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Suggestion Best Posts in Thread: German Swastika???

  1. mntnwolf

    mntnwolf DI Member

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    Oh, those are BUDDHIST swastikas, not Nazi. Those round stone things are monuments of Buddhist drums, common throughout East Asia; that face is of Bodhidharma, founder of "Zen" Buddhism some 1500 years ago; his image is often used as a folkish good-luck charm. See my own page: http://www.san-shin.org/China-Songshan-Bodhidharma.html The Mall-owner must be a Buddhist with Chinese roots.

    Swastikas were invented 3000 years ago in Persia, for Zoroastrianism (represents the Sun, as the Good God). Became a symbol in Indian Hindu arts, then a key symbol of Buddhism as that became a missionary religion about 250 BCE. German Nazis mis-appropriated it while claiming that the "Aryan Race" was originally from Persia / North India/Pakistan -- but theirs is shown backwards, rotating counter-clockwise. The holy ones, as above, are rotating clockwise.
     
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    mntnwolf, Jul 31, 2020
    #2
  2. Cerne

    Cerne DI Forum Adept

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    Yup, that’s the guy. Haven’t been to Aihole, and didn’t know one was there. So cheers for the tip. Perhaps after this all over. Here’s the one from Mahabalipuram.

    upload_2020-8-4_9-22-24.jpeg
     
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    Cerne, Aug 4, 2020
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  3. Philpots

    Philpots DI Senior Member Restricted Account

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    For anyone who is doubtful. .................. The swastika or sauwastika — as a character, 卐 (right-facing or clockwise) or 卍 (left-facing or counterclockwise) respectively — is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon in the cultures of Eurasia. It is used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.[1][2][3] In the Western world, it was a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck until the 1930s[4] when the right-facing tilted form became a feature of Nazi symbolism as an emblem of the Aryan race. As a result of World War II and the Holocaust, many people in the West still strongly associate it with Nazism and antisemitism.[5][6] Swastika still continues to be used as a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hindu and Buddhist countries such as Nepal, India, Mongolia, and China. Swastika is very commonly used in Hindu marriage ceremonies.
     
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    Philpots, Aug 1, 2020
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  4. NowandThen

    NowandThen DI Forum Adept Restricted Account

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    When I was the first time in Penang I saw a house with a big Sawistika on a building. Litte I knew at the time it had nothing to do with the Nazis. Of course I found out one day later. But at first sight it was quite shocking. So my thoughts were Malasyia is a muslim country, they don't like Jews (Israelis do not get a visa) and they allow nazism in the country. So I can imagine many of the first time visitors had the same thoughts.

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    Last edited: Aug 1, 2020
    NowandThen, Jul 31, 2020
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  5. jim787

    jim787 DI Senior Member

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    It's well you clarified quickly that there are no Nazi symbols on the Boulevard! You got the jump on me.

    Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal early on set up carpet-making workshops to stay together as communities and support themselves. The knots are not as dense as Middle Eastern carpets, but then they don't employ children. The marketing people learned that designs with the traditional border of the good luck symbol, the swastika (called yung-drung, and predating Buddhism in Tibet) was not selling at all in Europe.
    [Yes Jim. I was keeping my explanation simple, as it's a kinda endlessly deep subject in-total :-)]
     
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    jim787, Jul 31, 2020
    #5