Rex Quondam, Rexque Futurus Celtic Tradition – Britain and France There was a time when the land of the Britons was thrown into chaos. It was when the empire collapsed under a band of inept and corrupt rulers, in cahoots with a few great merchants equally sick with greed, who did not leave the…
The Shambhala Warriors Tibetan Buddhism My best friend, Drugu Choegyal Rinpoche, gave me this teaching. It’s from the Kâlachakra Tantra and it’s about the emergence of the Kingdom of Shambhala. In this particular interpretation, by my friend from Tashi Jeong, the term ‘Shambhala Warriors’ arises. It is obvious that is a metaphor for…
The Legend of Ibn Marwân and Judith Al-Andalus – Spain Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhámmad ibn Marwân ibn Yunus al-Yiliqi al-Maridi had too long a name, like many other people of his time, the 9th Century. But people knew him simply as Ibn Marwân al-Yiliqi; that is to say, ‘the son of Marwân, the Galician’,…
The Two Machi Mapuche People – Chile and Argentina The machi are the religious doctors who live in our Mapuche Nation. They communicate with the supernatural world of spirits and with the Mapu, the land of the Mapuche men and women. Many years ago, when I was a small child, I went on…
The Crane’s Purse Russia Long ago, in a cold northern region, an old woman and an old man lived in a ramshackle hut on the outskirts of a village. They were very poor, and they no longer had much strength to cultivate the little piece of land surrounding their house. As a result, they…
The Legend of Bonki Sámi People – Sápmi (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia) Bonki thought that he might be the last noaidi, the last shaman of the Sámi tradition, although in truth he had forgotten many of the traditions and rituals that he had seen as a child. He was now old and memory…
The Origin of Evergreen Trees Buryat People – Russia, Mongolia and China At the beginning of time, Father Sky had two sons, whom he called Ulgen Tenger and Erleg Khan. To Ulgen he gave the dominion of the Upper World, while to Erleg he gave the dominion of the Underworld. The world, at…
Kytna Went After her Daughter Koryak People – Russia Kytna was already old when it all happened. She lived with her old husband and her adult daughter in Kichiga, a small fishing village on the isthmus of the Kamchatka Peninsula. One day Kytna’s daughter, Ralinavut, went out for a walk and did not…
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Classical Greece Once upon a time there was a mouse who lived in the country and was happy to have everything he needed to make a living. Without having to work, he could enjoy the seeds that the fields gave him and the wild berries that grew…
The Emerald Lizard Guatemala Once upon a time there was a holy man who lived at the foot of a mountain range, among the Lord’s innocent creatures and the poor of the region came to him with their tribulations. On a morning like this, a needy Indian approached him demanding to appease the hunger…