Pre-Buddhist Thai-Burmese Spirit Worlds

(GO Asia) Thailand and Burma's secret Spirit World | culture and spirituality documentary (AMP)

• What are Burma's and Thailand's "Nats" (Spirits)?
• The "Nat" spirits of Burma (gomyanmartours.com)

Pantheon of animist "Nat" spirits on altar

A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian Buddhist countries of Thailand (Siam), Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia (Khmer Kingdom), Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. They are normally in the form of small, roofed structure mounted on a pillar or a dais. They can range in size from small platforms to houses large enough for people to enter. Spirit houses are intended to provide a shelter for spirits that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. More

• Before monks, there were wizards: weizza or weikza (shamans, ceremonial alchemists to deal with the nats the way Shinto priests deal with the kami in pre-Buddhist Japan)
• A night with the wizards of Burma (aljazeera.com)
• Spirit houses in Southeast Asia (nl.pinterest.com)

What is a nat or "spirit" in SE Asia?

Venerate me and I will help you from beyond.

The nats (နတ်) are spirits, deities, god-like ancestors, poltergeists, unseen (invisible) beings venerated in Burma (aka Myanmar) and neighboring Southeast Asian Buddhist countries in conjunction with Theravada Buddhism.

Nats are divided between the 37 Great Nats, who were given that status by King Anawrahta when he formalized the official list of nats. Most of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths [1].

There are two types of nats in Burmese belief, nat sein (နတ်စိမ်း), which are humans who were deified after their deaths, and all other nats, which are spirits of nature (like the kami of Japan, elementals, spirits of water, trees, etc.)

Much like sainthood, nats can be designated for a variety of reasons, including those only known in certain regions in Burma. Nat worship is less common in urban areas than in rural areas and is practiced among ethnic minorities of Burma as well as in mainstream Bamar society.

However, it is among the Theravada Buddhist Bamar that the most highly developed form of ceremony and ritual is seen [2]. More: Nat (deity)

Folk Magic, Mahayana Buddhism, and Chinese Taoist syncretism

(Benebell Wen) Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism in Asian Folk Magic and Religion explained

• Why do Bangladeshis look fully different from Burmese people even though they are neighbors?

Compassion with fangs? Buddhist protector

Mom, is this what you call compassion? - Shut the front door, you worthless piece of me!

(Buddha's Wisdom) MAHA KALA: The Buddhist protector who looks like a demon

Mahākāla (Sanskrit महाकाल) is a deity common to Buddhism and Hinduism [1].

In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a Dharmapāla ("Protector of the Dharma") and a wrathful manifestation of a cosmic or primordial buddha or bodhisattva.

In Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu God Shiva and the consort of the Goddess Mahākālī [1].

Sri Yantra, sacred chakra (Shaktism)

He most prominently appears in the Kalikula sect of Shaktism [2, 3, 4]. Mahākāla appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon, and Tibetan Vajrayana [1] and Bon.

He is known as Dàhēitiān and Daaih'hāktīn (大黑天) in Mandarin and Cantonese, Daeheukcheon (대흑천) in Korean, Đại Hắc Thiên in Vietnamese, and Daikokuten (大黒天) in Japanese. More

• 6-armed Mahakala Buddha Thangka | Hand-Painted Tibetan Art

Six-armed Mahakala to develop Six [of Ten] Perfections

Buddhism, Shinto, atheism East and West

If one billion Chinese Buddhists are not counted and there are only six choices, here's breakdown

(No Nonsense Spirituality | Britt Hartley) What Japan told me about atheism and belonging

• Buddhism in Japan
• Shinto (kami-controlling priests)
• Japanese Ainu shamanism: kami, pre-Shinto, Zen

Man confronted by the Fox goddess

Shintoism is a religion from Japan classified as an East Asian religion by scholars. It is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a "nature religion." Religious scholars sometimes call its practitioners "Shintoists," although adherents rarely use that term themselves. With no central authority in control of Shintoism, there is much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami (神), who are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent locations.

Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan

These shapeshifting kami are worshipped at kamidana household shrines, family shrines, and jinja public shrines staffed by priests, known as kannushi (those who deal with the kami), who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific kami enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami [shapeshifting spirits, apparitions, ghosts, genies, poltergeists, elementals, ghouls, monsters, tricksters, fairies, gargoyles, or other invisible beings] and to solicit their blessings. Other common rituals include kagura dances, rites of passage, and kami festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the Shintoists. The religion places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship. Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami. The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms.

History of Japan through housing

(Patina) Why do Japanese houses not touch the ground?

Statue of legendary Japanese cryptid to be replaced after years of 'service' | Coast to Coast AM

• Weird Japanese Monsters | Coast to Coast AM
• Something Wicked from Japan: Ghosts, Demons, Yokai
• Tales of Japan: Traditional Stories of Monsters and Magic
• The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore

What are kami?

Yoshitoshi ground spider yōkai

Yōkai are also referred to as ayakashi (あやかし), mononoke (物の怪), or mamono (魔物). Some academics and Shinto practitioners acknowledge similarities within the seeming dichotomy between the natures of yōkai and most kami, which are generally regarded as relatively beneficent by comparison. Shintoists classify the two as ultimately the same type of spirits of nature or of a mythological realm [3]. Their behavior can range from malevolent harm or mischievous trickster pranksterism to benevolent towards humans. More: yōkai

• 

  Joe Smith, John the Baptist, Oli Cowdery

  Mormonism: the theology and religious tradition of the Latter-Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, it has been applied to various aspects of the movement, although since 2018 there has been a push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to distance itself from this label [1]. A prominent feature of the theology is the Book of Mormon, a 19th-century text that describes itself as a chronicle of early Indigenous peoples of the Americas and their dealings with [the white man's] God [2]. This theology combines mainstream Christian beliefs with modifications stemming from belief in revelations to Smith and other religious leaders.

All hail the Great Spirit of the Indians! (Rainbow Gathering Bosnia, Europe, 2007)

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The atheist symbol is an atomic whirl

Atheism: knowing that there are no Gods (theos); in the broadest sense, an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are certainly no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which is the belief that at least one deity exists.

• A world of atheism topics

Nontheism is not atheism

The "whatever" religion

NONTHEISM: The position that whether there is a God(s) or not, that has no bearing on an individual's enlightenment, liberation, deliverance, salvation, emancipation. (Why? The gods/Gods are caught in this samsaric rounds just as other beings are). It is a range of both religious [1] and non-religious [2] attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of a God or gods.

• What are some nontheistic religions?

How much do we care what the Truth is?

It has generally been used to describe silence towards the subject of gods (deus, theos, dīvus) and differs from atheism, which is an active disbelief in any gods. It has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing distinct and even mutually exclusive positions.

Some of these are default atheism, the ever-popular agnosticism (not knowing), apatheism (apathy), egotheism [not to be confused with messiah complex, egoism, egotism, narcissism, Trumpism, or solipsism], ignosticism, ietsism, pantheism, deism, pandeism, 🌈 transtheism, skepticism, or the greatest bunco-religion ever invented, at least so far, Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (aka Pastafarianism).

Religion with most believers is the right one

Science: As pirates go down, temperatures go up (misleading graph)

 

Believe and be saved or deny and go to hell

(We apologize in advance if our statements have offended any FSMists; it is never our intention at WQ to offend, diminish, mock, or otherwise find fault with the religion or nonreligion of anyone's choosing. Do carry on believing and never mind our backwards ways. In fact, everyone should convert to this religion and/or make up their own, such as George Costanza Sr.'s Festivusism. We ourselves are nontheists, Buddhists yes, but nontheists.)

FSM Pastafarianism

One day the eternal Creator Deity blessed humankind with starch but cursed it with gluten

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Impale the shorthaired nonbelievers!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the supreme deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster [of the latter-day tortellinis], an ironic, satirical, and parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion [3]. The parody originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in the USA. According to adherents ("Pastafaris"), Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism 🌬️) is a "real, legitimate religion, as much as any other" [4]. It has received some limited recognition as such [5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. More

Tibetan nun dared to teach yoga (Chöd)

Machig Labdrön (Tibetan མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན་, sometimes referred to as ཨ་སྒྲོན་ཆོས་སྒྲོན or Ahdrön Chödron་) [1], the "Singular Mother Torch from Lab" (1055–1149) [2].

She was a Tibetan Buddhist nun (ani) believed to be a reincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal.

Machig Labdrön was the renowned 11th-century Tibetan tantric Buddhist master and yogini who originated several Tibetan lineages of the Vajrayana practice of Chöd (Tibetan གཅོད་).

Buddhist leader Chökyi Drönma

Nyingma scholar Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche states that the Chöd tradition developed by Machig Labdrön is "a radical synthesis of the Prajnaparamita tradition and tantra guru yoga that 'cuts' through the ego" [3].

 

Historical texts portray Machig Labdrön as the originator of the Chöd lineage, which she developed in Tibet.

This was confirmed in her own lifetime by Indian Brahmin priests and others, and Machig Labdron's creation of the Chöd lineage is not doubted by its modern practitioners [4].

• The highest female incarnation in Tibet, the first Samding Dorje Phagmo, Princess Chökyi Drönma (1422–1455), a female tulku (incarnation) lineage of Vajravārāhī, was understood to be an emanation of Machig Labdrön (King of the Empty Plain, Stearns, 2007).

Violent denunciation by Maoists: Samding Dorje Phagmo, parents during Cultural Revolution

.

Vajravarahi mandala

The influences of other practices on Chöd are debated. Some posit Machig Labdron may have come from a Yungdrung Bön [black magic shaman] family, a position that contradicts historical records [5].

According to Namkhai Norbu, Chöd might be interpreted through combining native Tibetan shamanism with the Dzogchen teachings.

Other Buddhist teachers and scholars offer differing interpretations of the origins of Chöd. Not all of them agree that Chöd has Bön shamanistic roots [6]. More

The Tibetan Yoga of Dreaming

Tibetan tantric dream yoga (milam) In the yoga of dreaming (rmi lam), the yogi and yogini learn to remain aware (lucid dream) during the states of dreaming and use this skill to practice yoga in the dream... The Yoga of the Dream State is a suite of advanced tantric daily practices (sadhana) of the entwined Mantrayana (Vajrayana) lineages of Dzogchen (Nyingmapa, Ngagpa, Mahasiddha, Kagyu, and Bönpo). It consists of tantric processes and techniques in the trance bardos [liminal spaces] of dream and sleep or the Six Dharmas of Naropa, the "dream body" and the "bardo body" being identified with the "vision body" (yid lus)...

• Tantric sex (sexual yoga)
• Sex, love, and abuse with Guru "Baba"
• Tibetan tantric practice
• Buddha's Wisdom, July 29, 2026; CC Liu, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Surf's up! Triple threat: wavy, hot, humid

Fat Happy Zen monk Budai can surf

Why do waves go so well with Buddhism? There's something about sex, sand, and suffering -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the beach. But becoming a greater surfer has much more to do with wu wei (the ease of effortless flow), wushu (martial arts), and applying Taoist principles like yin and yang to Zen (jhana) Buddhist practice, which involves mindful in-the-moment awareness and radical acceptance of what is.

Southland facing a triple threat of heat, humidity, and high surf

Temperatures topping 100 inland raise fire risk

Rong-Gong Lin II (July 21, 2026, Los Angeles); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Bethany Hamilton, attired in surf wear on fancy board, all part of surf culture

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Super Girl Surf Fest 2026

Southern California will face a triple threat this week of dangerous heat, muggy weather and, along the coast, hazardous high waves. It may be better for surfing, but it will be risky for all beachgoers who get near the water.

"We're looking at an at least several days -- if not longer -- heat event, which can really be concerning," said meteorologist Robbie Munroe of the National Weather Service's Oxnard office. Hollywood may catch fire on the Sunset Strip from all the tourists dripping sunblock.

• Surfing analysis: Brad Gerlach on Mikey February

We only watch to, uh, um, observe her form

Prepare: World Surf League 2026

From Tuesday through next Monday, temperatures could hit 109 in Paso Robles, 108 in Lancaster, 106 in Canoga Park, 102 in Santa Clarita, 99 in Covina, 92 in DTLA, and 87 in Long Beach.

Officials warned of elevated fire danger across large swaths of SoCal starting Tuesday, with a high risk of fast-moving and "plume dominated" fires driven by heat and instability. Such blazes have large vertical growth and can spread rapidly even when not driven by the wind. More: latimes.com

• This SoCal heat wave could be hottest of the year: 5 things to know | union-bulletin.com
• Super Girl Surf Festival, women's competition, LA, 2026
• If only California could combine surfing with soccer

Woo Way: The Tao of Surfing

It all started with my coach...then 10,000 hours later I was riding the face of Poseidon

No, BRUCE, bad boy! Let go of the surfers! They're not sea mammals or salty snacks!

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With no "self," there are only conditions.

Wisdom Quarterly's new book on going with the flow while out to sea among brutal sharks, cancerous sun, chapping wind, and rich territorial surf punks suffering from localism and getting into fights about it.

Why do waves go so well with Buddhist practice? There's something about "sex, sand, and suffering" -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy safely on the beach. But it has much more to do with wu wei, wushu, and applying Taoist principles to Zen practice.

Ancient surfboard from 1600s found in Hawaii

For instance, when out on a wave about to ride, instead of "doing," try "allowing." Go with the flow. Rather than interfering or trying to cut against the grain, embody radical acceptance of what is and ride it out. That's what Wisdom Quarterly's resident Meditation Teacher Seven says is a far better approach than struggling to dominate.

In surfing as in life, prepare for the gnarly.

Let the waves dominate so that the only thing to do is allow, allow, allow. Then in this allowing, suddenly it becomes effortless and intuitive, perfectly obvious and impossible to explain with words.

People do sometimes try to express it in words, but it all becomes a jumble of oohs and ahhs like surf slang or Himalayan shoestring spiritual seekers on ayahuasca down in the jungles of the Amazon with shamans Michael Harner.

• 

  Natives knew plant medicines

  As a graduate student in the 1950s, Michael Harner undertook field research on the culture of the Jívaro (Shuar) Natives of the Amazon in Ecuador [5] as he began to pursue a career as an ethnologist. His UC Berkeley doctoral dissertation (1963) became the basis for his book, The Jívaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls [6]. In 1960-1961 he reported that he became a participant-observer by experimenting with the powerful plant medicine ayahuasca with the Conibo of the Peruvian Amazon [5]. He wrote about in the articles "The Sound of Rushing Water" (1968)[7] and "The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft" (1973)[8]. Dr. Harner, Ph.D. returned to the Native Jívaro in 1964, 1969, and 1973, at which time he learned the use of the psychoactive entheogen maikua (Datura brugmansia, jimsonweed) [5]. More

Dr. Michael Harner: shamans know their plants

There's a similar feeling to be had by skateboarding or hang gliding, BASE jumping or surviving the pit (slam dancing to a favorite song at a concert). Surfing seems very safe by comparison. It all becomes instinctive and beyond thinking. It's a good place to be just for that moment, rising above the turmoil of the mind or diving into the silence of the heart. Rumi would understand. The historical Buddha pointed out the detailed Path to it.

What is surfing?

Hawaiian surfer on North Shore near Sunset Beach Paumalū (Daniel Ramirez/Wiki)

I'dunno, Bro, looks pretty gnarly. Let's just tan.

Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual surfer (or two) uses a carefully modified wood, fiberglass, or polyurethane board to "ride" on the face, the forward section, of a swelling wave of water. This swell usually carries said surfer toward shore or to a watery death by drowning for not respecting Mother Nature enough. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores. But they can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, artificial simulators, lakes, rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools (and also in a physics experiment when a tide pool is sent back to sea). More

• Where to Surf in Los Angeles | Discover Los Angeles

• 

  Woman applies a lot of sex wax before surfing

  Surf Spots - California Beaches: The Wedge? That's Newport Beach. LA's Palos Verdes Peninsula isn’t known for its surfing outside of local circles, and there is a sad reason for that. It’s called “localism.” The area has a severe case of the disease. Located between Los Angeles and Long Beach, and possessing some excellent breaks, one would think this place would be much better known. Locals know all about surf spots like Palos Verdes Cove (near the crumbling peninsula called Palos Verdes Estates), Lunada Bay, Haggertys at Malaga Cove, among others.
• Best Surfing in California (South Counties) | Billabong
• Best surfing spots in California: 12 waves to surf | Red Bull
• Southern California surf spots: Which one is best? | Los Angeles Times
• California’s Best Surfing Waves | Visit California
• Discover the Top 10 Surfing Beaches in Southern California | Pacific Surf
• Online Newspaper & Magazine Publications Catalog | PressReader

What's going on in the SoCal water?

Giant LA all drains into Santa Monica Bay

A few weeks ago, LA and OC beaches were being subjected to king tides, riptides, with dangerous surfing conditions for experts only. The cause this time seems to be a tropical storm elsewhere disrupting the height and frequency of waves. Surfers may love it as they avoid great white sharks, but others will find it hard to take a dip or swim. Localism is, of course, a greater danger as human sharks with a sense of entitlement circle strangers and drive them out. Expect swells, tubular conditions at The Wedge and elsewhere. Warning: Water may be a little contaminated due to crumbling infrastructure. Sharks are a tiny worry compared to the microscopic contaminants and plastic particle debris. Enjoy.

• Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jennifer B., Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly