Birds play an important symbolic role because they travel in 3 of the 5 traditional elements: air, earth and water. In mythology, the Celestial Bird adds the element of space to that repertoire and the Phoenix, fire.
The Hamsa is a celestial bird that is the vehicle of Indian deities, Brahma and Saraswati. It most often depicted today as a swan -- sometimes the word is translated by gander [male goose] but it is not to be considered an ordinary bird at all. Mythologist Joseph Campbell, entitling one of his books Flight of the Wild Gander, was referring to this bird.
Their remarkably expressive voices, variety of form and sometimes spectacular coloration contributes to the prestige and mythological importance of birds. For example, the Kalavinka is a bird of a Buddhist paradise whose voice is described in part 16 of Ashvaghosha's Acts of the Buddha as the most beautiful of all voices -- so clear and melodious.
After becoming popular in 9th-century Japan, a Chinese T'ang dynasty opera featuring the kalvinka became known by that name. It is still being performed today. Four little boys with wings and flowery crowns play little cymbals that are intended to imitate the kalavinka's timbre.
Besides mythological birds of the celestial class that include the hamsa, the garuda and the kalavinka, many ordinary kinds of bird, such as the peacock, dove, goose -- especially the beautifully marked bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) -- and the ruddy [reddish] duck, the parrot, owl, crow, raven, vulture, eagle, cuckoo, crane and the common cockerel (gallus, rooster) also figure prominently in mythology, folklore, literature and iconography.
Behavior
Important meaning is attached to the behaviour of birds. For example, the surface of Sikkim's Khecheod-palri Lake is surrounded by trees but it is kept stainless as a mirror. As soon as a leaf falls on the water's surface, a guardian bird arrives to snatch it away. Here, the lake can be compared to our stainless Buddha Nature, and the tidying birds are like our attentiveness to our own mental states.
In the cultures of Asia, no creature is considered more sexually active than a bird. A **** is any male bird. Not surprisingly, it is an English slang word for the male organ.
The Pair
Birds are also seen as symbolic of fidelity, duty and devotion. Who has not been impressed with the lengths to which parents will go to guard the nest and care for their hatchlings? But also, many birds pair off for a lifetime.
A pair of birds is a way of depicting fidelity all over the world.
This duality is taken in a different direction with the image of a bird with two heads. For example, in thangkas (Tibetan painted scrolls) sometimes there appear two double-headed birds. The parrot represents two early masters, Kawa Peltsek and Choro Lu'i Gyeltsen, who first rendered the Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan from Sanskrit. The other is a duck that stands for two 8th-century Indian masters, Shantarak****a and his student, Kamalashila.
Metamorphosis
There are many folktales in which women or men transform into birds, especially swans. The Brothers Grimm collected a tale about a sister who had to make shirts that would keep her brothers in human form. The ballet, Swan Lake has two swan maidens under the spell of an owl magician. This type of motif often derives from sacred teachings or mythology. Here, the metamorphosis is suggested by this very ancient Mycenaen [very early Greek] image of three goddesses, who seem to have arrived in the form of 3 swans. They are presenting an offering to their champion.
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