Land of the Rising Sun
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Nihon, which means "Japan" in Japanese, is translated loosely as the "Land of the Rising Sun." From the perspective of Mainland China, Japan has always been in the direction of the Great Eastern Sun, the place of beginnings and of wakefulness, the place of hope. The kanji characters are merely the character for the sun followed by the character for "root" or "origin." It is a place where the ancient pagan animistic beliefs of Shinto--which means literally, the Way of the Gods--never died out. As a result of the inevitable impact of Shinto on the nation's culture, harmony with the group and with Nature is deeply embedded in the Japanese psyche.
The devastation of yesterday's earthquake reminds us starkly of how powerful nature is and how deadly it can be. As Westerners, we sometimes have a more difficult time of processing this "evil." We want to see it as punishment for something. We may seek to ascribe some overarching purpose to it. In Shinto, as in most native, pagan belief systems, there are no "evil" or "good" spirits. Nature is both dark and light, dangerous and lovely, life-giving and deadly. It simply is and this state of being must be seen as basically good.
I invite you all tonight and this weekend to send pure white light and love to the nation of the Rising Sun. Let us pray that people's pain and suffering is assuaged, may people find a place of harmony in their souls, even in the midst of seeming disharmony with nature, may grief give way eventually but steadily to reverence for the dead, as they move into a place of honor as ancestor spirits. May the people of Japan again find comfort in walking through the gates of sacredness to their shrines. And may the Sun of tomorrow bring with it a sense of hope and clarity in the midst of despair and confusion.
Bright Blessings,
Lord Peregrine
The devastation of yesterday's earthquake reminds us starkly of how powerful nature is and how deadly it can be. As Westerners, we sometimes have a more difficult time of processing this "evil." We want to see it as punishment for something. We may seek to ascribe some overarching purpose to it. In Shinto, as in most native, pagan belief systems, there are no "evil" or "good" spirits. Nature is both dark and light, dangerous and lovely, life-giving and deadly. It simply is and this state of being must be seen as basically good.
I invite you all tonight and this weekend to send pure white light and love to the nation of the Rising Sun. Let us pray that people's pain and suffering is assuaged, may people find a place of harmony in their souls, even in the midst of seeming disharmony with nature, may grief give way eventually but steadily to reverence for the dead, as they move into a place of honor as ancestor spirits. May the people of Japan again find comfort in walking through the gates of sacredness to their shrines. And may the Sun of tomorrow bring with it a sense of hope and clarity in the midst of despair and confusion.
Bright Blessings,
Lord Peregrine