[Image above: Haku, the river god, the Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away]
Legends of the humanoids
Intro
Lately, I've been into qigong exercises. This is because during the winter months, the whole body gets cold - muscles, ligaments and even internal organs - and I find that qigong, which stretches with more help of breathing and gravity, is safer than yoga stretching.
There are many common movements in the ancient Indian tradition of yoga, as well as in the ancient Chinese traditions of qigong and tai chi, and those who have been pursuing yoga for many years, or vice versa, may find it easier to switch between the two. And it seems possible that originally it was the same method that humans learnt from higher beings thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.
Common to both is that many of the forms are named after and imitate animals, mountains, flowers and other creatures in nature, such as trees. Not only that, but even in kung fu, karate and other martial arts, ancient people must have worshipped and respected the Nature and non-human creatures far more than modern people, as they compared them to animals and other forms of nature when they performed miracle-class strength.
Of more interest in ancient folklore are humanoids, including human-animal hybrids and human-animal chimeras, as well as cryptids, which are animals that they believe may exist somewhere in the wild. Why are there so many humanoids being talked about, not only in myth and folklore, but also in S.F. and fantasy novels?
Let's take a look at some of the most enigmatic and legendary creatures whose current existence is either scientifically questionable or unfounded.
[Image below: Sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion]
-- Junu
ootin' stars break the mold It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now but wait till you get older But t
he meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire How 'bout yours That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored Hey, now, you're an all-star {Shouting} Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold {Belches} Go! Go! {Record Scratching} Go. Go.Go. Hey, now, you're an all-star Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold -Think it's in there? -All right. Let's get it! -Whoa. Hold on. Do you know what that thing can do to you? -Yeah, ! I'm an orge! You know. "Grab your torch and pitchforks." Doesn't that bother you? -Nope. -Really? -Really, really. -Oh. -Man, I like you. What's you name? -Uh, Shrek. -Shrek? Well, you know what I like about you, Shrek? You got that kind of I-uttons. -All right then. Who's hiding them? -Okay, I'll tell you. Do you know the muffin man? -The muffin man? -The muffin man. -Yes, I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane? -Well, she's married to the muffin man. -The muffin man? -The muffin man! -She's married to the muffin man. {Door opens} -My lord! We found it. -Then what are you waiting for? Bring it in. {Man grunting} {Gasping} -Oh! -Magic mirror - - -Don't tell him a
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adas And getting caught in the rain -Princess Fiona. If you're not into yoga -She's perfect. All I have to do is just find someone who can go - - -But I probably should mention the little thing that happens at night. -I'll do it. -Yes, but after sunset - - -Silence! I will make this Princess Fiona my queen, and DuLoc will finally have the perfect king! Captain, assemble your finest men. We're going to have a tournament. -But that's it. That's it right there. That's DuLoc. I told ya I'd find it. -So, that must be Lord Farquaad's castle. -Uh-huh.
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Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!). I'm not related to Gerard Way but I wish I was because he's a major fucking hottie. I'm a vampire but my teeth are straight and white. I have pale white skin. I'm also a witch, and I go to a magic school called Hogwarts in England where I'm in the seventh year (I'm seventeen). I'm a goth (in case you couldn't tell) and I wear mostly black. I love Hot Topic and I buy all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a black corset with matching lace around it and a black leather miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots. I was wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and red eye shadow. I was walking outside Hogwarts. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. A lot of preps stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.
"Hey Ebony!" shouted a voice. I looked up. It was... Draco Malfoy!
"What's up Draco?" I asked.
"Nothing." he said shyly.
But then, I heard my friends call me and I had to go away.
fun fact i got a strike on my twitch for reading this during a stream. i got to chapter 20 something and i like to think that a member of twitch staff had to suffer through it.
I used the random Pokémon generator to get me a Pokémon to look up, and the result was
Medicham
The Japanese name doesn't have any actual references to the Japanese language, so we're going to skip it.
(It references pants, look it up)
For it's two abilities, Telepathy gets simply translated, while Pure Power is... Actually "Yoga Power". So that's why it's a signature ability of Meditite and Medicham.
Now let's look at a Pokedex entry:
ダンスの ような 優雅な 動きで 攻撃を かわして 強烈な 一撃を 相手に お見舞いする。
Let's divide this sentence in various parts:
ダンスの ような 優雅な 動きで 攻撃を かわして
ような before a noun indicates that the noun is similar to something else, or like something else.
Then we have 優雅 (ゆうが,yuuga), graceful, acting as a なadjective before the noun 動き(うごき,ugoki), movement.
Finally we have 攻撃(こうげき,kougeki)をかわして, "to dodge an attack (and proceed to do something else with the next sentence, signaled by て)".
"With dance-like, elegant movements, it dodges attacks"
強烈な 一撃を 相手に お見舞いする
This sentence is pretty straightforward.
強烈(きょうれつ,kyouretsu, strong), acts as adjective to 一撃(いちげき,ichigeki, strike, implied to be a singular attack).
The verb used can seem a little strange on the other hand.
If you look up お見舞い(おみまい, omimai) in the dictionary, you will most probably find that is has the meaning of "paying a visit to someone who's ill", even having the honorific お in front of it which implies that the whole word gets a sense of "respect" to it, something to not be treated lightly.
... Which doesn't really make sense in this contest.
But if instead of looking up the noun+する form we look at the verb 見舞う without honorific, it does also have the meaning of "to hit or strike", which makes sense in this contest.
(After having dodged attacks) "It strikes the opponent with a single strong blow".
So in this case we are using the polite form of 見舞う and it becomes お見舞いする to give it a more "official" sound, like a pokedex entry would.
Interesting moves it can learn:
飛び膝蹴り(とびひざげり,Tobihizageri) High jump kick
Maybe it's unoffical signature move... Or at least the one I always hoped it would use against me and fail.
When I was a kid, it always struck me as weird that you would damage yourself if the move failed. You are jumping and hitting the enemy from the top, if you miss don't you just... Land back on the ground?
Pretty much what I was picturing every time.
The reason is that the literal name is "Flying knee strike", which implies that you are trying to hit the enemy with your knee.
So of course if you miss, your Pokémon is going to bust that kneecap straight on the ground.
No wonder it hurts so much.
The anime thankfully made it much more clear.
発勁(はっけい, Hakkei) Force Palm
"Hakkei" is a martial arts term that comes from Chinese, and describes "releasing internal power explosively".
This is a purely physical action: it's a set of methods to move your body in such a way to generate a lot of force in small movements. One example made famous by Bruce Lee is the "one inch punch".
発 is a kanji that gets used in so much vocabulary it's good to learn it early.
Buddhacharita, Chapter 15: 'The First Turning of the Wheel' - Depiction of the Middle Way (Ref) and the Eightfold Path (Ref2)
The Buddhacharita is a Buddhist epic attributed to Ashvaghosha (80-150 CE, an ancient Indian Buddhist monk). The following is a translation of the text in Sanskrit:
'O Bhikkhus, do not speak to a respectful Arhat out of respect and according to your former habits. Respect and condemnation are the same thing to me, but let me turn you back from your vices.
See the two wings of the fools' indulgence, exhausting themselves and obsessing over the objects of their sensitivities, as negligent and not the path to immortality.
For example, here, the darkness of the night is brought to extinction by the lamp, but not by sprinkling water to extinction. Similarly, the darkness of ignorance is brought to extinction by the fire of the intellect, but not by the fatigue of the body.
For example, a fire-seeker does not get fire by chopping and tearing a piece of wood, but he gets fire by rubbing that same piece of wood in the right way. Similarly, one gains immortality from correct yoga, not from physical fatigue.
And he whose mind is overcome by dust (rajas) and darkness (tamas), and who is attached to the objects of lust without interest, will not attain fulfilment even in the worldly art of gain (arthaniti). Even in the vairagyavidhi (procedure of covetousness), which is the opposite of the world, he will not be able to attain fulfilment.
For example, there is no recovery for a person who is ill and eats the wrong food. In the same way, how can there be tranquillity for one who is sick with ignorance and is attached to the objects of lust?
For example, there is no stillness in a fire that stays on dry ground and is stirred by the wind. Similarly,there is no tranquillity in the heart that is subject to greed and on the ground of the object of lust.
I have renounced these two extremes and have attested to another path as the middle one (Middle Way), which is ultimately a guide to subdue suffering and to be at peace, happy and contented.
The path (1) shines with the rays of sunlight of right view, (2) is drawn by the wheel of pure thought, (3) has the rightly spoken word as its refuge, (4) has the pleasures of the amusement park hut through good deeds, (5) has a great harvest through life without blame, (6) has strength and followers through right action, (7) is everywhere protected by the fortress of right remembrance and (8) has the floor and seat of samādhi as its dwelling place.
Thus, here, this supreme path of the eight branches carries man out of death, old age and disease, and he who has been carried out of it and has done all he has to do will not go round again in this world or in the next.