Showing posts with label Alavaka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alavaka. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Sasquatch can be smarter than humans

But Buddhists can't believe in real monsters, can they? That's just a myth, like "Bigfoot."

What could an ogre ask the Buddha?
Readers will find this fanciful story easy to dismiss and completely discount because we have not heard of these superhuman capabilities in our culture. However, the Islamic world knows about a kind of "demon" or "ogre" (the genies as we label them from terrifying tales of djinn or jinn in countless stories from Muslim tradition). A genie does not grant wishes; it deceives and devours humans and other creatures. They live in wilderness areas and seize those who cross their territory, but as terrible as they are, they are far more clever, deceptive, and capable than we ever give them credit for being.

Demon "genies" or djinn in Islam
If a human escapes their clutches, it is either by divine intervention, wit, luck, or because these ghoulish ogres live by rules or some code of honor we as humans no longer seem to feel bound by. They may lie to trick us into their clutches, but that goes to show that they can think, plan, shapeshift, speak, mimic us (however imperfectly), speak in a human voice as well as having their own language and telepathic powers, and seemingly possess the power to switch dimensions. They are not strictly skin and bones. These features are comparable to Buddhist stories about them. The most famous story may be the Alavaka Sutta ("Discourse to the Bigfoot named Alavaka," Sn 1.10). But a more colorful one full of details runs like this:

The Bodhisatta (the "Being bent on enlightenment" or "Buddha-to-be") was reborn into a merchant family. He was going to travel through a great wilderness on business in the Apannaka Jataka, "Crossing the Wilderness" (Jat 1). Another merchant, the man who in a subsequent life would go on to become Devadatta (the worst monk in history, the Judas figure in Buddhism) was hasty and went first along with his caravan of men only to meet very clever ogres (Yakkhas, Jinn, Rakshasas, potentially ghoulish and vicious Bigfoot cryptids as described above). They destroy him. The Bodhisatta, being wiser and understanding what has happened and why, passes through the same wilderness but does not succumb to the monsters' deception and thereby passes safely.
  • The ogre (yakkha, nature protector, ghoul) haunting that wilderness had been watching. When the reached the middle, he used his superhuman powers to conjure up a carriage drawn by pure white young bulls. With a retinue of a dozen disguised ogres (yakkhas) carrying swords and shields, he rode along in his carriage like a mighty lord. His hair and clothes were wet...
This allegedly true story is not about the fake AI photos at Minute 0:04.
Those two gorilla suit pictures with watermarks have been debunked. 
It is about the much stranger selfie taken of a real Yakkha at work.
This video illustrates how smart Sasquatches are w/o shapeshifting.
Sasquatch and the logging industry | What are they hiding about Bigfoot?

(Smokey Sasquatch Stories & Survival) Premiered Dec. 8, 2024: In this Sasquatch/Bigfoot (Yakkha, Djinn, Genie, Rakshasa, Yeti) encounter, an American man recounts a mysterious occurrence in the wilderness of Washington State during an old-time logging expedition.

The largest lumberjack mysteriously went missing and later recounted his story of survival after being abducted by these very intelligent creatures, the giants of the forest and its protectors.

This is a historical Sasquatch encounter, having taken place in the late 1800s. And it is among the most interesting Bigfoot encounters one is likely to have heard. Why? It is not about juvenile in rut trying to kill a human, but rather about a group trying to stop the destruction of nature and doing so by using their powers for good or at least attempted good. They are not human, so they are not sensitive to our needs or very forgiving of our foibles.

Let Smokey Sasquatch Stories & Survival know if you would like your Bigfoot story or encounter shared.

NOTE: This audio-video content was created. It is altered or synthetic content. The story is reputedly 100% true, but the voice and drawings, the sound and visuals, were significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more.

Friday, July 1, 2022

Yeti: Bear Man of Buddhist Lore (PBS)


The Crazed Hunt for the Himalayan Yeti
(Monstrum, 3/11/20) The yeti is one of the world’s most notorious cryptids, one searched for in earnest and with great enthusiasm.

The huge, hairy bear-man monster is said to roam the valleys of the Himalayas, and some people out there are convinced the “abominable snowman” (actually man bear snow man) is real.

Does this snow monster really exist? Is it a type of bear or Bigfoot? An unidentified humanoid species (Almas, Gigantopithecus)? Himalayan Buddhist lore? Complete fiction?

Let’s find out in this episode of Monstrum. Host Dr. Emily Zarka examines the yeti’s origins, from the ancient Tibetan Buddhist folklore to the modern Westernized "abominable snowman" version.

These ogres are filthy, stink and live in the snow
She explains how Buddhist beliefs, a series of intrepid 20th-century explorers, and a creatively translated word make the yeti the creature we recognize today — and how it led to some pretty incredible scientific discoveries.
  • Written and hosted by Dr. Emily Zarka. Director: David Schulte. Executive Producer: Amanda Fox. Producer: Stephanie Noone. Illustrator: Samuel Allen. Editor: Derek Borsheim. Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
Follow Monstrum on Instagram: instagram.com/monstrumpbs
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gigantopithecus looks just like a yeti that goes on all fours (Concavenator/wiki)
  • Bellezza, John Vincent. Spirit-mediums, Sacred Mountains and Related Bon Textual Traditions in Upper Tibet: Calling Down the Gods. BRILL, 2005.
  • Capper, D. S. (2012). The Friendly Yeti. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, 6(1), 71-87. Available at: aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/14855.
  • Choi, Charles Q. “‘Yeti Hair? Nothing so Abominable, Scientists Find.” Live Science, Nov. 29, 2017. livescience.com/61048-yeti....
  • Hodgson, B. H. "Summary Description of Four New Species of Otter. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Resident at Catmandu, Nepal." Annals of Natural History, vol. 5, no. 28, 1840, p. 27+
  • Hodgson, B. H. “On the Mammalia of Nepal.” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 1 (1832): pp. 335-349.
  • Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Col. C.K and Other Members of the Mount Everest Expedition. Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921. Longmans, Green and Co., 1922.
  • Kets de Vries, Manfred F. R. "Abominable Snowman or Bigfoot: A Psychoanalytic Search for the Origin of Yeti and Sasquatch Tales" Fabula, 23.1 (2009): 246-261.
  • Lan, Tianying, et. al. “Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau‑Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti.” Proceedings Royal Society, 284: 20171804.
  • Loxton, Daniel, and Donald R. Prothero. Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids. Columbia University Press, 2013.
  • Regal, Brian. Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
  • Ward, Michael. “Everest 1951: the footprints attributed to the Yeti—myth and reality.” Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 8 (1997): pp. 29–32.
  • Waddell, Laurence Austine. Among the Himalayas. 2nd edition. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co., 1900. "Yeti." Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers Harrap, 1st edition, 2007.
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers. To support a local station, go to: to.pbs.org/DonateStoried

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Yeti rapes woman in China = hybrid (video)

(TBG) "Russian Bigfoot" - Do archaic humans still walk the Earth? The Almas, Almasty, "Man of the Forest," Wildman, Yeti... something is out there, and Adam Davies is searching for them.
    http://tiny.cc/2byriw


    Zhangjiajie, China (bbs.chinadaily.com.cn)
    Our "monster" quest continues. In the following incredible account, a "Bigfoot (Chinese Yeren)-human hybrid man" was found in China.

    Footage of the human-hybrid was taken in Sichuan Province. It is being described as the "Chinese Hybrid Man" or "Yeren Ape Man." His mother's account of how he came to be born is the incredible part.

    The story goes that the boy's mother claimed that she was kidnapped by a Yeren (Yeti), the Chinese "Wildman" or Chinese version of Bigfoot. (See video below).

    Shanxi (BreenJones/flickr)
    He allegedly raped her repeatedly before she managed to escape back to her village.

    Nine months later she gave birth to a strange boy who grew to be abnormally large and apelike, displaying more features we attribute to prehistoric (paleolithic) humans rather than modern ones.
     
    Although he was never able to speak a language, he gained a minimal understanding of what people were trying to say to him. He lived to be 33 years old. But because he was kept a secret and hidden in a small village, not much is known about him.

    Munn and Gigantopithecus
    Is he a "bastard son of a Bigfoot creature"? One alternative explanation is that he was born with microcephaly (small brain), which is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes abnormal head growth, poor brain function, and a diminished life expectancy. Skeptics who advance this explanation go on to suggest that the mother must have been ashamed of having a retarded, malformed baby and made up the story about being raped by a Bigfoot to explain the anomaly.

    The problem with this explanation, however, is that it does not explain the size of this hybrid looking man: No previous case of microcephaly has ever been very tall.
     
    In addition, he displays many ape-like characteristics such as an ape-like jaw, extremely long and gangly arms, and lacks a human neck. Is he half human, half animal (ape)? Is the human hybrid ape man found in China real or fake?

    (Bigfoot Evidence)
     
    There is mounting evidence of a bipedal creature in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. Bigfoot researchers trek in to investigate Native American stories and petroglyphs of a family of hair-covered man-beasts. They examine recently found footprint evidence and a compelling 1991 video of a supposed Bigfoot encounter at Mono Lake, east of Yosemite National Park.

    Sasquatch (Sásq'ets, a catchall name for the ape-like creature) is believed to inhabit forests of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid.
     
    These creatures range from 6-10 feet (2-3 m) tall, weighing in excess of 500 pounds (230 kg), and are covered in dark brown, reddish, or white hair. Eye witnesses describe large eyes, pronounced brow ridges, and a low-set forehead. The top of the head is described as rounded and crested, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla. A strong, unpleasant odor is reported. Enormous footprints have been confirmed around the world, some as large as 24 inches (60 cm) long and 8 inches (20 cm) wide. Most casts have five toes -- like all known apes -- some two to six. Some have also contained claw marks, making it likely that a portion came from known animals such as bears, which have five toes and claws. They are thought to be omnivorous and nocturnal.

    Maybe Yeren is a Neanderthal as sought in adjacent Russia and Siberia. The 45-minute special below follows the search for Bigfoot (Russian Almasty, Mongolian Almas):

    Sunday, January 27, 2013

    Bigfoot on Oregon Indian reservation (audio)

    Richard Cockle, The Oregonian (Bigfoot or animals? Strange sounds coming from swamp..., Jan. 25, 2013); Wisdom Quarterly; Knapp News (Coast to Coast AM, Jan. 27, 2013)
    Nobody ventures into this soggy wetland on the edge of Mission on the Umatilla Indian Reservation after dark when the shrieks begin (Richard Cockle/The Oregonian).
     
    Bigfoot (Godd of War, comicvine.com)
    PENDLETON, Oregon - Baby foxes[, other animals,] or Bigfoot?
     
    The eerie late-night serenades began in November [2012] and emanate from a brushy swamp on the Umatilla Indian Reservation east of Pendleton.
     
    The cries range from high-pitched screams to basso profundo roars.

    "It's causing an uproar around here," said Sylvia Minthorn [photographed above with mother Denise], who lives in a tribal housing unit near the swamp, where she used to play as a child.

    Bigfoot hair samples (paranormalutopia.com)
    She's seen grown men's hair stand on end when the shrieks commence.

    Colleen Chance, a tribal housing authority employee, keeps a recording of the howls on her iPhone.

    "It's kind of spooky," she said. "Some say it's foxes, some say it's a female coyote and some say it's Sasquatch. I don't know what it is." 
    Buddhist Bigfoot, the Yeti (Mickjim/flickr)
    So far no one's pinpointed the source of the noise on this rugged 178,000-acre reservation that extends into northeastern Oregon's Blue Mountains and is home to about 1,500 people. The swamp in question borders the old reservation community of Mission, in a canyon north of the Wildhorse Resort and Casino.

    Phone calls about the wails started coming in last month to the housing authority, and the office has had a half dozen so far. More could come in because the cries are continuing from time to time....

    Some members of the Confederated Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse tribes believe the noises come from Bigfoot, the mythical manlike creature said to roam Pacific Northwest forests.

    Bigfoot is part of the tribal culture, tradition and spiritual beliefs, said Luke, a follower of the Washat, or Seven Drums religion, and a longhouse drummer and singer. "We have stories about it," he said.

    [Tribal Indian] Bigfoot lore
    To Bigfoot hunters, the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington around the Umatilla Indian Reservation have been a hot spot since a Walla Walla cyclist named Pete Luther found 19-inch-long bare footprints in 1966 along Tiger Canyon Road, east of Walla Walla on the Oregon-Washington border and just north of the reservation.
     
    (nabigfootsearch.com)
    The Blues' celebrity for giant, hairy hominids even survived the 2002 death of 84-year-old prankster Ray L. Wallace of Centralia, Wash. Wallace's family revealed after his funeral that he'd gleefully used strap-on wooden feet to make tracks around the West since 1958. Wallace was, they said, the source of the Northwest's Bigfoot tales.
     
    Carl Sheeler, wildlife program manager for the tribes, said several animals in this corner of Oregon are known for making strange noises, including cougars. "When they are breeding, it is absolutely hair-raising," he said. More

    Triangle-shaped UFO above Earth (NASA)
    Occasional Coast to Coast radio host George Knapp shares news items that have recently caught his attention, including this intriguing photograph [of a triangular UFO] posted on the NASA website. In addition to his fascinating guests tonight, here are other stories:

    Tuesday, March 6, 2012

    Return of the deadly Yakshi (female ogre)

    Ashley Wells, Seven, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Q13 Fox News, Seattle

    Yaksha Alavaka orders the Buddha out (sleuteltotinzicht.nl); Yakshi Huckaby Yakshinis are often depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, broad shoulders, and exaggerated, spherical breasts.

    The girl, who was a sophomore at the school at the time of the attack last Oct. 24, is accused of stabbing freshmen girls April Lutz and Bekah Staudacher. Lutz suffered severe, life-threatening injuries, and Staudacher suffered a large cut to her arm and was stabbed in the back.

    A surveillance video from inside the school on the day of the stabbings shows the two victims walking into the restroom. Moments later, the [yakshi] girl accused of stabbing them can be seen, wearing a hood, entering the restroom. Students hear the attack and gather outside. Then paramedics are shown removing a victim on a stretcher. More

    *The Alavaka Sutra
    Alavaka asked questions he learned from his parents, which had been handed down generation to generation. He had forgotten the answers but had preserved the questions by scrawling them down on gold leaves:

    • "What is the greatest wealth?"
    • "What when well mastered brings the highest bliss?"
    • "What is the sweetest of tastes?
    • "What is the supreme-life?"

    The Buddha answered:

    • "The greatest wealth is confidence (faith)."
    • "The Dharma well mastered brings the highest bliss (nirvana)."
    • "The truth is the sweetest taste."
    • "The life wisely led is supreme."

    Alavaka asked many more questions, which the Buddha answered to his delight, then one final question:

    • "Passing from this world to the next, how does one not grieve?"

    The Buddha replied:

    • "One who possesses these four virtues -- truthfulness, sīla, fearlessness born of love, and generosity -- grieves not after passing from this world."

    Wednesday, July 8, 2009

    The Demon & the Buddha

    WQ and BMS (The Life of the Buddha, Part II, Lesson 10)


    Converting a Cannibal
    Alavaka, living near the city of Alavi, was in the habit of feasting on human flesh. So powerful, firece, and crafty was he that Alavaka was thought of as a "demon" (rakshasa).

    One day as the king of Alavi was deer hunting in the forest, he was caught by Alavaka. The king begged to be released. But crafty Alavaka struck a bargain. In return for his freedom, the king promised to send one person a day into the forest as an offering to Alavaka.

    Everyday from then on a prisoner would be sent into the forest with a plate of rice. Each was told that to gain his freedom he had to go to a certain tree, leave the plate there, and thereafter go free. At first many prisoners volunteered.

    As time passed and no one returned to tell the other prisoners what had happened, the prisoners had to be forced to go into the forest. Before long, the prison was empty. The king had to fulfill his end of the bargain, sending someone to the ogre Alavaka. But how?

    The king's ministers advised him to drop pouches of gold in the streets. Those found picking up the pouches were taken in as thieves and sent to Alavaka. Word soon spread, and no one dared to so much as touch the pouches. As a last resort, the king caught children to send as offerings.

    In response, his terrified subjects fled the city, leaving it deserted. There was only one child left -- the king's own son. With great reluctance, the king decreed that the prince would be sent into the forest on the following morning.

    That day, as it happened, the Buddha was near the city of Alavi. And in the morning, as he surveyed the world with his Divine Eye (dibba-cakkhu), he understood what was being planned. Out of compassion for the prince, the king, and Alavaka, the Buddha traveled the entire day to Alavaka's cave.

    In the evening, arriving at the entrance of the cave, he found that the ogre was away in the mountains. The Buddha asked mighty Alavaka's gatekeeper if he could spend the night in the cave.

    The gatekeeper left to inform his master about the request. In their absence, the Buddha entered the cave, sat in Alavaka's seat, and preached the Dharma to Alavaka's wives.

    As soon as the ogre learned what was happening, he be-came infuriated and hurried home. Alavaka possessed extraordinary supernatural powers, which he used to create a terrifying storm, shaking and lighting up the forest with thunder, lightning, wind, and driving rain. The Buddha was unmoved.

    Alavaka attacked the Buddha, throwing his spear and club. But before his weapons could touch the Blessed One, they fell at the feet of the Buddha.

    Unable to frighten the Buddha with his powers or subdue him by force, Alavaka asked: "Is it right that you, a holy man, should enter a house and sit among someone's wives when he is away?" At this the Buddha got up to leave the cave.


    Alavaka the Ogre orders the Buddha to get out (sleuteltotinzicht.nl)

    "What a fool I am to have wasted my energy trying to frighten this ascetic!" thought Alavaka. He told the Buddha to come back. The demon then again ordered the Buddha to get out. Three times the demon ordered the Buddha to get out and three times to re-enter, as if hoping to try the Buddha's patience. Each time the Buddha did as Alavaka said. But when the demon ordered the Buddha to leave yet again, the Buddha refused.

    "No, Alavaka, I will not obey you. Do as you like, yet I will remain right where I am."

    Unable to force the Buddha to do as he commanded him, crafty Alavaka changed his tact, saying: "I will question you. If you are unable to answer me, I will take possession of your mind, tear at your heart and, taking you by the feet, throw you to the other side of the Ganges river."

    The Buddha calmly replied: "Alavaka, I am unaware of anyone -- whether human or deity, divinity or killer (brahma or mara), ascetic or brahmin -- who could do those things to me. But if you wish to ask something, you may."

    Alavaka asked questions he learned from his parents, which had been handed down generation to generation. He had forgotten the answers but had preserved the questions by scrawling them down gold leaves:

    • "What is the greatest wealth?"
    • "What when well mastered brings the highest bliss?"
    • "What is the sweetest of tastes?
    • "What is the supreme-life?"

    The Buddha answered:

    • "The greatest wealth is confidence" (saddha or "faith").
    • "The Dharma well mastered brings the highest bliss."
    • "The truth is the sweetest taste."
    • "The life wisely led is supreme."

    Alavaka asked many more questions all of which the Buddha answered to his delight. And Alavaka put one final question to him:

    • "Passing from this world to the next, how does one not grieve?"

    The Buddha replied:

    • "One who possesses these four virtues -- truthfulness, sīla, fearlessness born of love, and generosity -- grieves not after passing from this world."

    Real life ogre (yeti) or demon (rakshasa) with apparently paranormal abilities

    Understanding the meaning of the Buddha's words, the yakkha Alavaka said, "Now I know the secret of my well being. It is for my own good, for my own welfare that the Blessed One came to Alavi." Alavaka bowed and pleaded to be accepted as a follower.

    The officers of Alavi came with the king's young son and were surprised at the sight of the Buddha speaking to Alavaka. More surprsing was the sight of Alavaka attentively listening to the Dharma. When the boy was handed over, Alavaka was ashamed to receive the offering. Instead of devouring him he stroked the boy's head, kissed him gently, and handed him back to the officers. The Buddha blessed Alavaka and the young prince.

    Indeed, the subduing of Alavaka's demonic habits shows how the Buddha was able to tame and transform even a barbaric cannibal with wisdom and compassion.