "Keeper Of Genesis", as well as Robert G. Bauval Orion Giza ideas in "The Orion Mystery" fresh in our minds. We studied a number of star maps and the prominent star constellations. It was not hard to notice that our plan of the pyramid layout matched the constellation of Gemini, including the star Betelgeuse from the neighbouring constellation of Orion. Also the photograph appears as if it has been taken from the top of another pyramid, if we add this to the plan then you find that it matches the brightest star in Taurus, Aldebaran.


    Now with all this new information we used skyglobe on the computer to examine this area of the sky backwards through time and more specifically to the date of 10500BC. Graham Hancock ideas have shown that this date may have some importance in unravelling the past. We find that the constellation of Gemini is rising on the spring equinox on that date, with the pyramids matching the sky, at sunrise.


    This was all done with some computer technology and some technical drawing experience, it should be treated as theory at the moment. The only way to confirm‎ our ideas it is to do a professional site survey. We have posted these to get your opinion on our idea as this may help compound the theory of Graham Hancock.


Last Updated 30th november, 2000

[펌]☞http://www.earthquest.co.uk/articales/theory.html

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The Theory of The Chinese Pyramids - Part 2  -  by Mark & Richard Wells

    With new information and photographs becoming available, we found a second connection with the work of Graham Hancock and Robert G. Bauval, and the Chinese Pyramids.


    Perhaps you have already seen the two Photorecon pictures of the Pyramids in China that appeared on the web, if not then at least you are now aware of them. Having looked at the two pictures we can see that they are not of the areas photographed by Hartwig Hausdorf. We can only guess at their true size though we get some impression by the agricultural field systems that can be seen around them.


    We can now take a closer look at the second one, this is a close up from the first photo showing some of the bigger Pyramids. There are a number of basic observations that we can make from this picture, the first is that there are two large pyramids that stand out from the rest. The second observation is that most of the smaller pyramids are arranged in straight lines. The third observation that we can make is possibly less obvious, but could be very important in the understanding of the pyramids. The four largest pyramids create a pattern on the ground; three of them are in a straight line with the forth one being slightly offset.


    Now if we concentrate on the two larger pyramids and the offset pyramid we find a pattern that has been seen in the pyramids of Giza in Egypt and Teotihuacan in Mexico (By Robert Bauval and Graham Handcock). Now with a basic graphics program we can compare the four images Giza, Teotihuacan, China and the Stars of Orion's belt. This can be taken one step further by overlaying all the images to form just one image, the result as you can see is very striking.


    This is the second sky ground correlation that we have found in the pyramids of china, we can only guess at the number of other sites that if studied in this way would show similar results. If you find this as fascinating as we do and you won't to find out more, then you should look at the web sites of the founders of these theories, Robert G. Bauval and Graham Hancock


    You will need to take into account that these pictures and facts are very rough. The Ancient Egyptians and Chinese only had their eyes to look at the stars in the constellation of Orion, so you can see that being precise to the arc minute and second does not matter in this early work! The concept of a sky ground correlation is what we are trying to explore at the moment.


    These ideas could be coincidences, but if they are not then they could be revealing a lost knowledge of past civilisations.

Last Updated 18th April, 2000

[펌]☞http://www.earthquest.co.uk/articales/theory2.html

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The Xianyang Pyramids  -  by Mark & Richard Wells

    While searching through some satellite images of the Xi'an area, we came across one that appeared to have an arrow on it, we thought strange having an arrow on the ground. On closer inspection we realised that we had found one of the Chinese pyramids, the point of the arrow was really two of the corners of the pyramid and the shaft was a roadway.


    The original image has a cloud haze covering the whole area, resulting in a very low contrast image. Even so the main pyramid is clearly visible with a smaller pyramid just up to its left. We now used the computer to enhance the image, allowing us to see more detail. There now appeared to be possibly two more pyramids off to the right hand side of the main one.


    The next task was to see if this pyramid matched any of the ones that had been already photographed by Hartwig Hausdorf. At first we thought no, but we had missed out the old black and white photo from 1947. This image seemed to match perfectly, as you will see.


    First the basic shape of the pyramid is the same with a flat square top, and the sides also seem to have the same indent at their centre. At the front there is a centre path/road leading away from the pyramid, with two patches of trees, one on either side. The left hand one is not squared of with the pyramid but has a slight diagonal edge towards the centre path that can be seen in both images. One square of trees is missing but all the other shaped areas in front of the pyramid are correct. The objects (trees or houses) in the rear of the pyramid can also be seen in the image.


    The other nice thing about this image is, we know exactly where it was taken. As you can see on the map the original large image cover an area that includes the township of Xianyang. That puts the Pyramid where the letter 'n' is in name Xianyang on the Map.


    Finally to give you an idea of the size of the pyramid we have created an image with an airfield and Xi'an Football Stadium on it. These are all from nearby images and on the same scale as the Pyramid.


Last Updated 6th november, 2001

[펌]☞http://www.earthquest.co.uk/articales/articale4.html

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The Theory of The Mars Pyramids  -  by Mark & Richard Wells

   The Mars Global Surveyor has now taken and released many photos with a number in the Cydonia region where the face was found. On inspection of one of the images we found that triangular rock formation could be seen, this at first may not seem that important but for that inside the triangle we can see the eye of Horus.


  From the released image SP1-25803 we cut out the area that shows the triangle formation, we then rotated it so that the eye was in the center top, we also adjusted the contrast of the image so the feature stands out a little better.


  From this you can see that the shape represents a pyramid with the eye of Horus on it the two side angels are exactly the same at 56.5 degrees.

  So what are the odds of finding this structure formed by natural processes???

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   As we were looking at this area we noteced that you can see three mounds, two small one with one slightly larger.
   If you look at the angles between them you fined that two are 70 degrees and the last being 40 degrees is this just another coincidence of the Cydonia region or is it just the next peace in the in a large puzzle.

Last Updated 30th november, 2000   

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[펌]☞http://www.earthquest.co.uk/articales/theory3.html

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[펌]☞ http://www.crystalinks.com/tibet.html

Tibet has often been called the "Roof of the World." The plateau is probably the largest and highest area ever to exist in Earth history, with an average elevation exceeding 5000 m (16,400').

From Tingri (4,390 meters) its possible to see four of the highest peaks in the world, including Mt. Everest.

The Tibetan Plateau covers an area about half that of the lower 48 United States and is bounded by the deserts of the Tarim and Qaidam Basins to the north and the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Pamir mountain chains to its south and west. Its eastern margin is more diffuse and consists of a series of alternating deep forested valleys and high mountain ranges that run approximately north-south, bounded by the lowlands of the Sichuan Basin of China.

Tibet has remained a very difficult place to visit and is more fantastic than imagined. It is a land of immense contrasts: snowy peaks and sandy deserts, barren plateaus and forested mountains, empty expanses and crowded cities, and a deeply religious people ruled by an avowedly atheistic government.

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LHASA

Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, covers an area of 544 square kilometers and is "The Land of Gods" in Tibetan, sits on the north bank of River Lhasa, a tributary of the Yarlung Tsangbo River, at an altitude of 3,700 meters. It has a history of over 13 centuries. With more than 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, Lhasa is famed as " the City of Sunshine". It is the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region and the center of Tibet's political, economic, cultural and religious activities. There are many historic sites and famous relics in the city proper and its suburbs, among which the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery and Gandan Monastery are world famous.

Before the mid-seventh century when Lhasa, later a central town of Tibetan region, was yet to come into being, the area called Wotang was a marshy land of wildness, frequented by antelopes. On one bright summer day, Songtsan Gampo, leader of the Tubo tribe that had risen to power in the Yarlung River Valley, was struck by the perilous position of an area flanked by two steep mountains, while bathing in the Lhasa River, and decided that this was to be the home of his kingdom. This ambitious Tibetan king moved the center of his rule to Wotang and ordered the construction of his residence on the hilltop of Potala.

In 641 A.D., Songtsan Gampo who by this time had conquered the whole Tibetan region wedded Princess Wencheng of the Imperial Tang Court. When the princess arrived, she became convinced that Lake Wotang was a devil's heart to be overpowered by the construction of a grand temple after filling up the lake with earth. The princess further suggested that the earth be carried by white goats. This imposing grand temple became a symbol of the kingdom. The temple, later known as Jokhang, was initially named Lhasa, "the Sacred Land" in Tibetan. Over the centuries, Lhasa became a political and religious center of Tibet. Administrative orders were issued from the myriad of imposing palaces; the great temples and monasteries were home to omnipotent liturgical establishment and witnessed the rise of many religious leaders and endless religious ceremonies. The faithful composed the population of the town and Lhasa became a true "Mecca" of Tibet.

Potala Palace, symbol of Lhasa, is on the top of the Potala Hill. The palace, 117 meters tall and 40 meters wide, has towering buildings with golden roofs and a group of huge castle palaces, which is divided into white and red palaces for the color of their walls. The white palace used to be a place where the living Buddha, Dalai, Tibet퉠 religious leader, handled government affairs and lived. The red palace is further divided into the Hall of the Buddha, Scripture Hall and Memorial Hall, each with a dozen or scores of rooms. The Hall of the Buddha houses gold-traced portraits of Sakyamuni and deceased Dalai Lamas. The Scripture Hall keeps in it a large number of early copies of Buddhist sutras; and the Memorial Hall contains stupas of the 13 late Dalai Lamas.

Potala Palace is also a world of murals, which are painted in hundreds of halls and corridors. It is a huge treasure house for Tibetan history, religion, culture and arts.

Norbu Lingka Park, or "Treasured Garden", is located in the west of Lhasa. With a layout similar to imperial gardens in the Chinese interior, the park was a summer resort for Dalai Lamas. In the garden, colorful, exotic flowers are shaded by towering rare trees, and golden buildings and the lake add radiance and beauty to each other.

Tsetang (Zetang), the birthplace of earliest Tibetans, sits on the south bank in the middle section of the Yarlung Tsangbo River with a moderate climate at an altitude of 3,600 meters. The nearby Yarlung River scenic area is a national scenic park with Samye Monastery, Yumbu Lhakang Palace, burial site for Tsampos and Traduk Monastery spotting the region.

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ANCIENT MEGALITHIC RUINS

There are dozens of sites spread over 400, 000 square kilometers, documenting the existence of the legendary Zhang zhung kingdom.

Celestial Observatory - Black Rock

Also at Black Rock are the remains of what appear to be chortens (mchod rten), and tenkhar (rten mkhar), shrines used in the worship of environment-based deities.

Remnants of Stone Ring Ceremonies

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ART

Tibetan art can be grouped into three parts:

Flat - Paintings which include 'Thangka', Fresco, Wooden Tablet and Sand Painting

Solid - 3-dimension - objects which include Bronze, Clay Sculpture, Clay Modeling, Wooden Carving, Stone Carving, Ritual Objects, Butter Sculpture, Mask and Cazha, and

Costumes - The thangkas are painted or embroidered images rendered on cloth, silk or paper which is mounted on a cloth backing and may be rolled up like a scroll when not hung.

A thangka composed of strung pearls is kept in Dradrug Monastery in Shannan. Thangka is a special art of Tibet. The material used for thangka is linen cloth or coarse woolen fabric or silk or paper. The cloth needs to be prepared first and then the artist works out the sketches of the portraits with charcoal sticks. The drawing usually begins at the center. Colouring comes last. The pigments used come from non-transparent minerals and plants such as malachite and cinnabar. They are mixed with animal glue and ox bile to make the lustre stay.

There are many schools of painting which may be classified as the Eastern Tibetan, the Middle Tibetan, the Western Tibetan. The Eastern Tibetan was the oldest and heavily influenced by those of the Han nationality. This style is individualistic and probably too free for the taste of Buddhists. The Western school began after the Indian master Atisa came to Tibet in the 11th century (Song Dynasty). Atisa brought Nepalese painters to work according to the rigid rules. The Middle Tibetan School is an integration of the above two.

Tibetan fresco painting is an important part of Tibetan art. The painting of Buddha image must follow the rigid principles and the proportion diagrams set out in the `Pratibimbalaksana-sutra' (`The Textbook on Measurements for Image-Making') and the `Pratibimbamana-laksana (`Measurements for Painting') in the Silpakarmasthana-vidya. The finished product is well-proportioned, stately and serene-looking deity.

The pigments used are similar to the one used for thangka painting. Frescoes cover wider range of subjects than thangkas do. They include the images of Buddha in his many manifestations, portraits of saints, great masters, founders of various Buddhist sects and the stories of their lives, wars, scenes of manual labour, construction of monastories and everyday life of the people. They are especially effective in creating a mystic atmosphere in the monasteries which will lead the viewers to believe that `this is where the Buddha resides'.

Wooden Tablet Painting represents yet another branch of Tibetan art. Its subjects and pictorial composition are similar to those of thangka and the difference is that the pictures are drawn on wooden tablets of various shapes. Some of them have handles attached to them for holding and hanging.

The materials for Sand Painting are coloured sand and minerals. They are filled inside a cone with a tiny hole at the tip. Many disperses though the hole will form a single line in the picture. The subject is usually `mandala'.

As Buddhism believes in the worship of idols (as against a teaching of Buddha), the production of the images of Buddhas and other deities must follow the strict rules prescribed in the cannon for their faces, gestures, the ornaments they wear and the objects they hold. The Tibetan artists absorbed the influences of the art of Han, Nepalese and Indian sculpture and developed a style and craft of their own which was distinctively Tibetan. The shaping of a bronze is a complicated process. It is so difficult and time-consuming that sometimes many artists spent all their lives making them but did not live to see them completed.

There are numerous Clay sculptures preserved to the present day. Most of them are sculptures of Buddhas, saints and great figures. Some of them are with treasures preserved inside.

Clay modeling of miniature Buddhist image, called `phyag-tsha' or `tsha-tsha' in Tibetan, represents a form of artistic expression‎ in Tibetan Buddhism. As the modelings are not difficult to make and the material is easily obtainable, such objects of art are turned out in large quantities by Tibetan. They can be found almost everywhere.

These beautiful engravings lavishly decorate the columns, beams, door, windows and cross-beam supports in Tibetan monasteries and temples. Shrines, platforms seating deities, altars, stupas and some ritual objects are often adorned with wood carving or stone carving.

Most Butter Sculptures produced in Lhasa and elsewhere are made for the Lamp Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Tibetan year. The butter is first mixed with ice water, then mineral dyes mixed in. Working on a wooden support, a world of flowers and grass and towers and buildings, populated with men and animals and deities, is then created.

Masks depict the range of beings from deities to men and animals, qiangmu religious dances and folk tales. Those depicting humans are carved to display a certain characteristic such as honesty, harshness, greed or humor. Animals depicted are mainly deer, yaks, sheep and birds.

"Cazha" is an ancient traditional form of sculpture creating mainly the statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Engraved on the back of the wall are scriptures of prayers for good luck and prosperity. The wall is an object of various size, the wall, therefore, is called "Thousand-Buddha wall".

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RELIGION

The Tibetan Buddhism is Great Vehicle (Mahayana) Buddhism. There are two parts of it: the Exoteric and the Esoteric Buddhisms. The Tibetan Exoteric Buddhism is based on Madhyamika (dBu-ma, `middle way') of Nagarjuna. The Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism, which is different from all other Esoteric Buddhisms, makes the Tibetan Buddhism unique. The Tibetan Buddhism requests the study of the Exoteric Buddhism as the foundation and puts the Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism as the most advanced form of Buddhism. We assume that our visitors have a basic knowledge of the Exoteric Buddhism.

The doctrine of the Tibetan Esoteric (i.e. Tantric) Buddhism is based on `Mahavairocana-sutra', and `Kalacakraindriya-sutra'. Its theory may be summarized as follows: "taking the six elements as essence", "five Buddhas and five wisdoms", "taking the four mandalas as appearance", "taking the three secrets as means", "cause, base, final means" and "anger and fear".

"Taking the six elements as essence" is the Esoteric interpretation of the origin of the cosmos. According to the Esoteric Buddhism, the six elements, the earth, water, fire, wind, air and ether ( consciousness), make up the dhamakaya (cosmic body) of the Mahavairocana. They provide the nature of all creation and are at once the source and the foundation of the existence of all phenomena. As they are possessed by all beings in the universe, they exist in the mind of the laity. This is the something Buddha shares with the layman. However, according to the Esoteric Buddhism, the laity are incapable of recognizing the nature of cosmic beings, "unless they are aided by the supreme benevolent power of the Tathagata", which means the practice of "the three secrets" is necessity if one wishes to purify one's mind and recognize the nature of all cosmic beings.

The three secrets are: body secret, speech secret and mind secret. The follower must conform his body, speech and mind to those of the Buddha. "Taking the three secrets as means" refers to a form of meditation during which the meditator, with specified gestures and in specified sitting posture, recites the true teaching of the Satyadevata or yidam (the most honoured of all Buddhas) while concentrating on evoking the deity's image before his inward eye. For the follower, it is not enough to do no evil, for he must impress the image of Satyadevata deeply in his mind. It is not enough to not use any coarse and foul language, for he must recite the deity's true teaching: it is not enough to entertain no wicked ideas, for he must never forget the vows and wishes of the Satyadevata. By doing so, he will eventually be "purified", achieve "the perfect body of the Buddha", and "reach the Buddhahood in the present body".

"The four mandalas" refers to the different types of mandala. The mandala in Sanskrit (Tibetan: dkyil-vkhor) means "rostrum" or "rostrum ground". In ancient India, the mandala was a round or square mud platform at a meditation site erected to ward off "demons" during meditation sessions of the Esoteric Buddhists. When a king ascended to the throne, or when a monk was ordained, the ceremony would take place on a mandala. To these ceremonies, all the deities representing the past, present and the future from all the cosmic compass points (east, west, south, north, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest from high above and down below) would be invited as witnesses to these occasions, and on the platform their images would be drawn. Later on, different types of mandala were developed, of which the following four are the most common:

1. The Great Mandala, at which the presence of the deities from their respective areas are drawn in green, yellow, red, white and black to represent "the earth, water, fire, wind and air".

2. The Samadhi mandala, at which the presence of the deities is shown not by the drawings of their images, but by those of the pearls, swords or wheels they carry so that the mediators may associates these objects with the images of the deities and practise visionary meditation.

3. The Dhama Mandala, at which the deities are not represented by the drawings of their images, or those of the objects they carry, for it is believed that the sight of the initial syllables in Sanskrit of their titles will invoke their images in meditators.

4. The Karma Mandala, where carved, sculptured or cast figures of the deities are set up to impress the meditators with the vivid, life-like sight of these deities.

The mandala is the manifestation of the Mahavairocana and the occasion on which he spreads his teachings to earthy beings so that the worshippers of mandalas, with the aid of the Tathagata, will be able to "dispel the clouds of troubles and spiritual obstacles". As the spiritual communication with deities can be done only by means of the four mandalas and by reciting their true teachings, the practice is described as "taking the four mandalas as appearance".

"Five Buddhas and five wisdoms" is one of the major doctrines of the Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. According to the doctrine, one will not "reach Buddhahood in the present body" just by reciting the true teachings and practising the mandala. He needs the five wisdoms of the Five Dhyani-Buddhas (Vairocana, Aksobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghavajra), namely the wisdom of the universal law, the wisdom of the mirror, the wisdom of equality, the wisdom of distinction and discernment, and the wisdom of accomplishing works. When a person has acquired the five wisdoms, he will be able to achieve Buddhahood without abstaining from meat,wine or sex. However, these wisdoms cannot be obtained unless they are passed on by the guru himself. The concept represented by "the five wisdoms" is a spiritual requirement, essential to anyone seeking Buddhahood. It is a concept which promised mystical transforming power.

The "cause, base and final means" is the condensed version of the three lines in the Mahavairocana-sutra:

The mind of bodhi is the cause.

The great compassion is the base.

The upaya (path,method) is the final means.

The first line means that followers of the Esoteric doctrine must first achieve the mind of bodhi. such mind will grow like a seed and eventually lead one to Buddhahood. Without this mind, no one can hope to be accepted by the Buddha, and therefore is not qualified for the practice of the Esoteric doctrine. The second line means that the follower must also be a person of great compassion. This compassion will enable him to liberate all beings by encouraging them to practise virtuous deeds in much the same way as root and trunk of a tree give the tree its leaves, blossoms and fruits; hence the term "the base".

The third line means the path the follower takes and the flexibility he is given. "The final means" may be interpreted as "thoroughness" and "the end", representing the objective, while "upaya" can be taken to mean "flexibility" and "ingenuity" in pursuing the final means. In other words, the follower in his pursuit of Buddhahood, may, when condition warrants it, be excused from the observance of some rules of Buddhist discipline. For example, Buddhism forbids sex, but followers of the Esoteric Buddhism may have female companions for meditation.

The practice of having female companions for meditation is called " the union of voidness and happiness" or the union of the two polarities (yab-yum). This practice, based on the theory of the Mahavairocana-sutra and the Vajrasekhara-sutra, is a distinctive feature of the Esoteric Buddhism. Sex is strictly forbidden by the Exoteric Buddhism, but it is part of meditation practice in the Esoteric Buddhism.

As Vajrasekhara-sutra says, "How pure is man's mind! It's only natural that lust should change him. Keeping away from lust will restore purity in him, and keeping away from lust means conquering it with another form of lust." Sex is thus shrouded in mysticism and given the role of "conquering lust". It becomes a mean by which the follower of the Esoteric Buddhism can achieve self-purification of his nature.

According to the Esoteric Buddhism, "the attraction of lust will draw one into the realm of the wisdom of the Buddha", that is, by means of carnal love the bodhisattva leads one to liberation. This accounts for the fact that the Esoteric Buddhism treats women as offerings. What "The Collected Works of Buddhism Literature" terms as "love for offerings": refers to the love for women. This theme is repeated in the Mahavairocana-sutra, which says,"Satisfy the desire for sex so that all beings will be happy."

According to the Esoteric Buddhism, Mahavairocana lives in Heaven like an earthy being- accompanied by the Marici (Queen of Heaven) and surrounded by female attendants. As a result, the rajas (devas and vajras), instructed by Mahavairocana to subdue demons, are in their "wrathful forms" accompanied by devis, their female counterparts.

The Esoteric Buddhism preaches the idea of "taking upaya (compassion) as father and prajra (wisdom) as mother" and takes the union of rajas and devis in each other's embrace as the symbol of "the union of compassion and wisdom". To a follower of the Esoteric Buddhism, his spiritual teacher is his father, and the teacher's female companion his mother (dakini), and the great union of happiness of man and woman is the path which will lead to the "acquisition of supernatural powers (siddhi)". This explains why yab-yum is also called "the path of women".

The yab-yum, together with its practice that the teaching of the disciple by his teacher is done only privately, has produced a symbolic and arcane language used during meditation. For example, the phallus is called "vajra", the vulva becomes "the lotus flower" (padma), and copulation is described as "entering into the realm of samaya". Yab-yum and the concept of great happiness originated in Saktism (Shaktism). According to this sect, all cosmic beings were created by the sexuality of goddesses. Copulation, therefore, was regarded as a form of worship of the goddesses and an expression‎ of reverence for them. These notions were borrowed by the Esoteric Buddhism and, combined with Buddhism doctrines, produced the theory of "the union of voidness and happiness".

In addition to Queen of Heaven and the devis, among the deities revered by the Esoteric Buddhists are, the Rdo-rje gro-lod (the Wrathful Guardian Deity) and the Bhairava Vajra (the fearful Guardian Deity), who are the two deities representing the doctrine of "wrath" and "fear". Rdo-rje and Bhairava Vajra are names for all wrathful and fearful-looking vajras. According to tradition, the Buddha may appear in two forms: sometimes in his real form of Kindness and at other times in his wrathful manifestation.

The Mahabhairava Vajra, the principal deity of the Dge-lugs-pa Sect (gelug-pa, new yellow hat), for example, is the wrathful manifestation of Amitayus. The Mahabhairava Vajra, whose duty is to subdue flaming demons, has six faces, six arms, six feet and three eyes. He holds in his hands various kinds of sceptres.

He rides a green water-buffalo, wears a helmet studded with human skulls, and has a tiger's skin for a kilt. With flames emitting from his body, he looks extremely wrathful and fear-striking. This fearful look is intended to demonstrate to all beings that to themselves from avidya (ignorance) they must break down all spiritual barriers with the power of wisdom, and overwhelm demons with all the power they possess.

In Buddhist terms, all spiritual and material obstacles to Buddhahood are demons which must be tamed, resisted or brought under control with one's innate strength.

Li Jicheng, assistant researcher of World Religions of the China Academy of Social Sciences.

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CALENDARS

In the 7th century, Princess Wen-Cheng brought Tang's calendar to Tibet, later Princess Jin-Cheng did the same thing. Apparently, they did not bring with them the theoretical Astronomy which the calendars were based on. Those Tibetan students who were sent to Tang to study Arithmetics did not learn the computations to make calendars. After the down fall of the Tibetan Dynasty, Tibet became chaotic, and the transmissions of the Han calendars stopped, Tibetan were left without a scientific calendar until 11th century.

Around 9th century, Islam extended to India, many Indian Buddhists escaped to Tibet with `aru-yoga' of the Esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism. Its part of `Kala (time) Wheel' was a part of the Indian Astronomy, and not up to the early Tang's achievement. Tibetan fused the Indian Astronomy, the Tibetan creativities and the Han calendars (rgya-rtsis) to form their own calendars, later they adopted more from the Han calendars to form the present Tibetan calendars.

The main purposes of the Tibetan calendars were (1) providing a working seasonal schedule for farmers, shepherds, etc. (2) dating the enlightening date of Buddha, for Buddha propheted that Buddhism would exist for 5,000 years (different schools might have different figures). If we knew the precise date of the enlightening of Buddha, then the end of the world of Buddhism would be open to us. The important clue was that there was a complete moon eclipse on the enlightening day of Buddha. (3) computing the moon and sun eclipses. The complete moon eclipse on the date of the enlightening of Buddha indicated the importance of moon or sun eclipses which should increase one's intelligence 1 million times. Therefore, it was important to predict the timing of them for a believer to meditate or study.

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MEDICINE

In the 8th century, the Han medicine (`Complete Treatise on Medicine') was transmitted to Tibet by the two Tang Princesses Wen-Cheng and Jin-Cheng. Doctors from Tang, India and Nepal were invited to Tibet. A Tang doctor, Tashi-Donsongonwa (his Han name was lost), was invited twice to Tibet, and became famous. The Tibetan saint of medicine, Yutok Yonten Kongpo was among his pupils. The Tibetan saint traveled to Tang, Nepal, India, wrote the important `Four Part Medical Classic' which was considered to be the canon to this date. Note that this canon had been continuously edited, modified in the last thousand years, some later Buddhism influences were obvious.

During the revival of the Buddhism in Tibet, many Indian monks were fond of medicine, and transmitted Indian medicine to Tibet. The three vital activities, `lon', `qibo' and `paigen', were formulated under the influences of the Indians and the Hans.

Due to the process of cutting bodies in the `skyburials', the Tibetan Anatomy was excellent. Tibetan had a vivid picture of human body. The Tibetan doctors observed the development of fetuses, and divided the period of pregrancy into `fish period', `turtle period', `pig period'. This was a discovery in embryology.

Similar to the Han tradition, a series of `Materia Medica' (`ben cao' in Han) were compiled.

Both Tibetan and Han doctors regard illnesses as having been caused by imbalances in the biological rhythm of the human organism, i.e. in the Tibetan medicine, it means the imbalances of the three `vital activities', seven `components, and three `excreta'. They may be summarized as `cold' and `hot' diseases.

The main methods employed in the Tibetan medicine are: observing, inquiring, and pulse-taking. Note that they are identical with the Han medicine in principle. The most important ones are urine-observing and pulse-taking.

The healing arts are: food, living habit, medicine, and outside therapeutics.

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MARRIAGE

In Tibet, the marriages are of three types:

(1) monogamy - 90% of all marriages
(2) `one husband multi-wives'
(3) `one wife multi-husbands'. The prevailing marriages are monogamy with `multi-wives' and `multi-husbands' permissible.

Most families are patriarchal. The men usually make the important decisions, buying and selling, paying tributes to the deities, horse racing, hunting etc. The women are the mainstay of family life. They are busy from morning till night, milking cows, making tea, roasting and grinding barley, making butter and curd, making clothes and looking after children. The ten years or older kids shepherd, gather yak-dung (as fuel for cooking and heating), fetch water.

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FOOD

Due to the high altitude of Tibet, the water boils at 90 degree Celsius, and cooking with water is impossible. The diet and foods are peculiar in Tibet. The Tibetan diet consists mostly of meat, milks and other high-protein foods. The main staple is `tsamba'. Tea is a necessary. Travelers usually bring dried meat, tsamba, and tea for foods.

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CLOTHING

The Tibetan robes, which serve as blankets at night, are very long and are worn down to the knees with the extra length tucked and held up by a waistband or belt. The robe produces two large pockets, one in front and another at the back, for people to carry things, including baby. When it is hot in the daytime, Tibetans will undress the right arms to disperse heat. If it is even hotter, then one may undress both arms and tie the sleeves around the waist.

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3000-year-old "pyramid" discovered in NE China

www.chinaview.cn 2006-06-21 14:15:40

    CHANGCHUN, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have discovered a group of ancient tombs shaped like pyramids, dating back at least 3,000 years, in Jiaohe City of northeast China's Jilin Province.

    The tombs, covering an area of 500,000 square meters (1,000 meters long and 500 meters wide), were found after water erosion exposed part of a mountain, revealing two of the tombs.

    Six smaller tombs had eroded away leaving no indications of their original scale and appearance, but the biggest tomb, located on the south side of the mountain, could clearly be discerned as a pyramid shape with three layers from bottom to top.

    The pyramid's square bottom is about 50 meters long and 30 meters wide, about the size of a basketball court, with an oval platform on the top, about 15 meters long and 10 meters wide. The tomb was made of stone and earth dug out from the hill.

    A stone coffin, surrounded by four screen boards and covered by a granite top, was placed on the top platform.

    The coffin appeared to belong to the king of an early tribe based on the dimensions of the site, according to experts with the Jiaohe Archaeological Research Institute.

    The tombs are part of the Xituanshan cultural ruins site, which dates back 3,000 years to China's Bronze Age period. The ruins were excavated in Jilin in 1950.

    A lot of ancient hunting and domestic tools, including a stone knife and axe, as well as bronzeware and earthenware, have been unearthed from the stone coffin and other six smaller graves.

    The discovery will provide valuable clues on study of ancient funeral customs and the tomb structure and culture of ethnic groups in the area. Enditem

Editor: Yan Zhonghua

[펌]☞3000-year-old "pyramid" discovered in NE China

[펌]☞http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-06/21/content_4727356.htm

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