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Eastern Mythology Culture: Reincarnation
The civilizations of Eastern mythology are some of the oldest civilizations in the world. It
is important to stand out that the majority of the beliefs of these civilizations can be traced back
in ancient times. Most of Eastern myths are not seen as myths that involve death, but rather they
are part of everyday life, which plays an important and necessary role in all aspects of the
afterlife in this culture. Eastern mythology includes Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, and
Japanese mythology.
The belief in reincarnation, which was already widespread in India in the time of Buddha,
was refined and developed since Buddhism originated in the North of India in the sixth century
BC. The spread of Buddhism across Asia shows how religion was developed in its myths, and
also it grows under the influence of different cultural conditions. The Buddhism and the practice
that originated this culture, is what makes people of this continent get together, more than any
other factor. Brahma is considered as the Supreme Being, and the god of gods. Brahma, Vishnu,
and Shiva are the most important manifestations to Buddhism. In some verses of the Vedas,
some of Brahma’s attributes are also given to other deities, and it is also said that there are some
other gods just like Brahma. However, Brahma is considered by the Hindus as the Supreme God.
In the beginning, Brahma was the universe, he created the gods. Having created the gods, he then
put them in the two different worlds: Agni, in the atmospheric world, and Vayu and Surya in the
sky. Brahma then departed to the highest world in the universe called Satyaloka, which was the
most excellent and far away from all the worlds. The gods were originally mortal, but when they
were touched by Brahma, they became immortal. Vishnu is known as the second god of the
Trimurti, but despite being the second god, he was not considered inferior to Brahma. As
Brahma’s main task was creation, Vishnu’s was the preservation, and Siva’s the destruction.
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Vishnu, however, created, preserved, and destroyed. Though in three different ways, Vishnu had
several reincarnations. The first was as a fish, then as a turtle, the third as a wild boar, and the
fourth as a lion. The fifth reincarnation was as a dwarf, the sixth was as a warrior, the seventh as
Rama, and the eighth as Krishna. The last two reincarnations were very important to the Hindu
tradition. For some Hindu, and for Buddhists, Buddha was the ninth reincarnation of Vishnu. The
Hindu were still expecting a next reincarnation of Vishnu called Kalki, who was supposed to
punish the bad people around the world. Shiva is the third god of the Hindu triad. Being Brahma
the creator, and Vishnu the preserver, the destructor was missing. Therefore, destruction was
considered as Shiva’s function. However, according to the teachings of Hinduism, death itself
does not imply death, meaning that when someone dies, that person is no longer going to exist in
this world, but rather when someone dies, is a shift to a new way of life. One, who destroys,
