Title: The Ninth Month Festivals of the Nine Emperors
javewu - July 26, 2006 10:46 AM (GMT)
Disclaim: There are alot of mistakes in this passage, please do read it with an open-mind.
In the China of the past, on the ninth day of the ninth month people would fast and climb the mountains to cleanse themselves from whatever evil had gotten attached to them during the preceding year. Today, people of Chinese descent date the Festival of the Nine Imperial Gods (also called immortals) to the first nine days of the ninth month.
For centuries, Chinese have upheld the belief that the Nine Imperial gods - T ien Ying, T'ien Jen , T'ien Chu ,T'ien Hsin , Tien Chin , T'ien Fu, T'ien Ch lung,
T'ien Jui , and Tien P'ong reside in` the northern heavens, each on one of the sewn stars off the ßig Dipper (Ursa Major) and the remaining two gods on two stars nearby.
These two stars are invisible. They are stars of transformation which are visible only to the eyes of immortals people believe. Four stars form the bowl of the Dipper' and three stars form its handle. When we add the two invisible stars, we reach the figure nine.
The location of these two invisible stars has remained ambiguous. One Sung Dynasty commentator of the "Nine Songs" says that they are "Sustainer" (Fu or Alcor, attached to Mizar) and "Far Flight" (Chao-yao or Bootis, the tip of an extended dipper handle).
The opinions of medieval Taoists, however, differ. A map in a canonical version shows two ancillary stars as dipper treaders, one being "Sustainer" acid the other "Straightener." The former is Alcor and the latter is said to be attached to Phecda. "Straightener," though, is an invisible star and one of its names is "Void". Furthermore, this arrangement of stars is surrounded by another group of nine which cast a "light that does not shine." They are inhabited by feminine divinities, consorts of the gods who reside in the first group of visible stars. These invisible divinities from the "black stars" are invoked in many of the exercises designed to confer the power of invisibility.
Wherever patterns of seven spots in the shape of the Dipper appeared, Chinese have considered them to be omens. The eyebrows of Lao-tzu, for example, have been described as being shaped like the Northern Dipper. In the past, the Northern Dipper has also been related to the Imperial Metropolis and was supposed to decide the fate of individuals as well as the welfare of the state. It was believed that cosmic harmony had been restored when a ruler was in consonance with the stars of the Dipper.
The divinities who might dwell in a Taoist saint, presiding over his formation and animating his subtle body, were also believed to be only a transformation of the nine souls of the Lord, which in the beginning, were the Nine Celestial Breaths or the Nine Original Heavens. Through a series of transformations they became the nine divinities of the Palace of the Brain.
Over time, these nine stars have become part of the Taoist cabala (secret teachings). Grand Supreme Perfected Men (t'ai shang then jen ), belonging to the most exalted class of Taoist superbeings, can summon. the Polar Deity (Tai-child ), by "pacing the road of the Nine Stars".
It is not surprising that the names of the Nine Imperial Gods correspond with the names forming the Big Dipper (the names for stars 1 to 3 are sometimes differently transcribed). According to legend, the ancient ruler Yü the Great used these steps to stop the floods. The Great Yü (2205-2197 B.C.) saw a tortoise coming from the Loh River. The animal then bestowed on him a chart about how to regulate water. Others though, maintain that Yü of the Chia Dynasty (1994-1523 B.C.) has been taught these steps by the "Realized Person" of Mount Chung. Yü later divided China into nine provinces and had nine ding (cauldrons) cast to represent each of these provinces. These nine ding became symbols of power and prestige.
There is also the pu-tu ritual where the souls progress through the nine courts of hell in a dance, using the steps of Yü. And comprehending the esoteric meaning of the Dipper and its components, of learning to project one's secret self into it, of realising it within one's innermost anatomical chambers, of conjuring it to inspire to protect, to outlaw, to perform miracles are manyfold. In Shan tradition, an adept was supposed to repose himself at night on a diagram of the dipper laid oat on his bed, with its bowl like a canopy over his head and feet pointed to major stars. He is to recite the names of its stars, picture them in his imagination, recite prayers, and in the end bring their sublime embryonic essences into his body where they build up, in the course of time, an immortal body which will ascend to heaven in broad daylight (Schafer 1977:241).
Each of the nine stars has a secret name and corresponds to a trigram of the I-Ching -4 a . A Taoist ritualist must learn which of the five cosmic elements - wood, fire, metal, water or earth - corresponds to each of the nine stars connected with the constellation of the Big Dipper so that all spiritual forces can be tapped.
Star - Secret Name - Trigram - Position - Element
T'ien feng - Tzu ch'in - k'an - 1 - water
T'ien jen - Tzu ch'ang - ken - 8 - earth
T'ien chung - Tzu ch'iao - chen - 3 - wood
T'ien fu - Tzu hsiang - hsün - 4 - wood
T'ien ying - Tzu ch'eng - li - 9 - fire
T'ien ping - Tzu hsü - k'un - 2 - earth
T'ieng chu - Tiu chung - tui - 7 - metal
T'ien hsin - Tzu hsiang - ch'ien - 6 - metal
T'ien ch'in - Tzu chin - k'un - 5 - earth
Stars 1, 2, and 7 are also said to be associated with cloud-soul/actualizing spirit (hun shen ; ) and stars 3, 4, 5, and 6 with white-soul/embryonic essence (p 'o chung ).
The earliest myths, recorded in China, say that the Nine Imperial Gods were the Nine Human Sovereigns who reigned a total of 45,600 years . There are, however, many later versions, for example that speaks of nine heroes who helped the people at the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1912).
The mother of the Nine Imperial Gods is Tou Mu it is said. She was born as Mo-li-che in the Western Realm, T'ien-chuh-kwoh , Kwan Ying from India. Having attained deep insights into heavenly mysteries, she began to radiate light, roaming over the seas and travelling to the sun and the moon. She showed great charity for human beings and finally married Ch'en-tsu-ts'ung King of Cheu-yü in the northern regions of the universe. Her nine sons she instructed in transcendental knowledge. Because there were not many people in the north, she went with her family to the south of Mt. Che Siu where the people thought they were genii. They made the eldest son king. Later the Jade Emperor came down and took the family up to heaven where Tou Mu lives in the palace of the Polar Star near the heavenly palaces of her sons. Other mention a divine mother, "Female Pivot" (Nu Shu) who seems to be a female version of the Polar Star. Nil Shu conceived the prehistoric king or demigod Chuan-hsü when she saw the seventh star of the Dipper, "Gemmy Light," piercing the moon like a rainbow. The Jade Emperor was considered to be a reincarnation of Yuan-shi t'ien-tsun who entered the womb of Shan-sheng , Queen of the Kingdom of Tsing-loh ll , on a ray of light.
In Taoism, Tou Mu has also been called T'ien Hou ("Queen of Heaven") and has been compared with Kuan Yin , the female form of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of Amitâbha Buddha. Like Kuan Yin, T'ien Hou is of Indian origin. In India, she was the Goddess of Dawn, Marici ("Ray of Light"). The Tibetans called her Semding and every successive abbess was considered to be a reincarnation of Marici.
The Chinese got to know her as the god Chun-ti . At the end of the Shang Dynasty (12th century B.C.), Chun-ti allegedly fought many wars in which gods, immortals and all kinds of spirits were involved. When in the seventh century A.D. Buddhists were persecuted in China, the Taoists adopted Chun-ti and transformed him into a goddess, retaining, however, the warlike attributes of Chunti. At this time they gave her a husband and nine children.
Picture of Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) performing certain Rituals:
In the China of the past, on the ninth day of the ninth month people would fast and climb the mountains to cleanse themselves from whatever evil had gotten attached to them during the preceding year. Today, people of Chinese descent date the Festival of the Nine Imperial Gods (also called immortals) to the first nine days of the ninth month.
For centuries, Chinese have upheld the belief that the Nine Imperial gods - T ien Ying, T'ien Jen , T'ien Chu ,T'ien Hsin , Tien Chin , T'ien Fu, T'ien Ch lung,
T'ien Jui , and Tien P'ong reside in` the northern heavens, each on one of the sewn stars off the ßig Dipper (Ursa Major) and the remaining two gods on two stars nearby.
These two stars are invisible. They are stars of transformation which are visible only to the eyes of immortals people believe. Four stars form the bowl of the Dipper' and three stars form its handle. When we add the two invisible stars, we reach the figure nine.
The location of these two invisible stars has remained ambiguous. One Sung Dynasty commentator of the "Nine Songs" says that they are "Sustainer" (Fu or Alcor, attached to Mizar) and "Far Flight" (Chao-yao or Bootis, the tip of an extended dipper handle).
The opinions of medieval Taoists, however, differ. A map in a canonical version shows two ancillary stars as dipper treaders, one being "Sustainer" acid the other "Straightener." The former is Alcor and the latter is said to be attached to Phecda. "Straightener," though, is an invisible star and one of its names is "Void". Furthermore, this arrangement of stars is surrounded by another group of nine which cast a "light that does not shine." They are inhabited by feminine divinities, consorts of the gods who reside in the first group of visible stars. These invisible divinities from the "black stars" are invoked in many of the exercises designed to confer the power of invisibility.
Wherever patterns of seven spots in the shape of the Dipper appeared, Chinese have considered them to be omens. The eyebrows of Lao-tzu, for example, have been described as being shaped like the Northern Dipper. In the past, the Northern Dipper has also been related to the Imperial Metropolis and was supposed to decide the fate of individuals as well as the welfare of the state. It was believed that cosmic harmony had been restored when a ruler was in consonance with the stars of the Dipper.
The divinities who might dwell in a Taoist saint, presiding over his formation and animating his subtle body, were also believed to be only a transformation of the nine souls of the Lord, which in the beginning, were the Nine Celestial Breaths or the Nine Original Heavens. Through a series of transformations they became the nine divinities of the Palace of the Brain.
Over time, these nine stars have become part of the Taoist cabala (secret teachings). Grand Supreme Perfected Men (t'ai shang then jen ), belonging to the most exalted class of Taoist superbeings, can summon. the Polar Deity (Tai-child ), by "pacing the road of the Nine Stars".
It is not surprising that the names of the Nine Imperial Gods correspond with the names forming the Big Dipper (the names for stars 1 to 3 are sometimes differently transcribed). According to legend, the ancient ruler Yü the Great used these steps to stop the floods. The Great Yü (2205-2197 B.C.) saw a tortoise coming from the Loh River. The animal then bestowed on him a chart about how to regulate water. Others though, maintain that Yü of the Chia Dynasty (1994-1523 B.C.) has been taught these steps by the "Realized Person" of Mount Chung. Yü later divided China into nine provinces and had nine ding (cauldrons) cast to represent each of these provinces. These nine ding became symbols of power and prestige.
There is also the pu-tu ritual where the souls progress through the nine courts of hell in a dance, using the steps of Yü. And comprehending the esoteric meaning of the Dipper and its components, of learning to project one's secret self into it, of realising it within one's innermost anatomical chambers, of conjuring it to inspire to protect, to outlaw, to perform miracles are manyfold. In Shan tradition, an adept was supposed to repose himself at night on a diagram of the dipper laid oat on his bed, with its bowl like a canopy over his head and feet pointed to major stars. He is to recite the names of its stars, picture them in his imagination, recite prayers, and in the end bring their sublime embryonic essences into his body where they build up, in the course of time, an immortal body which will ascend to heaven in broad daylight (Schafer 1977:241).
Each of the nine stars has a secret name and corresponds to a trigram of the I-Ching -4 a . A Taoist ritualist must learn which of the five cosmic elements - wood, fire, metal, water or earth - corresponds to each of the nine stars connected with the constellation of the Big Dipper so that all spiritual forces can be tapped.
Star - Secret Name - Trigram - Position - Element
T'ien feng - Tzu ch'in - k'an - 1 - water
T'ien jen - Tzu ch'ang - ken - 8 - earth
T'ien chung - Tzu ch'iao - chen - 3 - wood
T'ien fu - Tzu hsiang - hsün - 4 - wood
T'ien ying - Tzu ch'eng - li - 9 - fire
T'ien ping - Tzu hsü - k'un - 2 - earth
T'ieng chu - Tiu chung - tui - 7 - metal
T'ien hsin - Tzu hsiang - ch'ien - 6 - metal
T'ien ch'in - Tzu chin - k'un - 5 - earth
Stars 1, 2, and 7 are also said to be associated with cloud-soul/actualizing spirit (hun shen ; ) and stars 3, 4, 5, and 6 with white-soul/embryonic essence (p 'o chung ).
The earliest myths, recorded in China, say that the Nine Imperial Gods were the Nine Human Sovereigns who reigned a total of 45,600 years . There are, however, many later versions, for example that speaks of nine heroes who helped the people at the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1912).
The mother of the Nine Imperial Gods is Tou Mu it is said. She was born as Mo-li-che in the Western Realm, T'ien-chuh-kwoh , Kwan Ying from India. Having attained deep insights into heavenly mysteries, she began to radiate light, roaming over the seas and travelling to the sun and the moon. She showed great charity for human beings and finally married Ch'en-tsu-ts'ung King of Cheu-yü in the northern regions of the universe. Her nine sons she instructed in transcendental knowledge. Because there were not many people in the north, she went with her family to the south of Mt. Che Siu where the people thought they were genii. They made the eldest son king. Later the Jade Emperor came down and took the family up to heaven where Tou Mu lives in the palace of the Polar Star near the heavenly palaces of her sons. Other mention a divine mother, "Female Pivot" (Nu Shu) who seems to be a female version of the Polar Star. Nil Shu conceived the prehistoric king or demigod Chuan-hsü when she saw the seventh star of the Dipper, "Gemmy Light," piercing the moon like a rainbow. The Jade Emperor was considered to be a reincarnation of Yuan-shi t'ien-tsun who entered the womb of Shan-sheng , Queen of the Kingdom of Tsing-loh ll , on a ray of light.
In Taoism, Tou Mu has also been called T'ien Hou ("Queen of Heaven") and has been compared with Kuan Yin , the female form of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of Amitâbha Buddha. Like Kuan Yin, T'ien Hou is of Indian origin. In India, she was the Goddess of Dawn, Marici ("Ray of Light"). The Tibetans called her Semding and every successive abbess was considered to be a reincarnation of Marici.
The Chinese got to know her as the god Chun-ti . At the end of the Shang Dynasty (12th century B.C.), Chun-ti allegedly fought many wars in which gods, immortals and all kinds of spirits were involved. When in the seventh century A.D. Buddhists were persecuted in China, the Taoists adopted Chun-ti and transformed him into a goddess, retaining, however, the warlike attributes of Chunti. At this time they gave her a husband and nine children.
Picture of Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) performing certain Rituals: