Make yourself comfortable.
You can close your eyes and relax your feet and hands.
If you like you can press your hands together.
For today's goddess also likes to pray and meditate.
In today's meditation we travel to the land of the cherry blossom trees.
Have you ever ridden a sea serpent?
Now is your chance.
Do not be afraid for these sea serpents are friends.
Imagine yourself standing on the shore.
The water is crystal clear and you can see rocks here and there with moss growing on them.
The sea serpent arrives and waits that you can get a good grip on the scales on his back.
It is a beautiful creature.
The scales shine in blue and green in the sunlight.
Riding on the sea serpent is bit like being on a very exciting train.
Serpent moves like a dancer,
Slithers above the water between the bright pink water lilies.
The turtle is a good luck symbol in Japan.
They swim slowly and pass you by and you admire their beautiful shields with ancient patterns.
Then it is time to dive.
Since you are in the kingdom of Benzaiten,
The Japanese goddess of good fortune.
She is also known as Benton.
Here you have the ability to breathe underwater.
The serpent swims through colorful coral reefs.
Feast your eyes with the anemones,
The starfish and the seaweeds.
The serpent takes you to sunken boats and ships where mermaids lurk and smile at you through the silt-covered window.
Then the other serpents arrive.
The race begins and for a moment it feels like being on a roller coaster.
Up and down,
Up and down and then everything stops and you start to hear music.
Someone is playing a flute on the distance.
It is the most beautiful sound you have ever heard.
Serpents swim back to the surface and then you arrive to a foreign beach.
There's a tropical forest opening in front of your eyes.
Peacocks walking on the shore.
There is mangrove trees wrapped up in mysterious shapes.
There are caves and actual dragons fly in and out without a care in the world.
Rainbow butterflies flying in the air from a flower to flower and then there is Bensaiten sitting on a throne made from pearls.
Bensaiten rules everything that flows.
Water,
Time,
Words,
Speech,
Eloquence,
Music and knowledge.
Waves are falling at her feet and winds are calling at her name.
The goddess of the flowing water and the flowing thoughts,
She is still today one of the most beloved goddesses of Japan.
The origins of Bensaiten are in India and she was brought to Japan by the Buddhist in the 6th century.
Originally she was Sarasvati,
The Hindu goddess of water.
In Japan she gained multiple symbols and meanings.
For many years Bensaiten served as the protector goddess of geishas and she is often depicted to look like one.
She wears silken robes.
In the 17th century her statues grew when wealthy merchants and businessmen adopted her as their sacred patron goddess.
She came the goddess of wisdom.
For the educated classes she is the goddess of luck and prosperity.
When you look at the goddess she has some features which still tell about her Indian background for Bensaiten has several pairs of hands.
Four,
Six and even eight hands.
Two of her hands are usually pressed together in a prayer signifying her devoting nature.
In her other hands she is holding various objects.
A key,
A jewel,
Either a pearl or jade,
A sword,
A bow,
An arrow,
A wheel,
A silken rope and a flute.
She also holds a biwa,
Traditional Japanese mandolin.
In Japan there are many temples dedicated to Bensaiten.
They are often located near a body of water.
In Inokashira Park in Tokyo there's a dragon shaped statue of Bensaiten located on a pond where visitors can wash coins to attract love and prosperity.
Since Bensaiten is closely associated with monetary fortune it is a tradition to literally cleanse money through washing.
It is through this cleansing that the money will be able to reproduce itself and increase in number.
It is also a way to wash away impurities as Bensaiten is believed to have powers of cleansing darkness from material desires.
There are also coin washing traditions in many of her shrines.
She has existed 1,
500 years as the goddess of beauty,
Grace,
Love and creativity.
She has inspired musicians,
Artists and creative souls and the lovers too and of course the dreamers.
Do you have struggles in your relationships?
Bensaiten promotes happiness in relationships in Japan.
She is told to aid women who are looking for happiness in their married lives or to resolve problems with their partners.
She is not like her Western counterparts,
The Lao goddesses who are all about passion,
But she represents more practical side of relationships and communication.
The goddess asks you to approach her.
She bows and you bow her.
In one of her hands she is holding a trade stone and she gives it to you.
According to the legend these stones can grant wishes.
What are the things that you hope for and look forward in your life?
You can write them down and gain clarity about the things that you should be pursuing.
There was a wicked dragon,
But Bensaiten convinced him to stop.
She married the dragon and his bad qualities vanished,
For she tamed him with her magic and her love.
Because of this,
Japanese couples who seek happiness in relationship visit her shrine separately rather than together.
Bensaiten is the third daughter of Munetsuchi,
The dragon king.
This is also one of the reasons why she is closely associated with sea dragons.
The Bensaiten is linked with the flow of consciousness and wisdom.
She is believed to be the river of consciousness that enlivens creation.
She's the dawn goddess whose rays dispel the darkness of ignorance.
We could call her the goddess of meditation.
Without her there is only chaos and confusion.
To realize her,
One must go beyond the pleasures of the senses and rejoice the serenity of the spirit.
Different deities reached Japan in the same time Buddhism was introduced to people.
Magical stories and legends about these gods and goddesses were told by Buddhist monks and missionaries.
To engage the Japanese to listen to the ideologies and teachings of Buddhism.
As the goddess of relationships and communication,
Bensaiten encourages us to reflect our own relationships.
As the goddess of riches and wealth,
She encourages us to contemplate our relationship with money and wealth.
And as the goddess of creativity and arts,
She reminds us that we all have wonderful talents and potential that is just waiting to be used.
It is time to return back to our own reality.
Let the serpent take you back to the land of men.
You can always find this place and hear her music when you feel like it.
Take some deep breaths.
You can roll your shoulders.
And slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me on this meditation journey.
Namaste.
