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From: andy@cged.co.uk (Andy Boswell)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: More on the swastica
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.164040.29290@nas.nasa.gov>
Date: 12 Jun 91 16:40:40 GMT
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Organization: Computer General Electronic Design Limited
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>> Nazism _is_ based on a Tibetan doctrine!

Like some other replys, I had never understood there to be any link beyond the
use of the common symbol.

> I thought it had Indian roots; i.e., the swastica, except Hitler drew it in
> reverse.  I'm really not well read on this topic, so maybe others on the
> net could comment.

This discussion reminded me of Peter Matthiessen's book "The Snow Leopard" in
which he mentions the swastika and its use by the Buddhist and B'on religions
in the Himalayas, bordering Nepal and Tibet.  Matthiessen's book describes an
expedition which he made to the Dolpo area, some 250 miles trek from Pokhara,
where B'on, which predates Buddhism, is still practised in some villages.
The book is describes a journey which is very much spiritual as well as
physical: Matthiessen explores his newly found Zen Buddhism and the painful 
death of his wife the previous year throughout the journey and the book.
I highly recommend it.  I thought this quote might be interesting on the
subject of the swastika. 

"A forest of dead pines, dank river caves, and hearths of travellers; two
caves are fitted with wood shelves, as if these places had been hermit
habitations.  The shelves are marked with a swastika, that archaic symbol of
creation that occurs everywhere around the world except south of the Sahara
and in Australia.  It was taken to North America by the ancestors of the
American aborigines; in the Teutonic cultures, it was the emblem of Thor; it
appeared at Troy and in ancient India, where it was adopted by Hindus and then
Buddhists.  The reverse swastica is also here, in sign of the B'on religion,
still prevalent in old corners of these mountains; since it reverses time, it
is thought to be destructive to the universe, and is often associated with
black magic."

It seems that the swastica is a universal symbol.  It would be
interesting to see what Jung said about this.  I will post again if I find
anything about this.


Andy Boswell
Principal Application Engineer	             		Tel:   +44 225 482744
Computer General Electronic Design Limited   		Fax:   +44 225 442751
The New Church, Henry Street, Bath, BA1 1JR, U.K.       email: andy@cged.co.uk






-- 



Andy Boswell