dolio.ru » Feng Shui » Chinese pagoda according to Feng Shui - a universal talisman for all ills
The Chinese pagoda is a unique architectural structure, the general features of which are familiar to everyone. Multi-level, pointed roofs located on multiple tiers of a small building can be seen in China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries where Buddhism is practiced. In addition, the pagoda is now actively used as a protective Feng Shui talisman, the properties of which we will discuss below.
Pagoda: from history to modern times
For the first time, pagodas began to be built many thousands of years ago and were initially used in China as small extensions to Buddhist monasteries, which were also considered original temples. But religious ceremonies were never held in them and prayers were never read. Most often, various jewelry and sacred relics were simply kept here, such as the remains of Buddha and other similar things. Because of this, it was believed that the pagoda radiates powerful positive energy around itself, which is capable of clearing the surrounding world of negativity and preventing its further spread.
Because of this, over time, pagodas began to appear not only next to monasteries, but also in cities - in the middle of parks, alleys and even streets, because it was believed that in this way they bring harmony to the surrounding space and thereby favorably influence the overall atmosphere in the city. city.
Also, in many Chinese myths, pagodas are depicted as an effective means of rehabilitating evil demons. For this reason, Eastern practitioners consider them an excellent talisman for fighting evil of various origins and types.
Concept
The word "pagoda" is of Sanskrit origin, but depending on the interpretation of the specific language it has slightly different meanings:
- Sanskrit “bhagavat” - “holy”;
- The Portuguese pronunciation of this word is "pagoda" - "temple";
- Persian version - “house of idols”;
- Chinese "bao ta" - treasure tower.
So, a pagoda is a sacred building, a religious building, common in Hindu, Taoist, but most often in Buddhist teachings.
Hindu pagoda
Even in Buddhism, the term "pagoda" cannot be understood unambiguously, because the meaning varies depending on geography:
- where the Theravada direction is widespread (Thai, Myanmar, Sri Lankan, Laotian, Cambodian territories) these are most often small rooms for storing relics, shrines or peculiar memorials, which are also called stupas;
- in other directions of Buddhist thought, for example, in Mahayana, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen (Nepalese, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tibetan, Indonesian lands, Western countries) - Buddhist temples in the form of towers in several tiers.
In Japan, the upper parts of some ships that participated in the hostilities of World War II are also called pagodas.
Five Elements Pagoda
Another type of talisman we are considering is the pagoda of the five elements. It is completely different from the Chinese pagoda in appearance, because it consists of 5 elements, personifying the five main elements. This is an equilateral cube, a regular sphere, a four-sided pyramid, a small hemisphere and a pointed cone, located one above the other in a cycle of creation. The cube represents the Earth, the sphere – Metal, the pyramid – Water, the cone – Fire.
In order for such a pagoda to “work”, each of the presented sections (most often they are hollow) must be filled with material corresponding to a particular element:
- pour fresh soil into the cube,
- into the sphere - metal filings,
- fill the pyramid with pieces of blue glass,
- hemisphere - wood sawdust
- and finally the cone with finely chopped red paper.
Once all sections are filled, such a pagoda will become a reliable protector of the house from evil, including flying stars.
Symbolism
Pagodas have a special architecture for a reason. Created in several tiers, it reflects the cyclical repetition of the events of our lives, the movement in a spiral.
It is believed that the number of tiers also hides a certain sacredness. For example, the number “seven” directly indicates the Buddhas of different times who incarnated in the human world.
Others see the pagoda as a symbol of Mount Meru - the Buddhist center of the universe, at the top of which the gods live. Each tier is a certain heaven, which can be achieved by constant growth and upward striving. However, the atypical roof structure has a practical purpose: upturned eaves retain moisture after rain or snow, preventing it from flowing down and gradually destroying the facade.
The imperial pagodas were of particular importance. As usual, they had a majestic, sometimes even sublime appearance. The main attribute is the yellow tiled roof, the color of which represents the strength of the ruler.
Recently, many famous pagodas, especially in tourist areas, have been opened to the public. Although ordinary visitors will hardly be able to see the rituals, ceremonies and interior decoration of the upper floors, here you can feel the spirit of Buddhism and lift the veil of secret mysteries.
Pagodas with other talismans
Combining a pagoda with a turtle, dragon or tiger is just one way to enhance its energy. Such a talisman will best manifest itself where the animal present in it feels good. For example, a pagoda with a turtle can be placed in the north, where it will contribute to faster career advancement. Whereas it is better to place a pagoda with a tiger in the west, where this striped animal helps to maintain health.
Japanese pagoda – music of Buddha
Creating an atmosphere of spirituality, in the Japanese garden it is customary to build Buddhist temples on hills, natural or artificial. Traditionally, when arranging a garden, a gate is first installed, and then a Japanese pagoda, which is the central compositional object.
The height of the structure is not limited by anything except... stone lanterns, which should be 1.5-2 times lower than the pagoda. In the land of the rising sun, they can be very small (up to 1 meter), located in a miniature garden. This means that there are no stone lanterns in the visibility zone at all. According to classical canons, a pagoda is a structure consisting of individual stones and forming a square at the base. Its vertical section is a trapezoid with curved sides. The most interesting thing is that the stones in the Japanese pagoda are not fixed to each other, and the building is supported by their own weight. Therefore, when constructing it, careful calculation and accuracy are very important.
Against the backdrop of magnificent landscapes, multi-tiered pagodas reign in a calming and spiritual atmosphere, differing in shape, height and bright colors. They invariably attract attention and excite human imagination.
Pagoda pendants
Small keychains with pagodas are excellent talismans for those who want to always have some kind of amulet with them. After all, the pagoda perfectly cleanses any space around it, be it at home or on the street. However, in China there has been a tradition of giving such amulets specifically to students or students. It is generally believed that pagodas are great for studying and are especially useful during exams.
Architectural delights
Chinese builders erected structures using original technology based on the wooden frame structure “dougong”, translated as “bucket and beam”. Not a single iron nail was used in the construction of such houses. Having arranged the pillars in a certain order and fastened them with crossbars, the Chinese installed a frame, which was subsequently covered with a roof made of heavy tiles. But the most interesting thing: to relieve pressure on the pillars, the Chinese built truncated pyramids from wooden blocks, the wide bases of which rested on the upper ceiling, and the tops on the pillar. As a result, the entire load falls on these blocks, which differed in size and shape and were called “dow” - “bucket”, respectively, “gun” - “beam”.
Thus, the pagoda is an amazing structure in which the walls do not bear any load. They perform the functions of partitions and allow you to install windows and doors in any quantity.
Weather care
Finally, I would like to say a few more words about caring for this truly universal talisman. Cleaning a space is an energy-consuming procedure, so in addition to keeping it clean and careful handling, the pagoda requires recharging from time to time. To do this, you need to wipe it more often with water mixed with salt, and also wrap it in a red cloth for a while. And sometimes you need to change its location in the apartment, moving it from one sector to another. This will give her the opportunity to “recharge” in time and restore wasted strength.
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Pagoda in Shanxi province, palace buildings
Of particular interest is the uniqueness of the 9-level pagoda (its height is 70 meters) in Shanxi province, built about a thousand years ago. This is the oldest wooden building in the world that has survived to this day. Moreover, the uniqueness of the anti-seismic design saved it from numerous destructive earthquakes.
Chinese pagodas in the style of palace buildings focus on the greatness of the emperor. Graceful, curved roofs, decorated with figures of birds and animals, serve to drain rainwater away from the base of the building. This allows you to protect wooden walls from moisture and makes these structures more durable.
Content
- 1 History 1.1 Development of design and structure
- 1.2 Loss of pagoda significance within the scope of warranty
- 2.1 Tasoto
or
Tajutto
or
rantō
- 3.1 Tasoto
3.3.1
Daito
Chinese architecture. An amateur's view
Traditional Chinese architecture is known to be very different from European architecture. The combination of bright colors - red, blue, green - in the decor of the buildings, the presence of the obligatory curved roofs with the obligatory figures of the sons of the dragon at their ends are striking.
At first these figures surprise you, and you constantly photograph them. Then you notice that they are repeated everywhere and you no longer pay attention to them.
I asked the guides why the roofs were curved, because making them that way is not very convenient. From the confused answers it turned out that this was a tradition, apparently connected with the fact that in ancient times heavy tiles were placed on weak beams, and they sagged. But I don’t know whether this is exactly the case. We were not shown any particularly ancient buildings - China was subjected to barbarian invasions many times, and the cities were not spared and the peasants often rebelled. So the main part of the antiquities are buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties, i.e. according to European chronology, 14th – 19th centuries. By our standards, this is, of course, antiquity, but for China, with its five thousand year history, it is almost modern. But even during these last dynasties, many magnificent and incomparable things were created. Every city has a bell and drum tower. They are huge and in one they rang the bell in the morning, welcoming a new day, in the other they said goodbye to the past day with the beating of drums. How these Europeans of yours managed without such towers is not clear.
drum tower
bell tower
The Chinese of our time restore antiquity so quickly and stylize it so well that it is often not clear whether this building is ancient, or a remake, or the result of restoration. We saw and climbed the famous multi-tiered Chinese pagodas, (“bagodas” as the guides say), which, as I thought, were the hallmark of Chinese architecture. The pagodas are tall, ancient, almost devoid of decoration inside, the stairs lead to the very top. But the staircases are not spiral, but ordinary (maybe the Chinese didn’t think of spiral ones?)
It turned out that the pagoda is nothing more than a memorial library for storing Buddhist manuscripts taken at different times from India. And they were built according to Indian models.
Great Wild Goose Pagoda
The Forbidden City, or Gugun, in Beijing, in which the emperor lived with his many wives, concubines and eunuchs, is really a whole city of buildings for various purposes, squares, passages, etc., surrounded by a high wall and a moat with water, the width with a good river. All buildings of the palace are covered with golden-colored tiles, which could only be used for buildings belonging to the emperor. There are 9999 rooms in the palace, and 10,000 only for the god of the sky, who is thus only 1 room richer than the emperor. In fact, there seem to be eight hundred-something rooms, but I didn’t check. It is amazing how the emperors and their retinue lived in this forbidden city in winter. And at the end of March it was cold, there was snow in some places. And in January in Beijing there are quite Siberian frosts. But the pavilions in which people lived were practically open and without proper heating. I feel sorry for the emperor.
"like an emperor"
imperial throne
Outside men were forbidden to be there after sunset. For those who think that the emperor’s life consisted of nothing but pleasures, I relay the guide’s story that if the emperor stayed with one of his wives for more than a short time determined by etiquette, the eunuch on duty came to the door of the bedchamber and shouted: “Dear emperor! Your time is up". If the emperor did not react, then the eunuchs came in and simply carried away the woman they loved. For if the emperor spends more time with her than he should, he will not rest and regain his strength. And he needs them to govern the state. Here's an eastern despot for you. The famous Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a complex of structures built according to a standard plan, something like this: courtyard or square or garden - pavilion, courtyard - pavilion, courtyard - pavilion. And so many times. Moreover, such a layout is observed in both Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian temples. They say that mosques in China have the same plan, but I have not been inside mosques in China, I saw them from the outside, but I did not have the chance to go inside.
mosque in Beijing
Sky Temple
marvel at the skill of their ancestors
The Temple of Heaven is very beautiful, its buildings are mainly wooden, made of giant logs. The main background is red, on which multi-colored patterns are applied. And the tiles are blue, the color of the sky. The main temple buildings are the only round religious buildings in China. For the sky, as you know, is round. And the land, of course, is square. And the buildings on earth are therefore rectangular. In the Temple of Heaven, the emperor, as the son of heaven, who was also the chief priest, annually prayed for the harvest, which for populous China was always the most important matter.
There are a lot of people in Buddhist temples, many different images and statues of different Buddhas (out of ignorance, I thought that there was only one Buddha and this was Prince Gautama, but there were a great many of them), his assistants and disciples. There are a lot of people praying there, but most of them are young people praying on their knees and lighting candles (more precisely, incense sticks). I thought that this was the legacy of Mao, who organized the Cultural Revolution and completely eradicated the religious spirit of the older generation. The guide refuted my speculations, saying that it is the atheists who pray, and believers are allowed to pray only twice a month, on the first and fifteenth, something like an advance and a paycheck. Buddha has a lot to do and you can’t constantly bother him with your requests.
inscription in 4 languages
By the way, although it is often stated that Chinese Chan Buddhism is a distinctive phenomenon that has little in common with Indian Buddhism, the Chinese themselves do not think so. They fully recognize Indian priority. Chinese Buddhist believers are trying to go to India on a pilgrimage to the holy places of the life and work of Buddha and other authorities.
In the temples of Confucius, and I visited two of them, in Beijing and in Shanghai, it was practically deserted, centuries-old cypress trees grew, and I wanted to indulge in reflection on the meaning of life. But a very large amount of ashes from candles in special braziers suggests that they also pray to the Teacher, although he seems to be not a god.
This is a photo of the Confucius Temple in Beijing.
Good Confucius
scoundrel Confucius
This is the Temple of Confucius in Shanghai
This is not a dog, this is a lion
Skyscrapers
Modern Chinese buildings are no less impressive than the ancient structures. And not so much in architecture: by and large, Chinese skyscrapers are no different from any others - but in their scope. There are thousands of these skyscrapers in Shanghai alone. And if you look from the height of the “Pearl of the East” TV tower, then there is no end in sight to the skyscrapers. All modern buildings are full of escalators, electronic displays, air conditioners and other ultra-modern devices are everywhere.
Shanghai Pudong
On the way from Xi'an to Shanghai, from the windows of a high-speed train we saw the famous loess plateau, which is a yellow plateau, very much indented by ravines. People often live there, as they did centuries ago, in semi-caves dug into steep banks. But even there there is huge construction going on everywhere.
loess plateau
They build very quickly in China. The photographs hanging inside the “Pearl of the Orient” TV tower show that in 1994 it stood in the Pudong area almost alone, then every year new skyscrapers grew near it, and now it is lost, obscured by the newest buildings.
TV tower "Pearl of the East"
The tallest of them (at the time of our stay, and now even taller ones have already been built) are unofficially called “corn” and “opener” (officially Jin Mao and Shanghai World Trade Center, respectively).
"corn" and "opener"
The guide Lilya said that these names were given by Russian tourists, but now everyone calls them that, you can be proud. The “opener,” or as our fellow travelers from Krasnodar said, “opener,” was built by the Japanese, they also wanted to install a samurai sword on the roof, but the Chinese did not allow it, they even organized protest demonstrations.
However, I'm not a big fan of ultra-modern cities.
The next part of my story will be devoted to the most grandiose Chinese structure - the Great Wall of China.
______________________
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Flights to Thailand are already available on December 2, and to Goa on December 29 (currently available only from Level.Travel). Promotional codes for purchasing tours will be valid until December 31 :
- LT-HAPPY-TH for 5000 ₽ – for tours to Thailand, from two adults;
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From December 6, Level.Travel is launching a promotion with interest-free installments for 120 days. There is no need to pay when booking a tour! Promotion period: 06.12.21 – 19.12.21. ______________________ I organize my trips using these sites:
- flights - Aviasales
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- car rental - Myrentacar, Economybookings and Rentalcars
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More…
Links[edit]
- ^ abcde Iwanami Kjien Japanese Dictionary
- ^ abcd Jaanus, Tu
- Hamashima, Masashi (1999). Jisha Kenchiku no Kansh Kiso Chishiki
(in Japanese). Tokyo: Shibundo. paragraph 88. - Fujita Masaya, Koga Shusaku, ed. (April 10, 1990). Nihon Kenchiku-shi
(in Japanese) (ed. September 30, 2008). Showa-do. paragraph 79. ISBN 4-8122-9805-9. - ^ B s d e g h i J k l m p o r d t y t Fujita and Koga 2008, pp. 79-81
- Shade, Japanische Pagoden
- ^ab *Tamura, Yoshiro (2000). Japanese Buddhism—a cultural history
(first ed.). Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Company. pp. 40–41. ISBN 4-333-01684-3. - ^ ab JANUS, Sekitu
- JAANUS, Tasutu
- ^ abcd JANUS, Houtou
- ^ ab JANUS - Gorintu
- ^ abcd Yatsushiro Municipal Museum
- JAANUS - Muhutu
- JANUS - Casatuba
- ^ ab JANUS, Daito
Types of protective symbol - Pagodas.
There are different types of pagodas, i.e. figurines in the form of Pagodas, as protective and beneficial amulets-talismans-symbols. For example, all kinds of Pagodas - pendants, keychains. They are widely used to help students and schoolchildren study. Figures or figurines are placed in houses, apartments, and offices. The materials from which the Pagoda figurines are made can be any, but the color is either gold, or red, multi-colored or shiny. Pagodas can have tiers from 1 to 15, and which ones to use for yourself is up to you, there are no rules here, follow only your intuition. There is also the “Five Elements Pagoda” and differs from the classic Pagoda in its unusual appearance, because... instead of tiers, it consists of five geometric shapes. According to the cycle of generation of elements: the lower tier is a cube (belongs to the Earth element), the next (above it) is a sphere (Metal element), even higher is a pyramid (Water element), further up is a hemisphere (Wood element) and the topmost, fifth tier - a small cone (element of Fire). And how to strengthen this beneficial, protective talisman, read in the next paragraph of this article.
