Posted by Cygnus [Cygnus] on April 02, 1999 at 16:25:32 {ppHCdFLRUM7eVbcAfU9ML4bdfUTIaI}:
Here's an intriguing post from a message board discussing Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" in which Campbell discusses the symbology of the World Navel and how often it is expressed in the form of the Tree. Some here (one or two) might find it interesting.
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What is the Oriental mythology's counterpart of the Crucifixion of the West?
According to JC it is Gautama Budha's sitting in front of the Bo Tree. I
find it fascinating
that almost every major, minor and pagan religion
has a reference to a tree (of life). Having studied the Mystical aspect
of Kabalah for several years I am starting the see the interconnection
between them all. But what is the
ultimate source of such a concept of
the tree??? If anyone knows, please let me know.
Why a tree? Is the tree symbolic for being firmly rooted into the earth
while reaching up and out into the heavenly world? Another thing
common
in many traditions along with the tree is the lightning bolt. Again
lighting coming from the heavens (spark of the divine) and crashing down
on earth to make manifest. Prometheus brought down the fire from heaven,
the
kabalah talks about the lightning path of creation from Kether to
Malkuth. If I recall correctly, Buddha also had some myth associated
with lightning.
But back to the Jesus being crucified on the cross. I believe that
the
crucifiction has a lot of symbology with many different interpretations.
Here is one of mine. Feel free to comment. This is a kabalistic
viewpoint with some of my own personal insight and interpretation.
The cross represents
the Tree. If you are familiar with the Kabalistic
tree of life then you realize that the vertical post of the cross is the
middle pillar from Kether down to Malkuth. The horizontal, the path from
Chesed (Gedulah) to Geburah. So
Christ on the cross is the Adam Kadmon,
the archtypical man upon the tree with his feet in malkuth his heart in
tiphareth and Kether above his head (the crown of thorns, equated with
Kether = Crown). All of this is common
knowledge, but why is this so
important? Because Adam Kadmon is the archtypical man, i.e all of
humankind. So Christ on the cross represents humanity in its current
state, NAILED to the cross. I believe this is what he was trying
to
convey in some sort. Through this symbology we understand that currently
mankind is stagnate, unable to move somewhere, we are literally nailed
in place, all the pain and suffering (the pain of the nailing and crown
of
thorns, carrying of the cross everywhere he goes) is due to the fact
that we are unable to let go.
But it is ok to let go, through belief ( and I don't mean belief in a
particular deity) and spirituality (not necessary religion)
we can raise
our consciousnes to merge with our unconscious. Once this happens,
according to the Kabalah, we become annointed (i.e Christened). At this
point we can let go and be enlightened (live in heaven, etc). Christ
let
go, they took him off the cross (Freedom, no longer nailed to the cross)
and resurected.