Shadow Beings // edit: + Angels, Demons and Orthodox Zoroastrianism

[eye_of_the_storm]

EDIT: In searching original topic I came across... see post # not sure at present


Any Taoist/ Chinese folklore about shadow beings?

Has anyone experienced such... ?

Seems are fair amount of info on the net about them... nobody seem to have a real grip on this phenomenon though... what they are / how to deal with them etc...

Some say light + prayer/ chant incense

So far I have found...

幽灵 - yōu líng - ghost, apparition. Literally "dark soul."

恶魔 - è mó- demon. Fairly generic word for your basic run-of-the-mill evil demon or devil. Another similar word for demon is 恶煞 (è shà). The first part of both words is 恶 (è), which basically means "evil." Evil is made up of two parts: 亚 yà - (ugly) and 心 xīn (heart).

//

side note... I found this one funny...

獬豸 - xiè zhì - Xiezhi. A guardian beast-god similar to the Qilin, but with black fur, and only one horn. It can speak human languages and is able to sense good and evil. It will seek out corrupt government officials, after which it impales them with its horn and eats them. Must be extinct.



//

From:

http://benmojo.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/chinese-demons-monsters-and-other.html

Edited August 11, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[Cheshire Cat]

Any Taoist/ Chinese folklore about shadow beings?

 

Has anyone experienced such... ?

 

Ah! One can have very bad experiences with them!

 

Edited August 10, 2013 by DAO rain TAO

[Seeker of Wisdom]

Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run.

[eye_of_the_storm]

haha..hmm

The talk with the girl was interesting though...

Apparently in the USA this phenomenon / experience of ranks higher than people seeing ghosts hm

Edited August 10, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[SonOfTheGods]

Yes.

Has anyone experienced such... ?

[eye_of_the_storm]

Found this interesting... (there is a heap of very interesting info on that blog // enjoy!)

 

 

Angels and Demons in the poetic gathas

Posted on September 24, 2012by orthodoxzoroastrian

Angels and Demons in the poetic gathas

 

Contrary to the many hollow claims of the pseudo-intellectuals, the poetic gathas do in fact mention both demons and Angels as utterly real.

 

In the gathas/songs of the prophet, Angels are wondrous aspects of Mazda’s superb mind/spirit, immortal sparks of Gd’s amazing genius. The entire gathas is a loving poetry to Mazda and the awe inspiring aspects of his brilliant mind.

 

The Persian word for angel “Fereshte” has its origin in the poetic gathas of the ancient prophet/seer, See Yasna 49.8, the 4^th rhymed verse line. The Avetan word Fraäsht/Fraæsht in the aforementioned verse is equivalent to the Vedic Preshita, “divinely enthused, inspired fervor, glow of feeling, Angel, Messenger.”

 

In Yasna 49.8, the 4^th rhymed verse line; the Aryan Prophet prays to Mazda, the GD of Genius and Vision “may we be your Angels/divinely enthused by you for all ages.”

 

Also, the demonic and diabolic forces known as “daevá daävá daævá” are utterly real in the gathas. “First demons and afterwards the mortal men arrived at distortion and corruption of mind power,” See Yasna 45.11, 1^st and 2^nd rhymed verse line.

 

“Demons wished/chose not what is fitting or right and were but deceived, they came together for counsel, only to choose the most limited/stagnated mind, rushed into wrath/violent commotion to make the mortal’s world sickly and diseased,” See Yasna 30.6, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

Translating daevás as “false or imaginary gods” does not agree with the gathic original and is simply an attempt to give a pseudo-rationalistic look to the profound gathic poetry.

 

The term vi.daævö “without/against the diabolic forces” qualifies the faithful Zoroastrian with the same force as mazd-yasnö “Yoked/joined in union with the GD of vision and genius,” and zarathushtrish-“Zoroastrian,” See Yasna 12 and Yasna 43.8, the 2^nd rhymed verse line.

 

Poetic Gathas teach that in the realm of consciousness/mind energy is the formulation of all the worlds and material manifestations. Daævás are the brood of limited consciousness, descendants of beaten and stagnated mind/spirit.

 

“You all the Demons, have come from the worlds beyond, the race of stagnated/beaten mind; your great binding, falsehood and arrogance; becoming thereafter ill famed in the seven climes of the land,” See Yasna 32.3, 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd rhymed verse line.

These stagnated/frustrated mind energies from the worlds beyond; act upon the earth-life and mortal men who are by far their vassals and puppets, doing their biding. They make mortals to see demons/evil as GD, lie as truth and truth as lie.

 

“You have proclaimed; the love of daævás is to separate from luminous, superb mind; and to noxiously ravage the manifesting power of thought, wisdom, vision, and the brilliant artfulness of GD,” See Yasna 32.4, 2^nd and 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

“You have deceived mortal men of the essence/nectar of life and indestructibility, you the confounded brood of beaten spirit/mind; through gloom, heinous actions and words, you have foretold rule/power for the treacherous liar,” See Yasna 32.5, 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

“Gd of Genius and Vision how could demons be good kings wielding power? When what they ask for is to prevent/hinder desire,” See Yasna 44.20, 1^st and 2^nd rhymed verse line.

 

“For this is the dose and evil vision of the daævás,” See Yasna 49.4, 4^th rhymed verse line.

“Existence,” “Life-force” “Manifesting Power of Mind” is the domain of Ahúrá Mazdá. Demons have NO life-force and are living dead, Stagnated Mind Energies. Theirs is a parasitic, temporary phenomenon until the outcome of the existence, See Yasna 30.4, 2^ndrhymed verse line.

 

“For theirs is the worst want of vision, compared to the luminous eternity of the boundless mind/spirit,” See Yasna 30.4, 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

“Mazda most wise in tales and lore, knows well what demons and mortal men have wrought in the past and wreak for the future, he (hvö) is the sage/wizard (wichirö,) and it will be just as the GD of Genius and Vision wishes/desires (vasat,)” See Yasna 29.4, 2^ndrhymed verse line.

 

“For his power to accomplish is their renunciation entire; demons, monsters of scattered mind and the mortal men,” Yasna 34.5, 3^rd rhymed verse line

 

Daævás lack effective power to accomplish anything, owing to their limited and ultimately self-destructive vision. They are called akár “incapable of creation/effective work” in Middle Persian commentaries. Their very self is “frustration” and “want of intelligence.”

“We the demons long for a magnificent and splendid mind such as yours, and the accomplishment and delight of the Gd of Genius and Light,” Yasna 32.1, 2^nd rhymed verse line.

 

In Zoroastrianism evil is not a creative force and is secondary in the cosmic order, affirming the priority and superiority of the force of genius and good. Therefore it is not described as a force to be feared. The protection of the adorable powers/aspects of the mind of GD is far greater than the ravage/distortion of the demons, See Holy Denkart, 5.24.21a.

 

It is not possible for a demon to invade unless there are doors open for it to enter. The door may be a consent or affinity or a physical defect in the being. The demons cannot corrupt unless there is some defect in oneself, some impurity, weakness or, at the very least, ignorance. One should then seek out this weakness in oneself and correct it.

 

What makes it impossible for demons to prevail in any attack is the “brilliant flow of thoughts,” “perfect contemplation;” “auspicious, serene thinking power,” See Yasna 32.2, 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

Mortal man as a species stands between the angels /aspects of GD’s superb and wondrous mind and the demons or stagnated mind energies, the daævásmay be kept in check by the “auspicious, serene thinking power” and an active participation in life through whatever is eternal and undying in thoughts, words and deeds.

 

“Not an idle person averse to work/action has the share of fortune that a demon gets from the sacred lore,” See Yasna 31.10, 3^rd rhymed verse line.

 

The daævás may win a temporary battle, but “the evil seer will finally realize the wondrous truth of the GD of Genius and Light,” See Yasna 49.1, 2^nd rhymed verse line.

 

“Eternal Progress/Immortality for demons and mortal men,” See Yasna 48.1, 3^rd rhymed verse line.

Their relative parasitic existence is only a phenomenon thrown up by the cosmic Force in its drive towards eternal progress. Limitation, demons, falsehood, evil are all cosmic realities, but relative in their nature, not absolute, since they depend for existence on the perversion or contradiction and are not like excellence, genius and good, self-existent absolutes, inherent aspects of the Self-existent GD of Genius.

 

ardeshir