FW: Deepa Mehta's _Fire_

[Paul Kekai Manansala]

Erik Hoogcarspel wrote:
>
> Op dinsdag, 12-jan-99 schreef Paul Kekai Manansala:
>
> PKM> Mahacina does not necessarily refer to China.
>
> To which other places you think that would be

Mahacina could refer to Assam, Tibet, Burma and other areas to the
northeast of India.  All these locations have been speculated on as well
as others.

Regarding your other statements, I have said that Tantric texts refer
to Tantric influences from Mahacina, which is correct.  I never fully
stated that all that is Tantrism came from there, although there are a
few texts that do claim Tantrism originated in Mahacina.

I totally disagree with your views on Tantrism in China. The whole body
of Japanese tantrism came first from China.  Also, Taoist ideas about
sex may be different in some ways from those of Tantrism, but there are
also many similarities that can hardly be found anywhere else.

There is no need to refer me to "Tibetologists" or "Sinologists" if you
by that you mean the standard Western views.  These are and have long
been controlled by strong bias that do not allow openly for ideas that
contradict their world view.  The latter tends to have a monodirectional
and racial view of the flow of culture.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala