Tibetan Oracles: Fact or Fiction? :: Tibet Oracle Oracles Essays

Tibetan Oracles The miraculous feats of the Tibetan oracles are well known sources of mysticism. Stories of men who can bend metal swords with their bare hands, dance wildly and proclaim the future have piqued the curiosity and fascination of many. However, most rationale people will question, how real is the Tibet oracle? Are these men really visited by the deities who they claim to be visited by or are they merely masters of illusion? â€Å"The desire to know the future is probably as old as the human race. Early cultures all over the world have left fragments of evidence telling us that divination was of paramount importance in their daily lives.† (Housdan, 7) This desire causes most Tibetans to fervently believe in the power of these oracles. Like most other cultures, the Tibetans are curious about the future and use the methodology of the Oracle as a means for divination. The Tibetan oracles are highly respected members of the community whom the Tibetans consult to find out the future of their own lives as well as the future of the Tibetan country. Despite the Tibetan’s belief in the spiritual nature of the trance, anthropologists who have studied it have been able to come up with other explanations for the trance state that do not involve the religious belief in spirit possession. These explanations often involve subjects such as psychology and neurology that look at the physiological state of the body during the trance. Through scientifically analyzing the trance state, it raises the question of whether or not the oracles who enter into these trances are able to do so intentionally and if an oracle can willfully enter into a trance, then how does an oracle become valid? The Tibetan oracles are both sources of mysticism but they have also been sources of great controversy in Tibet for these questions involving the authenticity of the oracle. The traditional Tibetan belief is that Tibetan deities will take possession of men or women in society who act as mouthpieces of the gods. â€Å"Spiritual possession is defined as an altered state of consciousness that is characterized by desertion of a person’s original personality, followed by temporary replacement of another.†(AvRuskin, 286) The god enters into the body of the medium and the medium will enter a trance-like state during which the deity is using the mediums body as a tool. Tibetan Oracles: Fact or Fiction? :: Tibet Oracle Oracles Essays Tibetan Oracles The miraculous feats of the Tibetan oracles are well known sources of mysticism. Stories of men who can bend metal swords with their bare hands, dance wildly and proclaim the future have piqued the curiosity and fascination of many. However, most rationale people will question, how real is the Tibet oracle? Are these men really visited by the deities who they claim to be visited by or are they merely masters of illusion? â€Å"The desire to know the future is probably as old as the human race. Early cultures all over the world have left fragments of evidence telling us that divination was of paramount importance in their daily lives.† (Housdan, 7) This desire causes most Tibetans to fervently believe in the power of these oracles. Like most other cultures, the Tibetans are curious about the future and use the methodology of the Oracle as a means for divination. The Tibetan oracles are highly respected members of the community whom the Tibetans consult to find out the future of their own lives as well as the future of the Tibetan country. Despite the Tibetan’s belief in the spiritual nature of the trance, anthropologists who have studied it have been able to come up with other explanations for the trance state that do not involve the religious belief in spirit possession. These explanations often involve subjects such as psychology and neurology that look at the physiological state of the body during the trance. Through scientifically analyzing the trance state, it raises the question of whether or not the oracles who enter into these trances are able to do so intentionally and if an oracle can willfully enter into a trance, then how does an oracle become valid? The Tibetan oracles are both sources of mysticism but they have also been sources of great controversy in Tibet for these questions involving the authenticity of the oracle. The traditional Tibetan belief is that Tibetan deities will take possession of men or women in society who act as mouthpieces of the gods. â€Å"Spiritual possession is defined as an altered state of consciousness that is characterized by desertion of a person’s original personality, followed by temporary replacement of another.†(AvRuskin, 286) The god enters into the body of the medium and the medium will enter a trance-like state during which the deity is using the mediums body as a tool.