Here is a little story about my sacred animal.
Treasures of the Unicorn by Ted Andrews
THE EASTERN UNICORN
Like a lion without fear or the howling pack,
Like a gust of wind, never trapped in a snare.
Like a lotus blossom, never sprinkled by water.
Like me, like a unicorn, in solitude roam.
(Hymn of Buddha)
Before creation, the universe was an egg. Heaven and earth were together. The stars and planets were one. But all eggs hatch, and when the egg of the universe cracked, chaos spilled out. Heaven and earth separated. The stars and the planets split.
In an ancient Chinese creation myth, it took P'an Ku, the first god/human, 18,000 years to create our present universe and earth from that chaos. He was assisted in this by the four most fortunate animals - the dragon, the phoenix, the tortoise and the unicorn.
The Four Sacred Beasts
When P'an Ku was done, he died. The dragon swam into the seas. The tortoise crawled into the swampy wetlands. The phoenix took to the sky and flew to the open lands. The unicorn galloped into the green forests. These four animals became the guardians to the hidden realms upon the earth and those places beyond, and their strength is undiminished by contact with humans.
In theEast, the unicorn is more ancient than those records of it within the western world. There are many more tales of unicorn miracles and wonders than there ever were in the West. China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam all had tales and teachings of the unicorn. In parts of the Middle East (ancient Persia, Iran, Iraq, and Arabia), there arose great tales of the unicorn as well. In China the unicorn was called Ch'i Lin or K'i Lin. In Japan it was known as the Kirin or Sin-you. In Persia, it was called Karkadann.
Although quite different in appearance than the western unciron, the eastern unicorn shared many of its wondrous characteristics. The eastern unicorn, for example, was a solitary animal. In Eastern traditions, the unicorn sprang from the centre of the earth, the first and most perfect of the 360 land creatures. The unicorn's gentleness prevented it from treading upon an insect or eating fruit. It was so sensitive it could feel the weight of a shadow cast by the light of the moon. All animals became tame around it. Fire and rain did the unicorn's bidding, and when it plucked a leaf, two more grew in its place. The voice was sweet and delicate, with the sound of a thousand wind chimes.
The eastern unicorn always reaches its destination, never falling into pits or traps, so was honored as a great spiritual guide through life. In the East, there arose a belief that once the unicorn was tamed, no other animal would ever know terror again. As long as humans displayed greed, anger, and war, and hunger was about, the unicorn would remain hidden, wild and reclusive. During evil times, it appears only when a great change is about to occur.
In China, the Ch'i Lin has a multicoloured body and is an animal of great power and wisdom, walking so softly its hooves make no sound. It is so soft hearted it does not want to crush the blades of grass beneath its feet. Avoiding fighting at all costs, its voice sounds like a thousand wind chimes and it can live for 1000 years.
The unicorn of the East is occasionally linked with the tigress and lioness. Although not always a compatible relationship in Western lore, in the East it is. The tiger is fierce, grand creature in Eastern tradition, its courage and ferocity often unmatched. The tiger is considered a yang (male) creature, as opposed to the yin (female) unicorn and fights the earthly demons which encourage humans to kill the Ch'i Lin. Lion and lioness are very similar, fighting for wisdom and truth and scaring away demons with tooth and claw.
Japan's version of the unicorn, the Kirin or Sin-you, had more of a lion's sinew. Although the Kirin was normally shy and would take large detours to avoid confrontations, the Sin-you unicorn was not so timid. Noted for its ability to know right from wrong, it was often called upon to determine guilt. If an individual were guilty, the Sin-you would fix its eyes upon him and pierce the guilty person with its horn.
In Taoism and other mystical Eastern traditions, there rose a variety of teachings in art and dance to honor all of nature, and this included the unicorn and all sacred beasts. In Vietnam, a yearly unicorn dance is held on the full moon of the eighth month, the time when all of creation holds its breath in anticipation of the monsoon season. People put on masks and costumes to conceal their identity. When their spirits are high, they tie an effigy of the unicorn to a platform. Archers then shoot at it while singing the effigy son. After the song, the rains would begin.
EFFIGY SONG
The unicorn's hoofs!
The duke's sons throng.
Alas for the unicorn!
The unicorn's brow!
The duke's kinsmen throng.
Alas for the unicorn!
The unicorn's horn!
The duke's clansmen throng.
Alas for the unicorn!
The unicorn, as with other sacred beasts and with most animals of nature, became the basis of martial arts forms, healing techniques, sexual positions, and dances. These physical movements served to invoke the energy of the creature more strongly, as we discussed briefly in the previous chapter. More intricate dances along with some of their applications will be examined more fully ....
The Ch'i Lin shows itself at particular times. When a ruler is just and kind and the times peaceful and prosperous, the unicorn will appear in a glade as a sign of good fortune. It will also appear in a similar location when a great leader is about to be born or die. The Chi'i Lin appeared to be the mother of Confucius.
Approximately 2,500 years ago, during the Chou dynasty, a young woman by the name of Yen Ching-tsai made a visit to a temple. While praying in the temple, she went into a trance and five men appeared before her. The air about them shimmered like water and was filled with the scent of cinnamon. The five men led a strange looking animal, the Ch'i Lin. It stepped forward and nuzzled her hand. A tiny jade tablet dropped into her hand. As he nuzzled her hand, the Chi' Lin pulled a ribbon from her hair. On one side of the jade tablet was a message similar to the following:
The son of the essence of water shall succeed to the withering Chou
and he will become a throneless king\.
The young Yen Ching-tsai, the "essence of water", would give birth to K'ung Fu-tze, or Confucius. In yet another version, the mother of Confucius was walking with two maids when the Ch'i Lin appeared. She took a fine ribbon from her hair and hung it over its horn and the creature became calm and centered. It walked about her three time and then disappeared. Eleven months after this encounter, Confucius was born.
Many of the great leaders of the East were associated with the unicorn, including Confucius, Genghis Khan, and Huang Ti (The Yellow Emperor), the mythical first emperor of China. He developed the calendar, was considered the first builder of houses, initiated the higher metamorphosis of China's state of being, and came to symbolize fame, progress.
The emperor Fu Hsisaw the magical Ch'i Lin across the Yellow River. It had the scales of a dragon and a silver horn. As Fu Hsi watched, muddy waters became as clear as glass wherever the unicorn stopped, and it left a trail of emeralds wherever it walked.
The unicorn stood in front of Fu Hsi and stomped its foot three times. Its back was covered with strange writings and magical signs and symbols. Fu Hsi reported that the unicorn's voice was like a monastery bell, and the writings on its back would become the first written language of China. Fu Hsi would also introduce musical instruments and the trigrams of the mysterious I Ching into the Chinese culture.
By the Middle Ages most of the people of China were very familiar with the unicorn, and some of the reports of its appearance had an unusual and often humorous aspect. When Chinese sailors reached East Africa in 1415, they heard stories of the horned creature that they knew of as the Ch'i Lin and were surprised because Africa was so different from China.
The Africans spoke of an animal with the body of a deer, a long neck, and a single horn. It was graceful, gentle, and seldom spoke or made noises, and was reported to be 18 feet tall. It was also given to hiding among the mimosa. This African unicorn turned out to be the giraffe.
Vernon G. Atkinson
[email protected]
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