Rock of Ages

William Jennings Bryan said: "Christians desire that their children shall be taught all the sciences, but they do not want them to lose sight of the Rock of Ages while they study the age of rocks."

It may seem incredible to those who do not know that the Churchians created the Devil as a means of keeping their flock in fear - who also think the Devil is a Pagan concept. The fear of death was not a Keltic concept and they weren't moved to assign all their wealth to some rich church when they approached death in order to avoid joining the Devil. Some Christian fundamentalists sell the idea that the age of rocks was a way that the Devil sought to lead Christians astray and these same people would have you teach your children the "Rock of Ages" has more veracity than the geology that proves we've had a long time on this earth to develop and learn what kind of Divine soul we are blessed with.

ASIATIC LAWS OF UNIVERSALITY IN THE 'STUPAS':

In other books I have explored the Dolmen and Round Towers of the ancient megalith Builders which resemble the symbolism of Man as represented in the steeple. They are part of the era after the truly great megaliths were built in places like Stonehenge and Poverty Point. The real meaning behind the form and structure may be similar though. Mircae Eliade was one of the Eranos Conference attendees with Jung and Campbell who I draw much insight from, in my studies. His scholarship is open and elucidative for me and I sincerely hope the reader will enjoy taking a journey with him to Barabudur. It is not easy for those of us in the present intellect-focused or faith oriented theology to integrate all aspects of how we might learn. Perhaps a simple suggestion to leave all preconceptions aside will suffice. So take off your 'thinking caps' and put your heart and soul on the front burner while the rose-coloured glasses of ego or faith diminish into the distance.

"On the subject of Barabudur, the famous temple on the island of Java and the most beautiful monument in Asia, whole libraries have been written. Purely technical explanations have been attempted taking account only of the laws of architecture; endless controversies have been joined over the religious and magical meanings hidden in that colossal monument. Dutch Orientalists and architects have published over the past fifteen years books of great value on Barabudur. The names of Krom, Van Erp, and Stutterheim must be mentioned. The last of these, in a work of 1927, laid the foundation for a true interpretation of the temple: 'Barabudur is nothing less than a symbolic representation of the Universe'. From this intuition Paul Mus's investigations start. The beginning of his book consists of a history of the controversy, an exposition of the principle hypotheses, and a critique of methods. Examined in turn are theories of the most illustrious India specialists, art historians and architects. Then Mus undertakes to discuss the problem. It must be remembered that this gigantic volume is preceded by an 'avant-propos' of 302 pages in which the author establishes the validity of his methodology. In order to justify the symbolic function of the Javanese temple, Mus emphasizes a truth often remarked by Orientalists: that if the Buddha was not represented iconographically for several centuries, it was not due to incapability on the part of Indian artists, but to the fact that a type of representation superior to images was essayed. 'That would not have been a defeat of plastic art, but rather the triumph of a magical art.' When an iconography of the Buddha was adopted, the symbolism was poor by comparison. The 'aniconic symbol' of Enlightenment (the wheel, etc.) was much more powerful, more 'pure', than the statue. Ananda Coomaraswamy also has published evidence for this thesis in his 'Elements of Buddhist Iconography'. (12) The conclusion to be drawn from this is that Buddhists, as well as Hindus (and Asians in general) {As well as the Sauk Indians we showed are from the area of the Great Wall and were Buddhists before the loss of magic represented by the change to graven images or iconography.} before Buddhism, used symbolism more effectively, precisely because the symbol was more comprehensive and 'Active' in the magical sense than plastic representation. If the Buddha was considered to be a god (as he was, in fact, immediately after his demise), then his magical 'presence' was preserved in anything emanating from him." (13)

A human statue or even a Gothic building representing the Temple of Solomon such as the Templars built into European cathedrals, does not convey the same representation of the 'Universe' or cosmos that runs through the veins of all living things. Many ancient beliefs were aware that spirit was within minerals and plants too: we are not this attuned and it is hard for us to see the vectors and lattices of energy in all things. Those who have read the 'Tao te Ching' or 'I Ching' understand a little of these energies that interact and CHANGE or grow with purpose. The 'Wheel of Life' in the Tarot is meant to capture some of this magic just as the dreams of North American Indians have been captured in the circular artistic wheels that sell in all so many souvenir stands. But it will be a long time before man again understands his exquisite interconnectiveness. We know too much to see such elegant simplicity of the spirit that is all around us. The Buddhists say 'All is Within' and the completion of the phrase is "the UNIVERSE!" I honour all myths that assist the 'oneness' in respect of the creative or intelligent design that so many insist is GOD. Here is an excerpt from my book Cherokee People (will return) to consume or cogitate upon.

In a moment we will return to my encyclopedia for more on the Zodiac because the mounds are a way of connecting to the cosmic energy which comes to earth and through which it passes and is part of. For the moment let us re-visit our present book