The Sacred Science of Ancient Japan is released today
My first book, The Sacred Science of Ancient Japan, has been published. If you have any questions or comments about the book please leave a comment on this blog post.
Posted: January 24th, 2014 | Parahistory 25 Comments »
Congratulations, Avery! Will definitely want to pick it up sometime soon.
Is this the original text you wrote in 2012, or you have modified it recently? Do you still hold the same view from this book now?
Um… good questions. This is the text from 2012 with only minor revisions. I was hoping for a chance to rewrite the book last year, but never got it. I basically had to go it alone due to lack of other people writing about this topic, but if you are interested in the texts, or in how I link forgery back to Tradition, it may be worth reading.
As for whether I have grown smarter or wiser since 2012, I have probably gotten dumber, but reading Guénon has really brought me into a new world where I can grapple with bigger and more exciting questions about life.
I have read it, from Scribd.
“but reading Guénon has really brought me into a new world where I can grapple with bigger and more exciting questions about life.”
Can you please tell it detailedly?
I am currently reading the classics of Taoism, Tao te Ching and Zhuangzi, line by line in Chinese. I heartily recommend this. Zhuangzi in particular is full of metaphysical wisdom. Later this year I will be reengaging with the Buddhist tradition which I left behind for a while.
How is the metaphysical wisdom of Zhuangzi?
Pretty accurate.
How do you think about it compare to Buddhism?
They are often similar in places, but Taoism is entirely esoteric and it is hard for me to see what kind of practical advice is being given. Buddhism, of course, recommends the monastery.
Thanks Roy! I didn’t talk about the Tenrikyo origin story because there was too much stuff in there already, but I think you will find it broadens the genre of Japanese stories of origin.
Hi every,
I’m quite sure that I am posting this in the wrong place, but I’m not sure how else to get a message to you, so…
It appears that we have several connections.
We both know Shinichi Nakaya. My acquaintance with him goes back perhaps 25 years. I helped him only a little by checking his English, but I will always be grateful to him for providing me with some key introductions that I continue to benefit from to this day. I became fascinated with his approach to Shintoism at that time, and so now I’m happy to learn that he has found a worthy soulmate in you. And I can’t help but think it’s more than a coincidence that I heard you talk about The Sacred Science of Ancient Japan on Mysterious Universe not long ago. It was a great interview, and I’ve already told several people about the book.
The other connection we have is that you have dedicated a page in your blog to one of my English books. Instead of writing a long rebuttal, let me first apologize for anything that I have written that may have caused anyone to not to want to study English. It is certainly not my intention to discourage Japanese from studying English. However, I do understand how some people could be “scared away” from learning English. This is why I am constantly telling Japanese learners that they should try to learn correct English, but when they are actually communicating, if they understand and and are understood, then their English is good enough.
Perhaps another area that I could have done better in was pointing out that all the “mistakes” are not of the same degree or type. In many cases, my intention was to show areas where the Japanese could make slight changes to avoid–not necessarily misunderstandings, but gaps between the English and the intentions of the Japanese speaker. So while several examples may fail the test when two English sentences are compared, the gap becomes clearer when the English is compared with the Japanese. So I’d like to hope that the book is misunderstood to a lesser degree by the Japanese readers who are more aware of the different nuances.
My regrets regarding this book are somewhat but not completely diminished by the readers who have said they were encouraged to learn English by this book. However, to the degree that I didn’t make my intentions and approach clear enough and discouraged even one reader, I have regrets.
I think you and I have one more connection, and that is that we both have a desire to share our love of Japan with the world. You have found a way to do it in directly with your book and your blog, while I hope to be able to help Japanese learn English so that they can better express the virtues and values of Japanese culture, and thus have a positive influence on the world.
Finally, I hope that we can one day meet up in person, perhaps even with Shinichi. I would love to meet you for the first time and catch up with him again. If you could express to him my fond memories of our time together and my appreciation to him, I would be deeply indebted to you.
Many thanks,
:David Thayne
Avery, are you looking into the Mahayana branch of Buddhism, or one of the others?
Congratulations on your book, I’ll look into getting a copy.
We will be reading texts from every branch of Buddhism, although I have a lot of suggestions to make to the professors about the curriculum.
I just bought this book yesterday and had it finished by early this afternoon (highlighted & flagged). This is one of the most brilliant books I’ve read in a really long time. I cannot tell you how long I’ve searched for a book exactly like this. I have always had an unexplainable deep-rooted soul/heart love (ache) for Japan, as well as an almost obsessive drive to keep searching for lost esoteric knowledge.
This book hit so many spots that I’ve been wanting to scratch. I cannot even tell you how many things are in there that are things that I’ve known inside my whole life, but have never seen written anywhere else. There were several instances where I was suddenly crying hard and not understanding why, only that it was the first time I saw something outside of me verify something I knew inside of me, and it was such a relief.
Besides the texts themselves that you wrote about, much of your own commentary was so refreshing to read. So much more wisdom than I’m accustomed to coming across in this day and age. Any time I see such truth/heart in a person’s words, it always moves me to tears and inspiration.
Hi Jennifer! I am so happy to hear that my book hit all the right notes with you. You are exactly the kind of person I was trying to reach, and because it’s my first book I wasn’t sure if I was able to get my message across. I hope that in the future I can expand on these initial discoveries by finding practical ways we can learn from the Japanese tradition, and publicizing the untold stories of the great conveyors of this tradition to us. There is a whole world of knowledge out there, and we need it now more than ever. Thank you so much for your support.
Something I heard is that the ancient British King ‘Old King Cole’ has a statue somewhere in Japan. Someone you would find very interesting to make these connections with is the author Alan Wilson (and his co-author Baram Blackett). Alan has done many interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HfN2oplfUw
Nikie, thanks for the tips! I do think there is a lot of overlap here, and I will be looking into these writers. I tried to hunt down a photo of the Old King Cole statue but I’m not sure if it’s still there!
Hi! Old book of Japanese If you like, please see here. I am open to the public around the illustrations. You can see a little what translated modern language as much as possible.
http://eastern-old-books.com/
Hello, I listened to your talk on Dreamland. If you are not aware of Jean Gebsr’s work I suggest you take a look.
http://www.answers.com/topic/jean-gebser#ixzz1ayKnAmLE
If you contact me, I have an idea that may help you reach a wider audience through specific national interviews. The past indicating the present is a topic of much interest at this time. I have much love for Japan and what they can offer us now and in the future. A few moments, please. it will be in your hands. Via email, I will give you my phone number.
With respect,
Bill Walsh
Hello, Avery. I was an ESL teacher in Japan, so I envy your being able to remain in there for such a long time. I am a member of Sukyo Mahikari, and we have teachings about the ancient knowledge of the gods. We have many dojos in Japan, of course, and also in many other countries, including the U.S., where I am (D.C.). Thank you for this interesting book. I am now listening to your interview with Whitley Streiber. Best of luck to you! Vicky.T. http://www.sukyomahikari.org/
Hello Avery, thank you for your book, the kind of I’ve been looking for so many years. I visited the old site of the Koso Kotai jingu near Toyama more than 20 years ago and since then I couldn’t find much western litterature on Japan’s parahistory exept Nakazono books and teachings of the New Japanese religions. Of course, thanks to Michiyo Miwa, the works of Wado Kosaka have been published in English, Spanish and now in French (I am one of the translators). So I am happy to read such a serious and documented work as yours. Your blog is of great interest too. I will probably ask you questions after reading your book two or three times more if you don’t mind ! I feel that the world was waiting for such a scholar as you, congratulations. Marius
Hi Marius, it’s great to hear from you! You will find that I used both Nakazono and Kosaka as sources — in a manner I hope was judicious, although I realized after the fact that I should have used Hachiman Shoten’s Takeuchi compilation as my primary source. I also referenced a new book by Masafumi Kume which I found was excellent. Hope you enjoy the book and do write back with any and all questions.
This book was featured in Unknown Country and my interest was piqued when the feature mentioned the underwater pyramids also known as the Yonaguni Monument. I just completed your book and really enjoyed it, however I did not find anything in your book discussing Yonaguni. I’m very interested in this subject because a couple years ago I was watching a show on the monument and all of the sudden recalled a reoccurring dream I had as a child, and what I realized later was a past life recall. In the “dream” I was working with a group of beings, not quite physical but ethereal, and we were doing experiments with matter, focusing our attention and ability to manipulate matter in the Yonaguni rock, hence the strange angles and forms. I would intend the rock to move or “breathe” on it, and the rock would respond accordingly. I believe these were early experiments in allowing spirit to descend into matter and to understand how spirit affects and can work with mater in the physical world. In your research and work on the Katakauma documents, have you found any references to Yonaguni as well? Thanks so much for your research and your book, it was excellent.
Thanks for your comment! As I said on the show, I wanted to repeat what the Japanese books I read were saying, instead of inserting my own opinions too much, and nothing I read in Japan mentioned the Yonaguni monuments. But I am aware that those geometrical forms do have some resemblance to some of the ancient scripts I described. I bet there is much more that can be written about this subject. I’m glad you enjoyed the book!