Tengu

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Son of mr. gordo

LadyHydralisk writes:


Years ago, around the same time I started looking under occult boulders to see what was behind the great mysteries I had been raised with, I began a search to find out some solid information about a mythical creature. The legend in question was that of the tengu of Japan. According to the information floating around on the internet, these were reputedly demon or goblin spirits who dwelled in the high mountains and forests of old Japan. Later I would discover stories closer to the truth, that they were not demons at all but powerful budo (way of war or martial arts) avatars highly regarded especially by the modern Bujinkan school lineage. The Bujinkan is an organization founded by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, its purpose preserves the nine unique and ancient lineages of martial arts he recieved from Toshitsugu Takamatsu.

"So what is the tengu connection to the ninja?" is the question that might arise in research of the tengu legend. In mythology of Japan, tengu are depicted as taking an interest in all ways of the warrior, samurai (Literal meaning: one who serves) or ninjas alike. The tengu are fierce protectors of Budo, and the periods in Japan which gave rise to the ninja included attempts by the government to do away with Budo and anyone who was a defender of it. The ninja, who were in all ways just samurai and commoners the government didn't agree with, were these defenders. It is easy to see the connection between these mortals, and the divine protectors of Budo, the Tengu, who could become more prominent as the ways of Budo were threatened by the government. Tengu are often depicted in pop culture of Tokyo as evil cohorts of the even more evil ninjas. At best they are seen as mischievious goblins or fallen warriors, which I came to know as a fallacy, I shall explain further.

Another interesting twist to the Tengu myth is their symbolism and appearance. Masks are a favorite craft in Japan, their work is famous worldwide for their sleek and uniquely stylized appearance. The masks for the tengu are depicted in one of two main styles, that of a red faced man with an extremely long nose and often times a cleft chin that looks suspiciously like a disguised phallic image, and that of the karasu (Literal meaning: Crow Spirit) The karasu is always shown as a bird's face, with a beak and often a special kind of hat worn by shinto priests that looks like a cup and ties under the chin. The tengu's hat is said to double as a drinking cup. Warriors, and drinking, it seems, go hand in hand, and the tengu also carry a magical sake gourd that never runs out of sake.

Tales abound about the tengu's magical abilities. Common ones include: The ability to call up storms with their magic fan. Their abilities of teleportation, shapeshifting and fighting, and the most coveted of gifts to mortals, the impartation of secret fighting techniques. Tengu have also been known to manifest physically and test warrior's skill by fighting them, in many legends, the most famous historical figures in which this occurred was the one with Miyamoto Musashi, author of the masterpiece on martial arts, The Book of Five Rings. In other cases the tengu possesses the body of a warrior and helps them to defend themselves or learn new movements.

I'm not very interested in the warrior way for my own practice, I must admit but some of the ancient prints and legends had me wondering about the tengu's true natures. The only way to know for sure, as I had exhausted the earthly source of information on them, was to contact a tengu myself, if they existed, and ask. I entertained the thought at first with caution, above all, tengu were feared in Japan, and generally made trouble wherever they went even so much as to cause tales about them kidnapping children (who they would later return). Well my friend Greg had been a follower of Budo for quite a few lifetimes, so I thought at the very least we would have that going for us.

The first time we attempted to informally evoke, and I mean informally as in "invite on over for a drink" we simply erected the circle and asked on the astral if some tengu would come on over. Many physical world phenomena did occur (of which I will go into more if someone wants to write a book) but generally overall the impression we got was that they had a good sense of humor, didn't really care for serious pomp and ritual and liked crass humor and drinking, they were also very very full of themselves..or so it seemed. For then we were satisfied with the fact that...yes, the tengu existed and yes, they were budo spirits. I made a website at their request that explained a little about them, and this same website was copied manifold around the internet...to this day you can find many of the tidbits that I dropped on that site in other's shrines to tengu on the web, particularily their connection to the Angwusi Hopi spirits, and their relationship (not similarity) to Kitsune, which is not a traditional Japanese legend, only a connection revealed in transmission by the tengu themselves.

Years after that ritual I and my fellow dharma misadventurer Greg decided to take it a little further and invoke them into a sex scene, which was a great success, considering many higher vibration entities absolutely refuse or are offended by physical sexual rituals of a coarser nature. We did this several times over the course of a few years, and it was always a magical and enlightening experience, though little verbal exchange took place, we both noticed a connection being established within the tengu social circle and our household, as they would drop by and leave a message or check on us during times of change. They are connected to storms, and as such these visits were always accompanied by sudden thunderstorms and interesting phenomena.

The tengu are powerful and magical warrior spirits, never destructive without reason but quite ruthless to their enemies, and downright mean in their pranks. They have absolutely no fear of anyone or anything, and care little for offerings or ritual outside of sex (via consensual posession) and proper Budo training.

At one point, and more recently a tengu visitor decided he wanted to walk around our house and talk for a few hours (again via invocation and posession of the host body) Here I must relay that all of the tengu who have visited are male, there do not seem to be any female tengu, or, rather no tengu with a female nature, as biological reproduction does not exist for them.

I've taken the time to write out a few of the questions that were answered in the last third of a three hour conversation. These are by one of the more recent visitors, a tengu (no name given) that we had never met before. So here they are in no particular order:

Q. "Are you creatures of duality?"
A. "No."

Q. "Are you like elementals or angels or something?"
A. "We're sort of like angels...angels of death. (laughter) No, if you saw an angel you would be surprised, they are terrifying to most humans and not pleasant to be around."

Q. "Do you have a free will?"
A. "Yes." (smiles)

Q. "So how would you describe yourself?"

A. "We came here a long time before humans existed." At this point in the conversation the visitor sort of faded out and came back and said dramatically "The tengu are like a club. We all know each other and we're all friends...and" (fades out again) "Are we going to have sex again?" (I answer "um, no") "Well as I said, the tengu all know each other, and right now there are alot of them arguing about us. This (sex via possession oppurtunity) doesn't happen very often and they want me to share you.", he explained. "So as you asked...a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, (joke) there was a race of creatures who looked much like the birds you have here, and that is where we originally came from. But that was a long long time ago, and we were different."
We went on some tangent about other personal topics which lead to something about happiness and how to attain it. Tengu: "Well do you know how to play jokes? Laughter is a taste of happiness. Also, when you smile, you cause emotion in yourself which can lead to happiness. Make sure that when you smile it is not an empty smile. Humans don't know how good they have it. Happiness cannot be found in material belongings, you know this but others (the ones we were speaking of) do not fully know that yet. A poor man can be much happier than a wealthy man provided he does not lust after what the wealthy man has. You have many nice trees around here, you should be glad for that."


Q. Somehow we got onto the topic of ego, tengus are renowned for their arrogant nature and proud behavior.

A. "Tengu have egos, but it is a pretend ego. It's just for fun. Humans need to strive to be less egotistical first."

Q. "Why do you like sex so much?"

A. "Power. Sex is a gift. Humans are lucky, you can have sex any time you want...other animals have to wait, sometimes a year and then they only have sex once or twice."
Q. "You don't like any other relaxing activities?"

A. "I enjoy fighting."


Q. "I never really got that."

A. "I cannot die."

Q. "How many tengu are there?"

A. "There can be as many or as few of us as we desire"

Q. "So you take care of Budo practitioners?"

A. "We are followers of the way. Humans have forsaken the warrior, and there is little need or desire for us."

Q. "You mean forever?" (for humans)

A. "Not forever. More are coming."

Q. "So you visit other galaxies or do you just stay around here?"

A. "We can fly."



After a bit said he needed to leave (the invocation process is quite taxing for the human side at least) and we said farewell.

Keep in mind this leaves out a lot of the really interesting bits, such as the behavioral nuances and phenomena occurring during the invocation, as well as the subtle conversational additions you can really only appreciate in person. They are quite amazing and wild creatures and unlike any being I have interacted with, more tangible than the high and ancient god consciousnesses and definitely more fun to be around than the next door neighbors.

If you want to give it a shot I recommend you have an offering ready such as sex, hopefully you have a partner ok with that otherwise I'm not sure how you'll manage. They also like alcohol but prefer sake specifically. The Japanese Aralia (fatsia japonica) is sacred to the Tengu in Japanese lore, as well as "high pine trees" probably any pine tree but perhaps meaning some mountainous species. They don't like formality outside of proper Budo training and will harass and play jokes in the event of anything they perceive as ridiculous or unnecessary ceremony, so be forewarned. It's also helpful if at least one of the magicians is trained in an old martial art and is well-versed in the warrior way. In Japan, they are strongly associated with the Golden Eagle, Raven and Crow and with Yamabushi (mountain priests).

They are extremely curious and you can expect at least one or two to check you out if you send out a request. It took me a few years to learn how to get them to stick around, and it may take some time before they will talk at length. One reason I reccomend them is they are a bit more exciting than your average magical being, highly intellectual yet never dangerous as demonic evocation can be, and definately not as difficult. Also despite all of their reputation they have a high sense of honor and won't ever cross certain lines. They're very persuasive and have strong wills though, so beware of that, if you're easily intimidated or scared it might not be a pleasant experience. I will vouch for the fact that they are completely safe to work with if you go into it with humility.

Also what is needed is experience in invocation and astral/mental projection techniques. Telepathic ability is also very helpful.


Have fun

http://www.thetengu.com/ladyhydralisk/tengu.htm

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Son of mr. gordo

Vergessenheit writes:


Wow, your article is amazing! I've been interested in Japanese mythology/religion/magick for a long time, and one of my main interests is the Tengu. I studied Ninpo and Ninjutsu for a while, so my interest was really piqued when I read a book detailing the Tengus' relationship with the Ninja.

Do you have any more information regarding Japanese myth and/or magick? I can't believe no one seems interested in this!

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Son of mr. gordo

Albino Crow writes:


Verg is very right. This article is phenomenal! I too have had an interest in the Tengu amidst a fascination for Japanese culture as a whole, and the thought never crossed my mind with contacting them astrally. I've studied Traditional Shotokan Karate for nearly a decade, but I don't have much experience with evoking energies at the moment. When I feel the time is suitable, I surely plan to acquaint myself with the Tengu.

It's also amazing that Miyamoto Musashi, the swordsman of legend is tied in with them. I was Familiar with Hatorri Hanzo's connection with them, but as far as samurai go I was completely unaware. Amazing read!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Son of mr. gordo

The Tengu writes:


I had taken the tengu site LadyHydralisk is referring to down temporarily. I will put it back up.

The address is http://www.thetengu.com/tengu

8-)

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Son of mr. gordo

The Tengu writes:


It's also amazing that Miyamoto Musashi, the swordsman of legend is tied in with them. I was Familiar with Hatorri Hanzo's connection with them, but as far as samurai go I was completely unaware. Amazing read!
A famous tengu also taught Minamoto Yoshitsune.

There are other famous budoka and warriors who were taught by tengu. Not all of them are from Japan, either.

[Occult Forum Archive]

Original post: Sharandarikali

Also related to this is Ra-Hoor-Pa-Kraat of The Book of the Law who has the same kind of intelligence to go along with this personality, and Garuda, who was a huge influence on the importation of giant bird warriors to Japan.

I was translating the book of the law, just fiddling a bit with it and I stumbled upon this line:

III,2: There is division hither homeward; there is a word not known. Spelling is defunct; all is not aught. Beware! Hold! Raise the spell of Ra-Hoor-Khuit!

I anagrammed it somewhat after thinking of Nephele Carnal:

"Raise the spell of Kah-Roo-tiu-ah!" (garuda)

Previously a few months prior to studying the book I encountered a gold eagle man in italian style armor who fit the description of Horus more than a regular tengu...so it was very interesting.

[manonthepath]

Has anyone read "The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts?"

[Asurendra]

Yes, I have. I would not take it as a literal instruction by the Tengu.

[manonthepath]

No, but it could certainly have been inspired by interactions with Tengu. At least that is how I've come to view the information. Growth and learning are funny things. The source is often more subtle than is generally perceived. Asurenda, what are your thoughts on Tengu?

[Desecrated]

I would sincerely ask you to do some research into Masaaki Hatsumi. The guy is a know fraud.

[Ramscha]

Like this?

I am more or less a layman regarding this matter, but there are quite many links regarding this matter when you only type it into google.
Since I also had some years of judo practice I read through some of them, the accusation is rather clear.

However, one thing (maybe I am too soft): but who cares as long as his fighting style works out how he claims that it should. I try to look at the insults from a more moderate perspektive: Ancient techniques and scrolls are a good hook for getting known by the people, it is a simple marketing trick even if it is a fraud.
I admit I don't know his fighting school, what I said was only a general statement to the fraud thing.

Ramscha

[manonthepath]

The word "Fraud" is used all too often in Ninjutsu circles. Many, who have contributed much to other's learning have had this leveled at them by those whom they have never met. Although I've never met Hatsumi, I have trained closely with several, who have. Regarding the salient issue of lineage, who really gives a shit anyway? Ashida Kim is attacked all the time, while his teachings are close to flawless. Sadly, this great practitioner has allowed the attacks against his credibility to damage his psyche. The mutual attacks and general animousity between Steven Hayes and Ronald Duncan has done terrible damage to the art on levels that will be felt for generations. The simple reality is that we need to be grateful to those who often teach us for FREE!!!!! Think about all the free articles on the net. What about all the free stuff on Youtube that often goes unappreciated. Think about all the cheap books available and the revelation of so much that has been closed for so long. Without men like Hatsumi we would be much more in the dark on this and other matters as well. To publicly call someone a fraud without having this person standing in front of you is cowardice. To call a man you've never even met a fraud is plainly unfair and stupid. Instead of judging, perhaps we might want to exercise more gratitude, huh?