ELEMENTAL ASTROLOGY or Jungtsi is the oldest field of knowledge originating in Tibet. It mainly uses three kinds of symbols: the 8 parka or trigrams, the 9 mewa or numbers and the 12 animal signs. The various combinations of these three symbols with the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, are the framework for astrological calculations. The parka are the oldest astrological symbols, while the mewa, the numbers and the animal signs are based on the trigrams.
The parkha or trigrams symbolise the cycle
of increase and diminution that rules life both in the external world and
within the body once a particular realm and its inhabitants has come into
being. This cycle is determined and moves on the basis of the combination of
the elements so that when the elements are harmonious there is increase, when
they are not in harmony diminution, culminating in disintegration, begins. The
origin of the trigrams or parka is linked to the ancient culture of the Bon,
the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. Nowadays, astrological calculations based
on the parka are common practice in all the new schools of Tibetan Buddhism,
such as the Gelug, the Sakya and the Kagyu as well as in the ancient Nyingma
school. Modifying their terminology to suit the Buddhist frame of thought and
language, these schools also adopted many rituals of the pre-Buddhist Bon
culture - for example the rituals of the gtos, the mdos , the yas and the glud
as well as the ritual of the sang (during which juniper and other fragrant
herbs are burned for different purposes, including the propitiation of local
deities).
But despite such wide and conscious
appropriation from the Bon culture, there was a time in Tibetan history when
the culture and the followers of Bon were widely persecuted by the Buddhists
mainly for political reasons. Since most of the Tibetans were fond of Bon
rituals and often took recourse to them, the newly introduced Buddhist culture
had no choice but to assimilate them in some way. In this process of
assimilation, unwilling to acknowledge the Bon origin of elemental astrology
and other rites, they considered the elements of astrology and rites resembling
those found in the Indian culture to have been imported from India, while those
resembling the Chinese culture to have been imported from China.
However, many astrological and ritual
features were unique to Tibet and were not found in either China or India. For
this reason they acknowledged them to have originated from or been systematized
by a historical figure called Kong tse phrul gyi rgyal po whom the Buddhists,
later on, considered to be a manifestation of Manjusri, the boddhisattva who
represents wisdom. Since Kong tse phrul gyi rgyal po was born 600 years before
the Buddha, it was difficult for them to call him a Buddhist, so they did not
say that he was a Buddhist nor admitted he was a Bonpo. During the 13th, 14th
and 15th centuries some Tibetan scholars began to claim that the parka came
from China. In the 18th century lcang skya rol pa'i rdo rje , and the Mongolian
scholar Thu'u bkvan cho kyi nyi ma and other scholars, mistakenly identified
Kong tse phrul gyi rgyal po with Confucius, saying that they were one and the
same person. However, many reasons prove beyond any shade of doubt that Kong
tse phrul gyi rgyal po and Confucius were two different people. ( This topic
was more fully discussed during Prof. Thubten Phuntsog's conference at Merigar
on January 17th 1998.)
In my opinion when we research the ancient
origins of a particular type of knowledge, it is hard to speak of it
exclusively in terms of knowledge belonging only to a particular group of
people. Astrology in particular is a very ancient discipline which is common to
many groups of peoples. For example in most parts of the world, people refer to
the days of the week, Sunday, Monday etc., with the names of the planets. Of
course different languages uses different words for the planets, but they
clearly refer to the same thing; for example, in English we say
"Sunday", in Tibetan, Za nyi ma, or 'the sun day or planet'.
In elemental astrology the days are also
associated with the elemental properties, for example Sunday with Fire, Monday
with Water, Tuesday with Fire, Wednesday with Water, Thursday with Wood, Friday
with Metal and Saturday with Earth. Before the people of Tibet had a written
language they indicated the days of the week with symbols. For example in Tibet
Sunday was symbolised by a drawing of a sun, Monday by the moon, Tuesday by an
eye, Wednesday by a hand, Thursday by a wooden purba or three bladed wooden dagger,
Friday by a sword or trident and Saturday by a penis.
Now let us see how the Bon texts explain
the origin of the parka by means of a mythological tale which represents the
process of the formation of the world in eight stages:
1. the stage in which the pure part of the elements manifested as space;
2. the stage in which the impure part of the elements manifested as earth;
3. the stage in which the mountain arose to connect space and earth;
4. the stage in which the wind through the stoney valleys of the mountain
arose;
5. the stage in which fire was produced by the movement of the wind;
6. the stage in which the meeting of wind and fire brought about the rain;
7. the stage in which wood or the tree arose, based on the interaction of
wind, fire, water and earth.
This process as well as the outer world is
symbolised by the drawing of a golden turtle, whose head represents the
direction south.
1. The pure essence of the elements emerged from the mouth of the turtle as vapour and transformed into the 'old father of existence' (Sipa yab rgen ), the first and most ancient trigram, Khen, symbol of the sky. He is described as a old man with white hair, dressed in yellow silk, riding a dog and holding a crystal wand in his hand.
2. The impure aspects of the elements emerged as the dung of the turtle and fell and became 'old mother of existence', (Sipe yum rge ma) Khon, the second trigram that symbolises the earth. She is represented as an old lady with white hair the colour of a conch-shell, with a hundred wrinkles on her face, dressed in white silk, holding a hoe in her right hand and a wooden stick in her left and riding a sheep.
3. The old father and mother of existence married and from their union came the eldest son, the third trigram, Ghin, who symbolises the mountain connecting sky and earth. The eldest son is represented by a figure resembling a monk, holding a sacred book in his hands and riding a rose-coloured ox.
4. Then the wind blowing through the stony mountain valleys gave rise to the fourth trigram called Zon. This trigram is symbolised by the eldest daughter represented as a young woman dressed in yellow silk, riding a dzo, and holding in her hands a balloon-like round bag made of skin.
5. The action of the wind produced the fire element symbolised by the trigram Li which is represented by the youngest daughter of the old father and mother of existence. She is rosy in colour, with a horse's head, dressed in red silk, holding a ladle full of blood in her right hand and a torch in her left.
6. From the encounter of air and fire arose the sixth trigram called Kham which is symbolised by the grandson of the old father and mother and represented as a black-coloured man, with long hair, dressed in black, holding a leather ball full of water in his hand and riding a black pig.
7. Then from the interaction of the fire and wind arose the rain which fell thus originating the trigram Zin symbolised by the tree. The trigram Zin is represented by the grand-daughter who is greenish in colour, dressed in green silk, riding a green donkey, with her hands crossed on her chest and holding a plant.
8. Through the function of the element fire which melted the earth, its pure essence, metal (gold, silver, copper, etc.), manifests, associated with the trigram Da. The trigram Da is the youngest son of the old father and the old mother and he is represented by a young warrior wearing a helmet and armour, holding a sword and a lance in his hands and riding a goat.Therefore making a brief summary - the first trigram, Khen, is the father, Khon is the mother, Ghin is the elder son, Zon is the elder daughter, Li is the younger daughter, Da is the younger son, Kham is the grand-son and Zin is the grand-daughter.
According to the tale, the trigrams Kham
and Zin came about in this way. The elder son, Ghin wishing to find a bride,
circled Mount Meru, the 'axis mundis' three times in a clockwise direction;
Zon, with the same wish circled the ocean three times in a counter clockwise
direction. The two of them met in the midst of a vortex of wind in the country
called srin po gdudg pa can gyi yul, which means 'the country inhabited by wild
cannibals', in a place called ye le dgung sngon or 'primordial sky'. In the
midst of the vortex they did not recognise each other and engaged in an
incestuous relationship. From their union was born a son, the trigram Kham, and
a daughter, the trigram Zin.
This incestuous relationship was a tragedy
that caused a disturbance among various classes of non-humans, in particular
between the Devas and the Nagas, who became drunk with mental confusion
(because existence had been defiled by the incestuous relationship) and coupled
between themselves thus giving birth to the Eight Classes of demons and gods.
Following this the beings of the six classes of existence were born, the hell
beings etc., and illnesses and suffering arose among these classes.
This suffering which struck the
inhabitants of the world came to the attention of the old father, the trigram
Khen, who called out asking what was happening. A reply came from the sky saying
that what was happening was the result of an incestuous rapport of the elder
son with his sister and that it would be beneficial if the family did not
remain together but split up to reside in the eight directions. Li, the younger
daughter, with the wish to reconciliate the family, approached the old father,
Khen, apologising for the misunderstanding between the two trigrams, Ghin and
Zon. which had caused the suffering troubling the world. The old father,
however, misunderstood her words, got angry and the problems within the family
did not come to an end so the members of the family took up residence in the
eight directions. Each one took his or her property to their direction and
these belongings (including rocks, pieces of wood and so forth) were the very
substances that, later on, became used in the rites to pacify the damage caused
by an unfavourable combination of the elements or of the trigrams.
Finally the old mother, who was born in
the earth sheep year, died at the age of 226 in the wood dragon year. She was
buried in the earth the following year, that of the wood snake. At that time
there was no funerary ritual to appease the Eight Classes and to balance the
elements of the family, and, as a consequence, the old father who was born in
the earth dog year and lived for 253 years, died the following year, the metal
pig year. In a similar fashion, as the result of the lack of proper funerary
rites, Zin, Zon and Kham suddenly died. After that Da, Li and Ghin discussed
the matter and created the rite to appease the Eight Classes of demons and gods
and to balance the elements within the family. As a result of this the world
enjoyed peace and prosperity for many eons.
Following this period of prosperity, the
world began to decline and all its inhabitants experienced an augmentation of
mental affliction. At that time the Sage Yod po appeared who recounted the
legend of the origin of the Parkha and became the first Tibetan to explain
astrological calculations.
After many centuries in a period in which
no form of writing existed, the teacher of astrology named Sa bdag nag po
started to indicate the parkha, the mewa, and the animals with white and black
pebbles.
After many centuries, the prince Shi kha
then tse born (2551 BC.) in the year of the metal rabbit, established the rules
of governing using astrological calculations. In 1957 BC in the wood monkey
year, the astrology master Sa bdag rlung rgyal was born, who taught the sage
nGnon po. On the basis of the instruction of his teacher, the latter elaborated
a way of astrological calculation using the combination of the twelve animal
signs with the five elements. He associated colours with the five elements:
green for wood, red for fire, yellow for earth, white for metal and black for
water and then associated these elements to the parkha and animal signs by way
of different dots of colour.
In 1557 BC. in the year of wood mouse,
another master of astrology, Ze'u kong 'phrul chung was born. He applied the
mother-son-friend-enemy relationship to the field of medicine for the first
time. In the wood mouse year in 1197 BC., a famous astrologer, Kongtse sphrul
gyi rgyal po, was born. On the basis of his astrological knowledge and on the
request of four of his most intelligent students he composed 357 treatises on the
rituals of the gto, mdos, yas and the gljud, which have the function of
balancing the elements and pacifying the disturbances caused by the Eight
Classes of spirits and gods.
In 417 BC. in the wood mouse year, Nyatri
Tsenpo, the first Tibetan king, was born. When he became king of Tibet, the
so-called 'community of astrological practitioners' developed and propagated
astrology widely. At that time, on the basis of the observations of the
southerly and northerly movement of the sun, the observation of the stars and
the migration of birds, the rain, clouds, wind and snow, the community prepared
the solar calendar of 360 days mainly for the sake of the farmers and nomads.
There are many details regarding the
development of the elements, how disturbances manifested and how substances
were used to pacify the imbalance of the elements but we would need a week
simply to explain them. This is a mythological story not a real one,
nonetheless its symbols could be considered to be an invaluable field of
research. This information concerning the mythological origin of the trigrams
as well as the mewa or numbers can only be found in the Bon texts; one does not
find similar explanation in the astrological treatises of China or other
countries. In fact, when Chinese astrological experts are asked about the
origin of the parka or trigrams they do not have a very clear explanation and
sometimes refer to a particular race of people called Yi who lived on the
border between China and who were originally Tibetans with customs and beliefs
closely linked to the Bon culture.
Translated by Elio Guarisco
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