49. Asian Mythologies (similar to Abrahamic religious stories)

Dear fellow truth seekers, thank you and welcome for visiting my channel MythoReligio. MythoReligio is a series of books about religious comparison studies between the stories in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, directly from their sacred books and world mythologies, hence the name MythoReligio. The purpose is to retrace the prehistory of humanity, since I'm not fully satisfied with either the explanations from the point of view of creationists nor evolutionists. There are so many missing links in both explanations. If you feel the same, then you are on the right channel. In this book series I will also analyze about the prehistory of humanity from the archaeological records, modern scientific point of view and other alternative theories, such as the ancient alien theories and Atlantis or Lemuria legends. After thorough research of circa 30 years, I recognized many many similarities between all religious stories and even mythologies, and surprisingly some of them are in accordance or even beyond modern science that have been proven as correct. Thus I came to the conclusion that all religions must have come from the same source. And all these religious stories and mythologies, although heavily jumbled up, are actually telling one mega story. The true prehistory of our common ancestors. This mega story is quite different than what we have been told to believe and will truly blow your mind as it is more fascinating than our imagination. If you have watched the earlier videos in this channel, I believe you can see some of the similarities too. If you haven't and you truly want to do a religious comparative study, I suggest that you do so. The best way to do a comprehensive religious study via this channel is by watching the videos starting from number one and continue until this present video and so on. That way you will see a clear pattern. For deeper analysis that I cannot share in this platform due to its sensitive nature that leads to the above conclusion, kindly read the books that are available in e-book format that can be found in my website www.mythoreligion.com or the physical books at Amazon in color or black and white version. Asian Mythologies Dear fellow truth seekers, in the last video I have shared with you some myths from the American continent that are somewhat similar to the Abrahamic religious stories. Now I am going to share some more myths from the Asian continent that are also like that. Asia is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the civilizations as well as all the five major religions in the world, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Its 4.5 billion people as of June 2019 constitute roughly 60% of the world's population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects east and west cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, separating it from Africa, and to the east of the Turkish Straits, the Ural Mountains, and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas, separating it from Europe. The land of Asia is divided into six regions, i.e. 1. North Asia, also known as Siberia, is a region known primarily for its long, harsh winters. 2. Central Asia is a region from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. 3. East Asia is the region with the most people. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. The majority of the people in this region are Buddhist and its derivations. 4. Southwest Asia, also known as the Middle East. This is the birthplace of the three Abrahamic religions, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 5. South Asia is the region with the principal boundaries of the Indian Ocean, the Himalayas, and Afghanistan. This is the birthplace of the Hindu religion as well as Buddhism. 6. Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern subregion of Asia. It consists of regions that are south of China, southeast of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of Australia. The majority of the subregion is still in the northern hemisphere, meaning above the equator. East Timor and the southern portion of Indonesia are the only parts that are south of the equator. 7. Southeast Asia has thousands of islands surrounding a strip of mainland. In my previous videos, I have shared almost all the stories from the five major religions in the world that are originally from Asia. I also have shared myth from the Middle East which is actually also a part of Asia. So there is not that many more myths and legends from Asia that do not belong to any of those religions that I am going to share with you now. So, I will only share some myths that do not belong to the five major religions from three regions in Asia, i.e. China, Laos, and Indonesia that are somehow still have similarities to the Abrahamic religious stories and also are the world myth. Let's begin with a myth from China first. Creation of the Universe Long, long ago, there was nothing in the universe except an enormous egg-shaped entity. Inside the egg, the opposite forces of yin and yang were all scrambled. It was complete chaos. But over time, like the Norse mythology, the interactions between various substances and energies eventually conceived a being, a shaggy horned giant named Panku. In one hand, he held a hammer and the other a chisel. Other pictures show him attended in his labors by the four supernatural creatures, the unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and dragon. Others with a sun in one hand and the moon in the other, or as holding the symbol of yin and yang, yet other legends recount that Panku had the head of a man and the body of a serpent. For 18,000 years, Panku slept and grew. One day, he suddenly awoke. He opened his eyes but saw only pitch blackness. He strained his ears but heard only unnerving silence. Panku found his dreadery surroundings highly disturbing. Flustered, Panku conjured a magical axe and landed upon the egg with a mighty chop. The egg split into two with a thunderous crack. Suddenly, yin and yang began to separate. Everything dark and heavy sank down to form the earth, and the rest, light and clear, drifted up to form the heavens. But Panku was anxious that the halves would close up again, so he stood between the two halves to keep them apart. With each passing day, the sky rose ten feet or three meters further above him, the earth thickened ten feet below him, and Panku himself grew ten feet just to keep up with the growing expanse and hold on. It was a lonely and strenuous job. This toil, the dutiful giant endured for another 18,000 years, until he was certain that the realms were finally stabilized. Then, with a great crash, Panku lay down and died. An ultimate sacrifice. Then, like the Hindu Purusha and the Norse Ymir, when the weary Panku collapsed, a miraculous transformation took place. His final breath turned into winds and clouds, his voice into rumbling thunder, his left eye blazed into the sun, and right eye gleamed into the moon. His hair and beard became the stars, his limbs and hands and feet transformed into great mountains and the blood running through his veins into flowing rivers, his flesh converted into fertile farmlands, his bones turned into precious gems and minerals, his teeth and nails became lustrous metals, the hairs on his skin grew into lush vegetation, and the sweat from his extended labors fell as rainwater for the mortal world. His spirit never ceased but turned into humans. Fuxi and Nua Among the mortals created from Panku was a powerful being known as Hwasu. Hwasu gave birth to a couple of twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nua. They are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes. In another version, Fuxi and Nua are dualistic gods, the creators of human beings when the earth first emerged from chaos. They also represent the yin and yang. Sometimes they are pictured as having the body of a serpent and head of an ox, or a human head with horns of an ox and the body of a serpent, according to some writers, each holding something that looked like a triangular ruler and a compass, presumably to repair the world. Then, like many myths from around the world as well as the biblical Noah, when the land was swept by a great flood, they survived. They retired to the mythological Kunlun Mountain where they prayed for a sign from the Emperor of Heaven to unite. Divine being approved their union and the siblings set about procreating the human race. So they molded yellow clay and created the humans. In another version, he or she was regarded as the repairer and not the creator. In this version, after the flood, the pillars of heaven were broken and the corners of the earth gave way. Hereupon, Fuxi and Nua melted stones of five colors, representing the Chinese five elements to repair the heavens and cut off the feet of the tortoise to set upright the four extremities of the earth. Gathering the ashes of reeds, they stopped the flooding waters, thus rescuing the land. In another account, Fuxi and Nua were the only two human beings in existence, the ancestors of all humans, not the creators. At the creation, they were placed at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. Then they offered the sacrifice and prayed, saying, If thou, O God, hast sent us to be man and wife, the smoke of our sacrifice will stay in one place, but if not, it will be scattered. The smoke remained stationary and thus they procreated. The Fuxi Family The Miao tribes who live in inland China talk about how God created the heavens and the earth and created men and women. They also talk about the wickedness of humanity and God sending a flood. Immense flooding covered the entire earth and only one family, the family of Fuxi, was saved. This family consisted of a man, his wife, three sons and three daughters, who were all saved alive in a boat. It says that it poured for 40 days until it flooded, then 45 days of misting and drizzle. The righteous man who was saved was called Nua, and he built a boat very wide and vast. His family of eight survived along with male and female pairs of animals. After the flood had receded, they offered sacrifices to God, and God gave them His good graces. Quan Yin Here is a myth that is somewhat a combination of the stories of Jesus and Maria. The Myth of Quan Yin or Guan Yin Quan Yin is the goddess of mercy and compassion. She was murdered by her father. She recited the holy books when she arrived in hell, and the ruler of the underworld could not make her dead soul suffer. The disgruntled god sent her back to the world of the living, where Quan Yin attained great spiritual insight and was rewarded with immortality. So, like Jesus, Quan Yin was resurrected. Quan Yin is usually depicted as a lady dressed in white seated on a lotus and holding an infant. According to Wikipedia, some syncretic Buddhist and Christian observers have commented on the similarity between Quan Yin and Mary of Christianity, the mother of Jesus Christ. The Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, also noticing the similarity, commissioning a portrait of Quan Yin and a baby resembling the typical Roman Catholic Madonna and Child painting. Some Chinese of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Philippines, in an act of syncretism, have identified Quan Yin with the Virgin Mary. During the Edo period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary, disguised as a statue of Canon. Such statues are known as Maria Canon. Many had a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location. Now let's go to Laos in Southeast Asia. The Kamu or Kamu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. They are the largest minority group in Laos and are believed to be the original inhabitants of the country. They are an Austro-Asiatic people who moved north from the area of Indonesia in prehistoric times. Like many other myths around the world, the Kamu have a legend that is similar to the biblical Noah. A brother and sister warned by the upcoming flood by a mouse sealed themselves inside a drum and emerged again after the flood receded. They looked far and wide for mates, but they were the only survivors. A Malkoa cuckoo sang to them, brother and sister should embrace one another. So they slept together and after seven years a child was born as a Gurd. A little later, hearing noises from the Gurd, they burned a hole in its shell and people of the different races came out. First the Rumit, then the Kamu, the Thai, the Westerner, and the Chinese. The last legend is from Indonesia. Cheung Wan Nara was the mythological king of West Java, the major island in the archipelago of Indonesia. The myth is quite long, but the reason why I included a part of its story in this video is because like the Akkadian King Sargon, the Roman Romulus and Romulus, the Hindu Krishna, and the biblical Moses, when Cheung Wan Nara was still a baby for safety reason he was put in a basket and thrown in a river. And finally, like all the aforementioned names, after a long journey he managed to overthrow an evil king and finally became a king himself. Yes, many babies are thrown away by their mothers for various reasons, but how many of those babies finally led battles and became kings or leaders of a nation? What are the odds of that happening? And none of them are really recorded as historical figure. Why are there so many similar religious stories and mythologies around the world? Are they really merely copying or borrowing from one another? If yes, then how and when do they do that while they are all so far apart? I will share my own analysis which I believe is quite different than any other theories that you might have heard before. But I will do that after I'm finished sharing more stories from other regions that are similar to one another, then I will compare them with scientific data and or archaeological findings to make sense out of them. Next week I will share with you some more myths from Australia, Oceania and Hawaii. Thank you for watching and hope to see you next week.