Temple of the Immovable

It is funny how often you will see dedicates to Krishna go out of their way to denigrate Lord Shiva, Shaivism, and other Vedic understanding such as Buddhism. It is funny as Krishna himself doesn’t deny any association with Rudra-Shiva in this manner. In fact, if he indeed was the avatar of Nārāyaṇa then wouldn’t he represent the godhead as a whole? This seems to be the case when analyzing his character of Creative / sexual energy, compassion and dharmic lawful understanding, and warrior mindset wielding karmic destruction.

In fact, most of what Lord Krishna teaches isn’t that different in the Gita than much of what other Vedic and Dharmic understandings that had been presented elsewhere. He just condenses, simplifies, and exemplifies it.

The other commonly misunderstood concept is that Buddhism is both inherently anti Vedic, which I have covered many times that it isn’t, and that Buddhism and other Vedic faiths are at odds. This is thought to be taken in how Buddhism denigrates or supplants the “Hindu” Gods such as Vishnu and Krishna. Of course, this isn’t true historically. While I have done plenty of writings to show how Shiva was very much integrated into Buddhism and most Buddhist deities and even the Boddhisatva and Buddha’s themselves are seen or depicted as enlightened versions of Shiva, this also applies to the rest of the Godhead to include Nārāyaṇa (the One).
In the Pali Vendu Sutta (Sutra) he as Vishnu is said to address the Shakyamuni Buddha directly celebrating a joint experience of those who follow dharma. In many Buddhist texts or temples his incarnation Narasiṃha is worshipped as a protector of dharma and wrathful incarnations of Vishnu are seen within the Vajradhara / Dharmapala such as the Japan Nio. Nārāyaṇa is the Godhead who much of the Womb Realm emanates from, not too dissimilar to that of his depiction within the Vedic context. In the Diamond realm he is controller of 12 primary deities much like the Indo-European Sky Father / King of the Gods. Nārāyaṇa has been said to have been born from the heart of Avalokiteśvara (1). Which is interesting when you note that the name Avalokiteśvara is the Ishvara (Supreme lord) who looks down over the worlds. And that Ishavara is often the term used for dedication to Vishnu, Shiva, and sometimes Krishna as the primary supreme deity in devotee practice. If any Boddhisattva / Buddha was considered a creator deity within the realms it most often is Avalokiteśvara.
In other Buddhist Sutras it is said that Nārāyaṇa has eight arms for every dharmic weapon.
It is also said in the Lalitavistara Sutra that the Buddha "is endowed with the great strength of Nārāyaṇa, he is called the great Nārāyaṇa himself."
While this may seem like just cults one upping each other. I prefer to see it as a means (Vehicle / Yana) to greater understanding of the divine and dharma.
In fact, some of this petty monotheistic / Henotheistic like supremacy seems rather dull and counter productive in the grand scheme of growing and teaching dharmic understanding.
While this is my personal view on the topic.
I respect those Krishna devotees who seek the divine, study the dharma, practice their faith, and try to promote good morals and dharmic values as much as I respect those of other Vedic and Indo-European sects who do the same. The more we work together the stronger our understanding of the divine and dharma will be.
Hammer and Vajra!
Written by Zachary Gill 23 June 2021

1. Roberts, Peter Alan; Tulku Yeshi (2013). "The Basket's Display". 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalitavistara_S%C5%ABtra
3. https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/gita/index.htm
4. https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon.shtml

The Kushan Empire was an empire formed by one of the five branches of the Yuezhi confederation, an Indo-European nomadic people who migrated from northwestern China and settled in ancient Bactria, ruling over most of the northern Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia from the early 1st Century CE to the late 4th century CE.

The Kushans inherited the Greco-Buddhist traditions of the Indo-Greek Kingdoms they replaced, as well as the Indo-Parthian and Indo-Scythian influences in the area. This would create a unique religious landscape, with different traditions active in the empire. Buddhism would become the most prominent religion, with Hellenic and Iranian polytheism, Hinduism, and, to some extent, Zoroastrianism present, with syncretism between the different religions occurring in various degrees.

The Emperor Vima Kadphises would embrace Shaivism, his son, Kanishka the Great, the most renowned Kushan emperor, would become a Buddhist devotee, followed by his son, Huvishka, as well as several subsequent emperors. As a patron of Buddhism, Kanishka is chiefly noted for having convened the fourth great Buddhist council in Kashmir, which marked the beginnings of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Between the mid-1st century and the mid-3rd century, Buddhism, patronized by the Kushans, extended to China and other Central and East Asian countries through the Silk Road, making the Kushan Empire an instrumental part of the dissemination of Buddhism, and of the development of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the Gandhāra and Mathura schools of art. The Kushans became affluent through trade, particularly with the Roman Empire and the Chinese Dynasties, acting as a bridge between east and west.

After the rise of the Sāsānian dynasty in Iran and of local powers in northern India, Kushan rule declined. The Kushan Empire fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms in the 3rd century AD, which fell to the Sasanians invading from the west, establishing the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom in the areas of Sogdiana, Bactria, and Gandhara. In the 4th century, the Guptas, an Indian dynasty also pressed from the east. The last of the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian kingdoms were eventually overwhelmed by invaders from the north, known as the Kidarites, and then the Hephthalites.

The Palace of the East refers to the heaven/domain of Akshobhya an Enlightened Buddha whose realm is said to be in the east of the Diamond Realm. This Buddha is thought to be the enlightened emanation of the Wisdom King Acala of the Womb World.
Between this, both the Diamond and the Womb Realm are being mentioned showing domain and connection throughout all. Both of these worlds connected encompass the entire cosmos with the Diamond realm being those of Buddhas and Enlightenment and the Womb being a euphemism for the Matrix-like simulation we live in. This is where various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Devas, govern. Though the Chaos beings such as Ashura, “Demons” also have direct input. It is this world and simulation that is being directly dealt with within the game. In reflection, this is the world we currently fight over the balance of Order, Law, and Chaos which is the same predicament the game presents us.

The conception is the world in a state where it has come to ruin through conflict, crisis, and or degeneration, and is wiped clean in a state ready for rebirth. This is conception just like the sperm to the cosmic egg as in the Vedas, or the formless world in the Biblical, Sumerian, Germanic, and Persian settings, to be formed by the great Will of the divine.

It may be offensive to some, however, in this series, the God Yahweh, Yaldabaoth, and a few others are seen as demiurge (semi Gnostic understanding) and beings who had governance they claimed or was entrusted to them, or psychologically developed from human belief, which was mismanaged ultimately causing the downfall of the realm. They are seen as lesser governors or aspects of the greater divine will.

This below is a mixture of the Game series’ “lore” and my understanding and UPG.
The Great Will is that which we would define as “God”. Both more in the Buddhist sense of Bodhi, that which both exists and doesn’t exist. Panentheism /Monism God or Allfather. The game calls his Great Will Axiom. Around 4.4 Billion years ago, Axiom creates Mem Alpeh (Hebrew letters for MA) in other words the Mother. The Father (Axiom) and the Mother (MA) together give form to the universe and the collective unconsciousness which is collectively called Brahman. Through this force of Brahman, the Balance of the universe that is Chaos and Order are created. Various incarnations and emanations of the divine will and the Mother, the collective unconsciousness create worlds, Gods, Humans, Animals, Chaos beings, and life itself.
Through the evolution of themselves the Father and Mother experience life, death, and rebirth.
Balance must be maintained, if not everything becomes in disarray and a champion/savior is born to lead the creation back to a path of Dharma and balance.

My take away from this is that we must seek to connect with the divine aspects which lead us to better ourselves, spreading the dharma. The Gods individually are important as we can connect with them more easily and clearly than that with the One itself. But we should be understanding of the greater connected divine. Both aspects of life, Order, and Chaos are needed as they reflect the Father and Mother (Yin and Yang). Adharma (lack of Dharma or evil) is an extreme imbalance of one or the other. Through proper living, ritual, and assessing a growth forward in balance we evolve as the Father and Mother evolve. We push forward into the future. That isn’t to say imbalance won't’ happen, but we need to fight strongly to correct this imbalance.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post even if you had push through the “weeb” ness of it.
I think it is worth delving into “lore”, novels, music, games, and other media which can aid us in understanding and digesting the greater wisdom of the cosmos and the divine. This is one of the few game series that I feel as done such a thing to degree.
Hail the Gods.
Hammer and Vajra.
Written by Zachary Gill 07 June 2021
Image: SMT III art from Kazuma Kaneko

Given the recent release of the Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) III Nocturn HD remake, I figured it would be interesting to break down some of the cosmology of this game and how it applies to religious thought and understanding in general.

The SMT series is no stranger to comparative religion, Buddhist, Gnostic, Pagan, and Esoteric Abrahamic philosophy and metaphysics. (Though it has been, in my opinion, rather watered down by recent pop-cultural releases of the Persona spin-off franchise).
Booting up the game you are greeted by the following quote.

"Hear, O disciples, for I bear witness to the dawn of destruction awaiting the Three Realms. When the drum of Samsara resounds throughout the earth, the Palace of the East, encompassed in radiant light, shall slumber in the Womb. All who live shall be no more; their red souls of transgression shall mark the rise of demons. And lo, those who behold this great mystery shall stand before the Lotus of Souls and speak the Word of Reason; such is the Law of Creation. ...So it is written."
—From The Scripture of Miroku, Chapter 4: Verse 24

This isn’t a real historical document, teaching, or sutra. However, the manner in which it is written is very similar to Mahayana Sutras.
This quote is from a “Cult” in the game called Ring of Gaea. Much like other “Cults”, they desire to take advantage of the remaking of the World that the divine performs, called the conception, and to shape it into their own.

The Miroku Mentioned is the Japanese name for Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, and the 5th incarnation of Buddha. He is mentioned in the Amitabha and Lotus Sutra, sometimes called Ajita, and is one of the primary Buddhas / Deities worshipped among various Buddhist sects from Pure land to Esoteric Vajrayana and even some forms of Theravada. His name Maitreya is related to the Sanskrit word maitrī meaning friend. Some have made connections interpreting him as being one with the God Mitra (Mithra / Mithras) whose name also implies friend. Both are being who bring about change and are Aryan savior figures who conquer chaos and bring forth a dharmic balance.
It is said that his worship links back to the Greco-Buddhist arts in Gandhara. I theorize it may be connected to the synchronism between Greco-Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Vedic deities that were developing during the Bactrian Kingdom eras.
His heaven is that of Tuṣita and can be reached through deep meditation. He is said to be the next Buddha to come within the next Kalpa (aeon). While he has divine presence and power within this current era through dharma and other Buddhist beings within the dharma, it is his return that is worshipped. He is heavily focused upon in Shingon Buddhism where it is thought he will have come a Nyorai (Tathagata) or the one who has come (incarnated).
He has also been the focus of Theosophical traditions, Baháʼí, Ahmadiyya, and other Islamic sects which see him as Mahdi. Some New Age groups see him as the Returning Christ, the Kalki, or the Germanic God Baldr.
It is this comparative resource that the SMT game series is drawing from.

The “Three worlds” Mentioned above is the Trailokya (Japanese Sangai) which broken into Kāmaloka (world of desire: hell beings, humans, animals, lower Gods), Rūpaloka (World of form: Gods free of baser desires, heavenly beings, and people who attained connection with the Gods or higher existence through practice and faith.), Arūpaloka (World of the Formless: the four heavens for those who practice formlessness. Bodhisattva heavens, preparation for Nirvana)

The Norse Saga of Gautama Buddha!? or On how the Buddha arrived to Nordic Lands

While we usually tend to focus on some specific populations, regions, and eras, such as Ancient Gandhāra and the Tarim Basin, thanks to their rich history of Indo-European Buddhism, a follower recently asked us about a place and time usually not pondered by us: Nordic lands.

This is an easy oversight to do. After all, even if several ancient Indo-European populations came into contact and adopted the doctrine of the Śākya prince, what could Scandinavians, of all peoples, have to do with him?

Well, apart from a certain statuette found in Sweden that is unmistakably a devotional representation of the Buddha, and another certain statuette found in Norway that is certainly NOT a devotional representation of the Buddha, it may come as a surprise that the Norse knew the life story of the Buddha, or, at least, a Christian retelling of said story, since the 13th century!

We have talked before about the history of Barlaam and Josaphat, legendary Christian martyrs and saints whose story was based on that of Gautama Buddha. However this Christian retelling wasn't limited to the Eastern and Southern Roman Catholic and Orthodox spheres, since around the year 1250, King Haakon Haakonsson the Young of Norway, would translate the story into the "Barlaams saga ok Jósafats" or the Saga of Barlaam and Josaphat, with multiple Old Norwegian, Old Swedish, Middle High German and Anglo-Norman translations based on different sources subsequently appearing.

So while this was not a "direct" syncretism like that of the Greco-Buddhists and Scytho-Buddhists, to say that the Scandinavians of the late Middle Ages venerated the Buddha and read about his life story, albeit in a Christianized interpretation, is not as far fetched as one may think at first glance.