Ancient Beliefs and What They Said

I often become distracted by several articles while searching for a particular piece of information. This one caught my eye. The ancient past, as we've heard, is often the key to the now.

It fascinates me of just how little we think we know. We know only what we are taught. And usually by the ones who've won the war. But not exclusively. A little research reveals our history, and how much has shifted in a very short amount of time.

Hinduism in China: Influence that goes back many millennia
Read more at www.patheos.com...

India:

Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA once said “India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.”  

In Spiritual and Philosophical terms, that is very true.  You can either include the other in yourself by Conquering, or by Embrace.  What Hu Shih talks about was the inclusion by Embrace.

Buddhism, first and foremost, is not a religion.  It is a Spiritual discipline which has many paths experienced and taught by various Enlightened Beings.  Spiritually relevant paths are neither unique nor exclusive.  Buddha appeared on the Indian scene many thousands of years after Yoga and Spiritual disciplines had been perfected and taught.  He was an incredible and an amazing being.

Rome:

The people of the time of the Roman republic and empire had a gift with words. I think the most interesting thing when reading Roman proverbs and sayings is just how many of these are still known and used in modern times.

Optimum est pati quod emendare non possis." - "It is best to endure what you cannot change.", by Seneca. If you cannot change something, don't try to, concentrate on what you can change.

"Veni, vidi, vici." - "I came, I saw, I conquered". It seems a bit like bragging, spoken by Gaius Julius Caesar
"Non omnia possumus omnes." - "We all cannot do everything". Something of a proverb, it means you can't be good at every skill.

China:

The sage "is ready to use all situations and doesn't waste anything. This is called embodying the light." — Lao Tzu, alive around 600 BC in China.

(Religion) from the Latin Religio, meaning 'restraint,' or Relegere, according to Cicero, meaning 'to repeat, to read again,' or, most likely, Religionem, 'to show respect for what is sacred') is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. There is no culture recorded in human history which has not practiced some form of religion.

In ancient times, religion was indistinguishable from what is known as 'mythology' in the present day and consisted of regular rituals based on a belief in higher supernatural entities who created and continued to maintain the world and surrounding cosmos. Theses entities were anthropomorphic and behaved in ways which mirrored the values of the culture closely (as in Egypt) or sometimes engaged in acts antithetical to those values (as one sees with the gods of Greece).

Cont'd..

The Greekphilosopher Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570-478 BCE) once wrote:

Mortals suppose that the gods are born and have clothes and voices and shapes like their own. But if oxen, horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and fashion works as men do, horses would paint horse-like images of gods and oxen oxen-like ones, and each would fashion bodies like their own. The Ethiopians consider the gods flat-nosed and black; the Thracians blue-eyed and red-haired.

RELIGION IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

As with many cultural advancements and inventions, the 'cradle of civilization' Mesopotamia has been cited as the birthplace of religion. When religion developed in Mesopotamia is unknown, but the first written records of religious practice date to c. 3500 BCE from Sumer. Mesopotamian religious beliefs held that human beings were co-workers with the gods and labored with them and for them to hold back the forces of chaos which had been checked by the supreme deities at the beginning of time. Order was created out of chaos by the gods and one of the most popular myths illustrating this principle told of the great god Marduk who defeated Tiamat and the forces of chaos to create the world. Historian D. Brendan Nagle writes:

Despite the gods' apparent victory, there was no guarantee that the forces of chaos might not recover their strength and overturn the orderly creation of the gods. Gods and humans alike were involved in the perpetual struggle to restrain the powers of chaos, and they each had their own role to play in this dramatic battle. The responsibility of the dwellers of Mesopotamian cities was to provide the gods with everything they needed to run the world.

www.ancient.eu...

The 8 Oldest Religions that we know of:

Hinduism (founded around the 15th–5th century BCE)
Zoroastrianism (10th–5th century BCE)
Judaism (9th–5th century BCE)
Jainism (8th–2nd century BCE)
Confucianism (6th–5th century BCE)
Buddhism (6th–5th century BCE)
Taoism (6th–4th century BCE)
Shintoism (3rd century BCE–8th century CE)

Jainism is an interesting one for me personally.

Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/), traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is one of the most ancient Indian religions. The three main principles of Jainism are ahimsa ('non-violence'), anekantavada ('non-absolutism'), and aparigraha ('non-attachment'); it is also characterized by asceticism.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Jansenism, is a younger Religion born out of Catholicism in the 17th C. A facinating account, or rather, many accounts, came out of this one. Viewed by many, witnessed many Miracles that defy logic.

The Jansenist Miracles

This is one of the most remarkable displays of miraculous events ever recorded and took place in Paris in the first half of the eighteenth century. The Jansenists were puritanical Dutch-influenced Catholics founded in the early seventeenth century and at odds with both the Roman Catholic Church. Both the church and the monarch, King Louis XV, were constantly maneuvering to undermine the movement’s power.

The ailments cured included cancerous tumors, paralysis, deafness, arthritis, rheumatism, ulcerous sores, persistent fevers, prolonged hemorrhaging, and blindness. But this was not all. These seizures quickly proved contagious, spreading like a bush fire until the streets were packed with men, women and children, all twisting and writhing as if caught up in a surreal enchantment. The most phenomenal of their talents was during this fitful and trancelike state.

They had the ability to endure without harm an almost unimaginable variety of physical tortures. These included beatings, blows from both heavy and sharp objects, and strangulation – all with no sign of injury, or even the slightest trace of wounds or bruises. Most mind-blowing of all, they could not even be cut or punctured with knives, swords or hatchets! Some became clairvoyant and were able to “discern hidden things.” Others could read even when their eyes were closed and tightly bandaged, and instances of levitation were reported. One of the levitators, an abbé named Bercherand from Montpellier, was so “forcibly lifted into the air” during his convulsions that even when witnesses tried to hold him down they could not succeed in keeping him from rising up off the ground.

What makes these miraculous events so unique is that they were witnessed by literally thousands of observers and was by no means short lived. The cemetery and streets surrounding it were crowded day and night for years and even two decades later miracles were still being reported. In 1733 it was noted in the public records that over 3’000 volunteers were needed simply to assist the convulsionaries...

The mind creates what the heart feels.

Zoroastrians:

Zoroastrianism, or more natively

Mazdayasna, like the Car Manufacturer,

is one of the world's oldest extant religions, "combining a cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism in a manner unique among the major religions of the world". Wikipedia

Zoroastrianism, [Iranian Prophet] the ancient pre-Islamic religion of Iran, once Persia, survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Iranian (Persian) immigrants are known as Parsis, or Parsees.

It survives there in isolated areas but primarily exists in India, where the descendants of Zoroastrian Persian immigrants thrive.

a reply to: ADSE255
My fav is "don't count your chickens before they hatch", which (far as I know) comes from Havamal -
At kveldi skal dag leyfa,
konu, er brennd er, mæki, er reyndr er,
mey, er gefin er, ís, er yfir kemr,
öl, er drukkit er.

(Praise the day at evening,
a woman when burned, [ie pagan funeral]
a weapon which is tried, a maid at wed lock,
ice when it is crossed, ale once drunk.)

a reply to: ADSE255

The 8 Oldest Religions that we know of: Hinduism (founded around the 15th–5th century BCE) Zoroastrianism (10th–5th century BCE) Judaism (9th–5th century BCE) Jainism (8th–2nd century BCE) Confucianism (6th–5th century BCE) Buddhism (6th–5th century BCE) Taoism (6th–4th century BCE) Shintoism (3rd century BCE–8th century CE)

You have missed off The Druids of Britain . 4th Century BC

a reply to: Ridhya

Ah, is this a hagan troll I smell?

a reply to: alldaylong

You're right. I retired for the night upon blurred vision failure which then took over my cerebral cortex. My thought and speech reactionary time at that point failed somewhat. Thank you,. I will add more to that.

The Druid system of belief is another of interest. Everything is woven together. And such is the fabric of time, energy, inner connectedness.

Druids Beliefs:

One of the most striking characteristics of Druidism is the degree to which it is free of dogma and any fixed set of beliefs or practices. ... Since Druidry is a spiritual path – a religion to some, a way of life to others – Druids share a belief in the fundamentally spiritual.

There is no ‘sacred text’ or the equivalent of a bible in Druidism and there is no universally agreed set of beliefs amongst Druids.

The Law of the Harvest

Related to the idea that we are all connected in one great web of life is the belief held by most Druids that whatever we do in the world creates an effect which will ultimately also affect us. A similar idea is found in many different traditions and cultures:

folk wisdom in Britain says that ‘what goes around comes around’ and in ancient Egypt, the idea attributed to the Apostle Paul when he said ‘As ye sow, so shall ye reap,’ was spoken by the god Thoth several thousand years earlier in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, when he said ‘Truth is the harvest scythe. What is sown - love or anger or bitterness - that shall be your bread. The corn is no better than its seed, then let what you plant be good.’ In Hinduism and Buddhism the idea is expressed as the doctrine of cause and effect (karma).

www.druidry.org...

originally posted by: alldaylong
a reply to: ADSE255

The 8 Oldest Religions that we know of: Hinduism (founded around the 15th–5th century BCE) Zoroastrianism (10th–5th century BCE) Judaism (9th–5th century BCE) Jainism (8th–2nd century BCE) Confucianism (6th–5th century BCE) Buddhism (6th–5th century BCE) Taoism (6th–4th century BCE) Shintoism (3rd century BCE–8th century CE)

You have missed off The Druids of Britain . 4th Century BC

It was the 3rd Century BCE.

Druid Beliefs Contd:

On a much darker note. Living during the time of the Druids was no picnic. One false move, one wrong word might have been your last.

Druid, (Celtic: “Knowing [or Finding] the Oak Tree”), member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century bce.

According to Julius Caesar, who is the principal source of information about the Druids, there were two groups of men in Gaul that were held in honour, the Druids and the noblemen (equites). Caesar related that the Druids took charge of public and private sacrifices.

They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy, and the lore of the gods, some spending as much as 20 years in training. The Druids’ principal doctrine was that the soul was immortal and passed at death from one person into another.

The Druids offered human sacrifices for those who were gravely sick or in danger of death in battle. Huge wickerwork images were filled with living men and then burned; although the Druids preferred to sacrifice criminals, they would choose innocent victims if necessary.

www.britannica.com...

a reply to: ADSE255

I love reading about ancient beliefs. One of my favorite subjects actually.

It's really cool to see just how far back people's beliefs go and transcended time.

It's my belief we reincarnate. Zoro is the same entity as the man most call Jesus.

"Try to treat other people as you would like to be treated."

Anything more complicated than that -- involving multiple lives and post-life judgments and battles between good and evil powers and so on -- is just fantastical distraction.

a reply to: MamaJ

Thanks for adding to the thread.

If anyone would like to post any more, feel free to share a few.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
"Try to treat other people as you would like to be treated."

Anything more complicated than that -- involving multiple lives and post-life judgments and battles between good and evil powers and so on -- is just fantastical distraction.

That quote should be Numero Uno from those who exibit true empathy.

a reply to: ADSE255

Eh speaking as a Celtic Reconstructionist (and some one who till recently used the phrase (neopagan)Druid to describe himself .... be careful with druidry.org. It is a site of revivalists not those who know their history. There are no first hand accounts of Celtic Spiritual belied, and certainly nothing that deep (as that which you posted (the Law of the Harvest). At least they admit there is no book like the bible.

I don't think people realise what an evil idea karma is. If it's embedded in a culture it leads to a heartless justification of suffering with little attempt to alleviate it because the person is considered to deserve that suffering, even if it derives from others treating them badly. It tends to maintain the status quo because everyone is presumed to be getting the life they deserve. In India it has bolstered discrimination against caste, women and widows. It has been the belief in many cultures and is particularly offensive to those of us with disabilities.

It was the belief in Israel at the time of Jesus that those who suffered must have sinned. This would have been particularly applied to people with physical illness or disability. They were therefore perceived to be unclean. St. Paul was quoting conventional wisdom when he claimed, 'As you so, so shall you reap'. This was why the poor were seen as beneath contempt and often still are. It forms the basis of Prosperity Theology. Jesus, however, notably refused to treat the poor and sick as low status. His disciples asked him about a disaster that had occurred, the falling of the Tower of Siloam. They assumed that either those killed by its fall or their parents must have sinned for that to happen to them, but Jesus response was that it wasn't anyone's sin - the tower just happened to have fallen on them.

The 'Wisdom of the Ancients' was often #e.

I'd like to expand on this thread. Ancient beliefs contain important keys to how we view the present.

The Sumerian priests also composed many mythological stories. They wrote the ‘Story of Creation’, ‘Story of Flood’, “Story of the Fall of Man’, and ‘Story of the Tower of Babel’ etc. Later on, the Hebrews made these Sumerian stories popular.

The Sumerians had invented a new counting procedure. They used 60 as numberal unit and through that managed counting. In weight, 60 ‘shekels’ made a ‘mina’ or a ‘pound’. A circle was divided into 360″ (60×6 = 360° or 6 times of 60).

This was included in the arithmetic of the ancient Surmerians. As stated earlier, one hour was divided into 60 minutes and one minute was fractioned into 60 seconds. A great contribution of the Sumerians to the history of mankind was ‘wheel’. (Contrary to popular belief).

a reply to: ADSE255

The Summaries didn't invent anything. They looked in the sky and noticed a few things already invented, and wrote it down. A second isn't arbitrary. Neither is a day or a year.

No religion predates creation except mine. And you'll have to die to practice that one.

Ziip