--- "B." <docile_body at yahoo.com> wrote:
> "The snarling, fanged mouth, crown of skulls,
> garland
> of decapitated heads, and cape of flayed human skin
> identify this figure as Lhamo, the Himalayan
> Buddhist
> form of the Hundu death goddess Kali. Lhamo is the
> most extreme of the eight dharmapalas, violent
> demons
> who were tamed by Buddhist sages and became the
> protectors of the Buddhist scriptures. The savage
> goddess rides her mule through a sea of blood,
> accompanied by two demons. This horrific concept is
> typical subject matter in Tantric Buddhist art,
> which
> explores extremes of human experience in the search
> for enlightenment."
>
> Things like this really make me wonder how "atheist"
> the Buddhist traition really is....
<snipped>
Most of the really boroque imagery and mythology associated with Buddhism comes from the Tibetan tradition. Most other traditions aren't quite so elaborate, and the earlier writings from closer to Siddhartha Gautama's time tend to be much more prosaic. I suspect that the business about demons and reincarnated lamas is remnants of whatever local Tibetan religion that predated Buddhism, esp. since the earlier writings suggest that a lot what we might call religion was sort of beside the point.... That's my take on it, anyway.
I can't help but think that all the foderol and obscurity of the Tibetan tradition contributes to the inordinate fascination that Westerners have for it. Would anybody give a hoot about Tibet if it were more Calvanist than Catholic?
Andy
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