Utentbe in the native American tradition

''These stories were formerly related at night in the circular assembly houses of the Miwok. Certain men versed in the myths often travelled from village to village, telling the tales in the assembly house of each village. 

Such a raconteur was known as an ''utentbe''... Each utentbe was paid for his services, his audience presenting him with baskets, beads, furs, and food. Thomas Williams, who was formerly an utentbe, said that the telling of myths took all night. Not infrequently the myth was chanted. Each myth, whether chanted or told in ordinary prose, was often accompanied by the songs of the various characters.''

(From ''NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHS", Collected 1636-1919, Rosalind Kerven,1988)

''ΔΕΙΧΝΟΝΤΑΣ ΤΗ ΣΕΛΗΝΗ'' ΚΑΙ ''ΣΙΒΑ ΣΟΥΤΡΑ'', ΑΠΟ ΜΙΑ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΤΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΨΗ

Σίβα Σούτρα

''Η Θεια Χαρη λειτουργεί πάνω σε αυτόν που βαδίζει προς την αυτογνωσία και τη θέωση. Σαν ενέργεια Θεού απελευθερώνει την ατομική συνείδηση με τούς τρείς τρόπους που περιγράφονται στη Siva Sutra. Η  Θεία Χαρη παρουσιάζεται είτε άμεσα, είτε μέσα από την καθοδήγηση των ιερών γραφών και των φωτισμένων δασκάλων."

Δείχνοντας τη Σελήνη

''¨Οταν θέλεις να νoίωθεις άνεση και ανεμελιά, να ταξιδεύες στις Τέσσερις Θάλασσες σαν σύννεφο που επιπλέει. Να προσαρμόζεσαι στις περιστάσεις και να μην ανησυχείς για τα αποτελέσματα. Στο φως της καθημερινής ζωής καθάρισε το νου σου και ποτέ μην αναλύεις τις δραστηριότητες με όρους ανοησίας και σοφίας. Αυτό είναι όλο."

(''Δείχνοντας τη Σελήνη"  ΚΕΔΡΟΣ 1995  και ''Siva Sutra Vimarsini τού Ksemaraja'',  ΕΛΛΗΝΟ-ΙΝΔΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ, ΑΘΗΝΑ 2015)   

Old mean Ed Gein

''Dear Mister Manson, have you heard of or seen

A man of Wisconsin by the name of Ed Gein?

You helped me discover the Beatles and Stones,

But he turned me on to the beauty of bones.

At Sixteen my feelings for you haven't changed

But Ed Gein has shown me the meaning of strange.

I'm doing a term paper on him for school

How could he be such a square and so cool?''

[From ''CIVILISATION AND ITS DISCOTHEQUES'' (1987), by THE FIBONACCIS]

What the word 'Sensei' means

"In your study of Karate, no one will be more important to you than your teacher, your sensei. The word is made up of two ideograms, sen, which means 'ahead' or 'precede' and sei, which means 'life'. Put together they create a new word that means 'one who is ahead of you in life'. Your sensei, your teacher, is your elder and is deserving of respect.''

(''The Empty Hand, A KARATE WORKBOOK by Rui Umezawa, WEATHERHILL- New York - Tokyo 2001)

The Trickster

 "From the furthest Eastern clime

  Came the Ass in olden time,

  Comely, sturdy for the road,

  Fit to bear a heavy load.

Sing then loudly master Ass,

Let the tempting tidbit pass:

You shall have no lack of hay

And of oats find good supply.

Say Amen, Amen, good ass,

Now you've had your fill of game;

Ancient paths are left behind:

Sing Amen with gladsome mind.''

(Tertillian, Apologetica adversus gentes. From the book ''FOUR ARCHETYPES'' by C.G. JUNG. 1969 Princeton University Press)

The Tao and the monarch

''The ruler who wants to be above the people must speak of himself as below them. If he wants to be ahead of the people, he must keep himself behind them. Thus when the sage is above, the people do not feel him as a burden; When he is ahead, the people do not feel him as a hindrance."

(ALAN WATTS, ''NATURE, MAN AND WOMAN'')

A stage of growth

"Beyond the collective consciousness of humanity there is the all-embracing ocean of Universal Intelligence. Our evolution, taking place within the limitations of human intelligence, in order to reach the realm of Wholeness, must transcend the frontiers of its own past. The human dimension, which is the divine limitation, merely represents a stage of growth of the Spirit in its expansion towards the Supreme Understanding."

(''Enlightenment: Beyond Traditions'', by Aziz Kristof and Houman Emami, 1999)