Not All Swastikas Are the Same

[Jundo]

A Pure Land priest in New York is trying to educate people on the difference between the Nazi Swastika and the ancient Buddhist symbol ...

Nakagaki, now a prominent monk living in New York City, has ended his decadeslong personal prohibition of the word with his new book “The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler’s Cross,” aiming to educate the Western world about the symbol’s Eastern roots.

The book details the swastika’s Sanskrit origins, then delves into its use in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, predating by centuries Hitler’s Nazi propagation of the symbol.

Though the swastika comes in many orientations — some have dots, swirls or other marks — depending on the respective religion and culture, Buddhism’s standard version stands square on its facade with left-turning arms, while Hitler’s was right-turning on a 45-degree angle.

The book says Hitler’s swastika, a “Hakenkreuz,” which translates to “hook-cross,” has two meanings: “The victory of ‘Aryan man,'” and “the victory of ‘anti-Semitism.'”

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.XBkCimgzaUk

The symbol is still seen frequently here in Japan, as a mark to indicate Buddhist temples on maps (although the government here is phasing it out) ...



... and on artwork ...



Gassho, J

STLah

[Junkyo]

Thank you for sharing this Jundo! It is very interesting. We humans have a habit of reusing symbols, and they so often take on many meanings!

I will have to see if I can get a copy of the book.

Gassho,

Rob

SAT

Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

[Jishin]

Hi,

It is reasonable to expect the majority of jews to be averse to the symbol. This is ingrained in the jewish psyche. He knows this. Attempting to explain the symbol diminishes the importance of it to non jews. His intent is good but I can't say I approve

Gassho, Jishin, ST

[Shoki]

There is an old Catholic church in my town with swastikas in the floor tiles.


Gassho

ST/LAH

James

[Shinshi]

I read an article just the other day that Google Maps has this symbol to represent Buddhist places of worship and some people were upset.

I live in Navajo country and you see them with some regularity as it was a symbol they used, usually the one that goes the other way from the one that was used by the Third Reich. They are present on at least a couple of old buildings in downtown Farmington NM.

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Kokuu]

Hi all

I think it is very interesting to teach people about the history of this religious symbol but agree with Jishin that its modern associations in the west are not going to be quickly erased, and many people still associate fear and terror with a clockwise swastika. Its readoption by members of the far-right is not helping this.

My family had possession of a Nazi dagger with a swastika on the handle which was brought back from WWII by my grandfather. No one wanted to keep it and we donated it to some kind of war museum. Some symbols just have too much resonance, even for those of us removed from its power by some years.

That said, it is good for people to learn that the sauwastika which faces anti-clockwise has nothing to do with the Third Reich.

People of pre-Christian Europe actually have a similar symbol which represents the passage of the sun. It may be swastika-like or more contained in a wheel. It may have been derived from, or share an ancestor with, the Hindu symbol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_cross

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Kotei]

Thank you,

over here in Germany, the usage of this symbol for non-educational purpose is of course forbidden by law.

The Nazis were very good at stealing, bending and inventing historical 'facts' to underline their claim of power.
Some end of 19th century historians made the wrong assumption, that the wide spread of this symbol is a prove of the existence of a ancient world leading culture.
Together with the occurrence of it in Celtic and Germanic relation and wrong assumption of Germans being the heir of those, it was regarded as a kind of 'proof' of the 'historic' Arian/German leadership.

Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.

[Jishin]

Hi,

Benign intent is important. In this case outcome more so. Take pictures of all of the “benign” symbols and send them to Israel as a gift.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Ryushi]

This effort seems driven by a desire to be understood rather than to understand. Quixotic, at best.

Sat today. Gassho.

[Hoseki]

Hi folks,

Given that the symbol or like symbols (is a backwards "R" an "r"?) are still in use I think this is a good thing. Different populations were effected differently as a result of the war. So these symbols will have a different meaning across location and time. It makes sense to me to try to develop that understanding. On the bright side if it can be reclaimed as a symbol of peace we deny current Nazi's a potent symbol.

Gassho
Sattoday
Hoseki

[Anka]

The symbol is nothing and has no inherent meaning. It is our own experiences with the symbol that effects what it means to us. It is a shame it had been tainted for so many people. Explaining the history behind it is good for education but that doesn't change the fact that most people think of the Nazis when they see it. Unfortunately it is likely beyond recovery.

James F
Sat

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[Jishin]

The symbol is nothing and has no inherent meaning. It is our own experiences with the symbol that effects what it means to us. It is a shame it had been tainted for so many people. Explaining the history behind it is good for education but that doesn't change the fact that most people think of the Nazis when they see it. Unfortunately it is likely beyond recovery.

James F
Sat

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Tattoo this meaningless symbol on your forehead and then explain the meaning of it to others when they ask its meaning.

Gassho, Jishin, ST

[Hoseki]

The symbol is nothing and has no inherent meaning. It is our own experiences with the symbol that effects what it means to us. It is a shame it had been tainted for so many people. Explaining the history behind it is good for education but that doesn't change the fact that most people think of the Nazis when they see it. Unfortunately it is likely beyond recovery.

James F
Sat

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I don’t know about it never recovering. The further away we get from the holocaust the less we will feel the overt effects. We might just be all dead by then It might get swallowed by history as well.



Gassho
Sat today
Hoseki


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[Anka]

Jishin,

I am confused at what you are getting at. I agree with you that the symbolism behind the symbol has been tainted. When most people see it they think of the horrors that took place under it. While others still see it's more peaceful roots before it was tainted. The symbol holds no inherent meaning. It is us who assign meaning to it.

James f
Sat



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[Sekiyuu]

Benign intent is important. In this case outcome more so.

This effort seems driven by a desire to be understood rather than to understand.

Much more succinct than I could say it!

Your words can be intended to help, but you have to accept that those words are going to be interpreted by the audience, and you don't have control over that.

Another more lukewarm example is the use of "fraktur" fonts (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ldtfraktur.png), which to some people are seen as "nazi fonts". They are in fact a style of typeface that was used for centuries before the Nazis ever existed, and it's a typeface I encountered a lot while learning German. So to me it feels like the Nazis stole the symbolism of the typeface much like they did with the swastika. The funny thing is, the Nazis actually phased out the use of old-fashioned fraktur fonts in Germany in favor of modern helvetica-style fonts, so the association seems even weirder.

However, I also know practically no one knows this. I know that if I were to try to argue the point, or use a fraktur font, say on a logo, in a context which would look less "medieval german" and more "nazi", people would see the latter. It would be great if everyone learned the truth, but it's not really their responsibility, it's my responsibility to "read the room" and act appropriately. I also can't control where that logo is going to be seen, especially with the internet. It might be seen 100 or 1000 years from now, and I have no idea what the interpretation would be then.

Simply put, a critical part of any symbol, word, song, picture, poem, novel, or any other form of communication, is the context which it's being presented in. In the same way that we can't ever be 100% objective in our views, information is never 100% context-free.

Hopefully, someday Buddhists will outlive Nazis and the negative association will just be a quaint historical fact, but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon.

_/\_
Kenny
Sat Today