Carpe Diem #865 torn apart book (reading nature)

[...] "A sense of paradise descends from the skies. And I am aware that I am living through an unforgettable moment in my life; it is the kind of awareness we often have precisely when the magic moment has passed. I am entirely here, without past, without future, entirely focused on the morning, on the music of the horses’ hooves, on the gentleness of the wind caressing my body, on the unexpected grace of contemplating sky, earth, men. I feel a sense of adoration and ecstasy. I am thankful for being alive. I pray quietly, listening to the voice of nature, and understanding that the invisible world always manifests itself in the visible world." [...] (The Zahir - Paulo Coelho)

[...] “What is Tengri?” “The word means ‘sky worship’; it’s a kind of religion without religion. Everyone has passed through here—Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Muslims, different sects with their beliefs and superstitions. The nomads became converts to avoid being killed, but they continued and continue to profess the idea that the Divinity is everywhere all the time. You can’t take the Divinity out of nature and put it in a book or between four walls. I have felt so much better since coming back to the steppes, as if I had been in real need of nourishment. Thank you for letting me come with you.” [...] (The Zahir - Paulo Coelho)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy ... this month we are exploring the Altai Mountains and their spiritual meaning. In this last week of this month we will even come closer to that spirit. As you have read in the above quotes from The Zahir by Paulo Coelho it's all about reading nature this day. 

Credits: Reading Nature (the Altai Mountains)

I remember an article which I read about a woman exploring the region of the Altai Mountains. She had a Mongolian guide who never used a map or travel-book ... he could read his path, the weather coming and so on ... just by reading nature. Reading nature is one of the most important pillars of what is called Tengrism or 'sky worship’. 

That's truly being one with nature ... to have the ability to read nature's signs. Those signs are all around us. In plain simple words I can say: As I see the buds of the cherry grow ... than I know that spring is coming. Or ... as I see the changing colors of leaves at the end of summer I know that autumn is coming.
Isn't that beautiful? Let me look at our beloved haiku ... what do I see? I see kigo (seasonwords) who are pointing to the season in which the haiku was written ... through those kigo we can read nature ... that makes the haiku not only a Japanese poetry form, but also a poetry form of the Altai Mountains, haiku is part of Tengrism ... look around you .... see the signs of nature and read them ... just read them.

yellow meadow
starts to become green again
spring is coming

© Chèvrefeuille

Awesome ... reading nature is really a spiritual experience ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 26th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, another Haiku Writing Technique, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #386, Tengri, the Spirit of the Steppes

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Tengri was the chief deity worshipped by the ruling class of the Central Asian steppe peoples in 6th to 9th centuries (Turkic peoples, Mongols and Hungarians).  It lost its importance when the Uighuric kagans proclaimed Manichaeism the state religion in the 8th century. Tengri was the main god of the Turkic pantheon, controlling the celestial sphere.

The most important contemporary testimony of Tengri worship is found in the Old Turkic Orkhon inscriptions, dated to the early 8th century. Written in the so-called Orkhon script, these inscriptions record an account of the mythological origins of the Turks. The inscription dedicated to Kul Tigin includes the passages (in the translation provided by the Language Committee of Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan): "When the blue sky [Tengri] above and the brown earth below were created, between them a human being was created. Over the human beings, my ancestors Bumin Kagan and Istemi Kagan ruled. They ruled people by Turkish laws, they led them and succeeded" (face 1, line 1); "Tengri creates death. Human beings have all been created in order to die" (face 2, line 9); "You passed away (lit.: 'went flying') until Tengri gives you life again" (face 2, line 14).

Khan Tengri, an important mountain in Tengrism

"Tengrism" is the term for a revival of Central Asian shamanism after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In Tengriism, the meaning of life is seen as living in harmony with the surrounding world. Tengriist believers view their existence as sustained by the eternal blue Sky, Tengri, the fertile Mother-Earth, spirit Eje, and a ruler who is regarded as the holy spirit of the Sky. Heaven, Earth, the spirits of nature and the ancestors provide every need and protect all humans. By living an upright and respectful life, a human being will keep his world in balance and maximize his personal power Wind Horse.

It is said that the Huns of the Northern Caucasus believed in two gods. One is called Tangri han (that is Tengri Khan), who is thought to be identical to the Persian Aspandiat and for whom horses were sacrificed. The other is called Kuar, whose victims are struck down by lightning.

Tengriism is actively practised in Sakha, Buryatia, Tuva and Mongolia in parallel with Tibetan Buddhism and Burkhanism.

Nazar, "The Evil Eye"

Tengrism, is also an theme in one of the novels by Paulo Coelho. In his novel "The Zahir", he's on a quest to find his beloved wife who has left him without letting him know where she is. His wife, in the novel a war-correspondent, has left him to find herself back. He meets Michael, a young charismatic man, who is telling stories about love and performs rituals with a few other friends of him. During the story Paulo and Michael become friends and finally they decide to go on a quest together. Michael returning back to his Mongolian roots taking Paulo with him. As they arrive in Mongolia Paulo learns about Tengrism and finds his beloved wife back somewhere in a village on the steppes.

As we already have find out during our journey with the Trans Siberian Railroad ... Tengrism uses Shaman-rituals and initiations and it also is familiar to Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism is one of the main backgrounds for haiku and that's why we will soon start our pilgrimage on the Japanese Isle of Shikoku. This pilgrimage is similar with the Hajj of the Muslim. The Muslim have to go to Mecca, a Hajj, once in their lifetime. To Buddhists that's why they go on a pilgrimage along the 88 temples/shrines situated on Shikoku once in a lifetime. It follows the path of the founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kobo Daishi or 'Kukai'.

Shikoku, O-Henro sign

flying high
above Khan Tengri
cry of an eagle

cry of an eagle
resonates through the temples -
Shikoku Island

Shikoku Island
pilgrimage to Enlightenment -
becoming a Henro

Not a strong set I think, but I think it says what the post says in just a few words. With this post we have entered the realm of the Pilgrim ... our first step to become a Henro (Shikoku pilgrim).

This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until January 30th 11.59 AM (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, Pilgrim, later on. Have fun, be inspired and be prepared to start our pilgrimage along the 88 temples/shrines in tribute to Kobo Daishi on Shikoku Island.