image: Wikimedia commons (left, right, entire series).
The beautiful Nativity account found in the Gospel according to Luke contains this well-known episode:
And there were in that same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2: 8 - 14.
In the Pali Canon of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, a collection of texts said to have been passed down orally throughout the 4th through 1st centuries BC, before being first written down during the 1st century BC, there is an account of the birth of the Buddha or Bodhisattva in which we read the following parallel account (as translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu and available here):
Asita the seer, in his mid-day meditation,
saw the devas of the Group of Thirty
-- exultant, ecstatic --
dressed in pure white, honoring Indra,
holding up banners, cheering wildly,
& on seeing the devas so joyful & happy,
having paid his respects, he said:
"Why is the deva community
so wildly elated?
Why are they holding up banners
& waving them around?
Even after war with the Asuras
--when victory was the devas'
the Asuras defeated --
even then there was no excitement like this.
Seeing what marvel
are the devas so joyful?
They shout,
they sing,
play music,
clap their hands,
dance.
So I ask you, who live on Mount Meru's summit.
Please dispel my doubt quickly, dear sirs."
"The Bodhisatta, the foremost jewel,
unequaled,
has been born for welfare & ease
in the human world,
in a town in the Sakyan countryside,
Lumbini.
That's why we're all so wildly elated.
He, the highest of all beings,
the ultimate person,
a bull among men, foremost of all people,
will set turning the Wheel [of Dhamma]
in the grove named after the seers,
like a strong, roaring lion,
the conqueror of beasts."
In both cases, we see a heavenly host (angels in the Biblical account, and devas in the Pali Canon) proclaiming the birth of the special child, one whose birth will be a tremendous blessing to all on earth and in heaven.
Upon hearing this news, the Pali Canon tells us that Asita quickly descends and goes to the dwelling of Suddhodana, the king of Lumbini (pronunciation of this king's name today generally omits the final "a" sound, so that it sounds something like "Sood-Odin").
The wife of Suddhodana, the virtuous queen Maya (often referred to as Maya Devi, meaning the Divine Maya or the Goddess Maya, or as Mahamaya, meaning Great Maya or Maya the Great), had conceived the child who would become the Buddha after having a dream involving a divine elephant. This story, which is a type of immaculate conception, is discussed in a video I made two years ago entitled "Birth of the Buddha, Birth of the Christ," which I have embedded at the bottom of this post.
Upon arriving at the palace of Suddhodhana and Maya, the revered sage Asita asks to see the child, and is shown to their son, "the prince, like gold aglow," and upon seeing the child, Asita is ecstatic, "filled with abundant rapture," and sees a vision in the heavens of devas in the sky, holding "a many-spoked sunshade of a thousand circles," while "gold-handled whisks waved up and down."
The seer then begins to shed tears, which causes the members of the palace great concern, fearing perhaps that Asita foresees some danger for the prince in his life ahead. However, when they ask Asita about his tears, he assures them:
"I foresee for the prince
no harm.
Nor will there be any danger for him.
This one isn't lowly: be assured.
This prince will touch
the ultimate self-awakening.
He, seeing the utmost purity,
will set rolling the Wheel of Dhamma
through sympathy for the welfare of many.
His holy life will spread far & wide.
But as for me,
my life here has no long remainder;
my death will take place before then.
I won't get to hear
the Dhamma of this one with the peerless role.
That's why I'm stricken,
afflicted & pained."
As I discuss in the video linked above, this visit from Asita to Suddhodhana and Maya Devi has a clear parallel in the gospel accounts as well. Later in the same chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, we read of the visit of the holy man Simeon to the parents of the Christ child:
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all the people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Luke 2: 25 - 35.
The parallels between these two stories are undeniable. In each case, an aged holy man seeks out the couple and the special child, and declares his own knowledge that he himself will now depart soon, having seen the birth of the promised one.
Also, in each case, the sage declares that the birth of the child will be a blessing for all people, and that he will set in motion the rolling of the great wheel of heaven: in the Pali Canon account, Asita declares that the child "will set rolling the Wheel of Dhamma" (or Dharma), and in the gospel account, Simeon declares that the child "is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel," which describes the turning of the great wheel of the zodiac and its twelve "tribes" or groupings of stars (the twelve zodiac signs).
These two episodes are clearly celestial in nature, as are the stories surrounding the birth of the Buddha and the birth of the Christ. I myself am of the opinion that neither is historical or terrestrial but rather that each is esoteric, designed to convey profound truths applicable to this very present moment -- profound truths intended for great benefit to all people ("for the welfare of many," as described in the Pali Canon, or for "all the people" as declared in the gospel account).
One of the most common questions I am asked is whether the ancient myths (and specifically the stories and characters in the Bible) could be both literal and celestial: in other words, could the stories have happened in literal and terrestrial history, and also be seen in the stars?
Of course, it is possible, although I would say that for all the things in the Bible to have happened in terrestrial history and for all those characters and events to correspond to constellations in the heavens would not be possible without divine intervention. In other words, for their lives to have taken all the "twists and turns" that would match exactly the constellations would require divine intervention.
For example, we are told that in Samson's life, he goes down to see a maiden and encounters a lion along the way and slays the lion with his bare hands, and then he comes back "after a time" and finding the carcass of the lion with a swarm of bees and honey in it: all these episodes directly line up with the passage of the sun through the zodiac wheel, on its way down towards Virgo but encountering Leo on the way to Virgo, and then continuing around the wheel and reaching Cancer (containing the beautiful Beehive Cluster) just prior to returning again to Leo.
I would argue that the story is purely celestial and metaphorical and esoteric -- but if someone wants to argue that it is also literal and historical, then it would seem that those events would have to be guided by some outside power in order to line up so perfectly with the stars of the heavens and the cycle of the zodiac. It would be very difficult to believe that the events in Samson's life "just happened" in that particular order and by tremendous coincidence they also happened to line up with the constellations of the heavens, and that this kind of tremendous coincidence kept taking place over and over throughout the Bible, from the events described in Genesis all the way through to the prophesies described in Revelation, matching up with the constellations of the heavens in each case.
Usually, when I am asked this question (about whether these characters could be both literal and celestial), the questioner wants to know my opinion in relation to the figures and events described in the Bible. But, if one wants to argue that the events described in the Bible did happen in terrestrial history and that they all match up with the constellations of the heavens, then we must also ask whether the parallel stories from other cultures -- such as the story of the birth of the Buddha, which has such clear parallels to the story of the birth of the Christ -- also happened in terrestrial history? Or is it just the stories in the Bible that happened in literal history while stories such as the story of the birth of the Buddha are celestial but not historical?
I would argue that it is much more likely that all these stories are based on celestial metaphor, probably originating in some extremely ancient culture predating even the most ancient civilizations known to conventional history (predating ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, ancient India, and ancient China, since the earliest myths and surviving writings of all those cultures indicate the use of this same ancient world-wide system).
To me, the power of their message does not require belief that the events of the story actually took place in literal and terrestrial history, although for some reason some people feel that it does, and I personally do not have any problem with people wanting to believe that, as long as that belief does not lead to actions that impinge on the rights of other men and women.
I am convinced that these ancient myths are metaphorical in nature, conveying an esoteric message -- for a discussion of the concept of esotericism and the esoteric, see this previous post. They are not describing the birth of an actual historical baby but rather they are using these powerful stories to lead us to a profound realization of some sort.
What could the myth of the birth of the Buddha and the myth of the birth of the Christ, which we repeat and contemplate and act out at this particular time of the year -- the time of the winter solstice and the year's great turning-point -- be trying to convey to our understanding?
I am convinced that one of the central themes of the world's ancient wisdom preserved in the myths of all cultures concerns the recovery of the indestructible (and thus immortal) Self, a recovery which is associated in many myths with the "turning upwards" that takes place at the very lowest point on the annual cycle (the point of winter solstice).
According to my reading of the myths, the figure of the Buddha and the figure of the Christ almost certainly represent the immortal and indestructible Self, from whom we become estranged during our "plunge downward" into incarnate life and as a result of the trials and the trauma to which we are exposed during the process of becoming entangled in civilization and human society.
The figure of the sage Asita, and the figure of the holy and devout Simeon in the Christ story, would seem to represent a handing-off of authority in much the same way that we see dramatized in our more-recent traditions surrounding the hand-off to the Baby New Year from the Old Year (represented by an old man), described in this previous post.
But this episode dramatizes much more than the start of a new year and the hand-off from the previous year! If, as I allege, the figure of the Christ and the figure of the Buddha represent the indestructible and immortal Self, then this hand-off represents the recognition by the "old man" of the authority of that essential Self.
The "old man" in this case, I would argue, represents the components of what we might call the "egoic mind" or the "lower self" -- but which Internal Family Systems therapy would refer to as the "parts" which long for the leadership of Self (sometimes called in various traditions the Higher Self or the essential Self).
Pioneering contemporary healer Dr. Richard Schwartz, discoverer of the IFS paradigm of therapy, describes Self and Self-Leadership in the following terms in his book Internal Family Systems Therapy, Second Edition, co-authored with Martha Sweezy:
Everyone has a seat of consciousness at their core, which we call the Self. From birth this Self has all the necessary qualities of good leadership, including compassion, perspective, curiosity, acceptance, and confidence. It does not have to develop through stages. As a result, the Self makes the best inner leader and will engender balance and harmony inside if parts allow it to lead. At the same time, our parts are organized to protect the Self and remove it from danger in the face of trauma at all costs. Protective parts will report having pushed the Self out of the body for protective reasons. Once they do this, the inner system is on its own with the extreme feelings or thoughts we call burdens.
Nevertheless, the Self remains whole. [. . .] Instead, once parts differentiate from the Self, it becomes an active, compassionate, collaborative leader. And strange though it may sound, as parts gain trust and open space for the Self, clients often say they feel physically as well as mentally present, lively, and centered.
[. . .] The Self can care for and depolarize warring parts in an equitable and compassionate way, lead discussions with parts regarding major decisions on the direction of the person's life and deal with the external world. Parts do not disappear under Self-leadership, but their extreme roles do [ . . .]. Generally parts will cooperate rather than compete or argue with each other, but when conflicts do arise, the Self is there to mediate. Once the system is operating harmoniously most of the time, each individual member (as in any harmonious system) will be less noticeable, and we become less acutely aware of our parts. In short, when we are in a Self-led state we have a sense of continuity and integration. We feel more unified -- because we are. 38 - 39.
The celebration of the birth of Christ at the turning-point of the year, three nights after the point of winter solstice (see this previous post entitled "The Three-Day Pause") -- and the celebration of the birth of the Buddha in early April, shortly after the point of the March equinox, which also anciently served as the recognition of the beginning of a new year -- dramatize the recovery of the Self (which, as Dr. Schwartz describes above, is often suppressed and "pushed out" for protective reasons, having to do with trauma).
The parallel stories of the visits of Asita and Simeon, who simultaneously celebrate the arrival of the divine child while also "making way" for the arrival of the promised one (receding into the background), dramatizes the characteristics of Self-Leadership that Dr. Schwartz describes observing in the thousands of men and women with whom he has interacted, in which individual "parts" recede into the background and become less noticeable, when the entire system is functioning harmoniously under the leadership of Self.
The immaculate or divine conception of the child in each of these stories (as with many other ancient myths involving twins, one of whom is almost invariably conceived by a divine father and a mortal mother, such as in the myths of Polydeuces and Castor and of Heracles and Iphicles), indicates not only the immortal and indestructible nature of our essential Self, but also the fact that this Higher Self is not "dragged down" and consumed by the concerns and fears arising from the body and its reflexes and needs.
In the images above we see a depiction of the visit of Asita to Maya Devi and Suddhodhana, carved into an elephant tusk. The entire tusk is shown on the right, in the National Museum of India in New Delhi: the tusk is carved with scenes from the life of the Buddha which begin at the base and continue to the tip. If you look very closely at the image, you can see a carving depicting queen Maya asleep in the "roundel" visible at the very bottom of the tusk, dreaming of the elephant. Just above that, in the next layer of carvings, you can (I believe) see the image of Asita paying a visit to Maya Devi and Suddhodhana and the holy child, on the left edge of the tusk (partly obscured by the curving of the tusk's surface, out of view to the left).
I hope that this exploration of just one tiny aspect of the ancient myths involving the birth of the divine child -- and the recovery of the immortal Self, to whom we all have access at all times, no matter how we have tried to suppress or push that Self away -- will be beneficial for you at this special time of the year.
This season is both wonderful but also (very often) filled with a multitude of different strains and stresses, even in a normal year -- strains and stresses which can bring forward all kinds of reactive parts and reflexive behaviors. Contemplating the powerful message dramatized in these ancient accounts may help us, like Asita, to recognize the promise of that "Self-awakening" of which he speaks, and to welcome it.