Svastikas
I didn't know this but apparently svastikas are an ancient Asian symbol that predate Buddhism and symbolize the sun. Also, here's a snippet of a thread on svastikas that came from the Sangha discussion group:
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Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 01:11:43 -0000
From: "ryhorikawa"
Subject: Re: MICROSOFT PULLS NAZI SYMBOL
--- In sangha@yahoogroups.com, "Ari"
Microsoft scrambled yesterday to remove a font from its new
"Office 2003" software that includes two swastikas. The icon is
part of "Bookshelf Symbol 7," which includes a number of Asian
characters. Swastikas are religious symbols in some Eastern
cultures, where they are considered the footprints of the Buddha.
But in the West, the swastika is identified with the Nazis,and
Microsoft decided not to court controversy with its inclusion.
Our yoga school is Hindu influenced and had swastikas in the
building.They also pulled them down. People didn't understand,
and the swastikas goin the opposite direction.
Ari
Thanks, Ari - Hey, isn't svastika-asana (toes are placed inner
hollow of the knees) an important and traditional posture in
Hatha yoga?
It's too bad Microsoft took the quick and easy way out on this one.
As many have already pointed out, the svastika is one of the
oldest and most revered cultural symbols in Asia ..In China and
Japan it (wang-ji in Chinese/ manji in Japanese) has long been
associated with Buddhism (E.g., Even today, a svastika is used
on Japanese maps to designate the location of a Buddhist
temple) I wish Microsoft would have seen this as an opportunity
to educate……
If I may add just a bit to what has been said: It's my
understanding that in India the use of the svastika symbols long
predates Buddhism. It is strongly associated with the sun; in
fact, the svastika is one of the standard "auspicious marks"
(mangala) of all the personalities (divine and otherwise)
belonging to the "lineage" (gotra) of the sun (These include such
figures as Visnu, Krsna and Rama). Clearly, Siddhartha's Sakya
clan claimed such lineage. [For example, in Sutta Nipata 423
there is this phrase: Adicca nama gottena, Sakiya nama jatiya =
"his lineage is that of the sun (adicca), by birth he is of the
Sakya]. For both Buddhist and Hindus, there were two types of
svastikas: A "clockwise" turning svastika (said to represent the
solstitial change of the sun to the Tropic of Capicorn and held to
be " auspicious) and the "counter-clockwise turning svastika
(said to represent the sun during Autumn and Winter and held to
be inauspicious). In Buddhism and Hinduism, the clockwise
turning svastika is the one most commonly used. Interestingly,
the Nazis appropriated the counter-clockwise symbol.
As for Nazi appropriation, it is my understanding that the
formulators of Nazi ideology subscribed to the already debunked
and outdated 19th century linguistic theory that 1) Indo-Aryan
represented the oldest layer of the Indo-European languages
and 2) the original home of the speakers of Indo-Aryan (who
called themselves "Arya" in Vedic Sanskrit and "Airya" in Avestan)
lay somewhere in and around present day Germany. In any
event, the svastika was one of the central symbols of Aryan
rulers and deities in both Vedic and Avestan texts; hence the
misinformed Nazi appropriation.
I'm wondering if Microsoft yanked the swastika symbols only in
the U.S. and Europe versions but kept them in for the Asian
market?
Peace,
Rodney
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