All contents is the personal view of the author. Mystery of the Lost Links of Buddhism in Europe Setti Wessels www.settiwessels.com contact: [email protected] Mystery of the Lost Links of Buddhism Gundestrup Cauldron: a meditation diagram © Setti Wessels !1 www.settiwessels.com All contents is the personal view of the author. Copyright Wikipedia: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Deed This is a human-readable summary of the full license below. You are free: to Share—to copy, distribute and transmit the work, and to Remix—to adapt the work for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following conditions: Attribution—You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work.) Share Alike—If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same, similar or a compatible license. With the understanding that: Waiver—Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Other Rights—In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license: your fair dealing or fair use rights; the author's moral rights; and rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. Notice—For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do that is with a link to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Contact © Setti Wessels [email protected] www.settiwessels.com Myanmar 2021 © Setti Wessels !2 www.settiwessels.com All contents is the personal view of the author. Contents 1. Gundestrup Cauldron: a diagram of meditation as taught by the Buddha 5 2. The Buddha and the mystic numbers of Pythagoras: lost - or forgotten? 6 3. Ashoka sends an envoy of monks to Europe 9 4. Awareness of the 6th sense and the “light of wisdom” 9 5. The Cauldron: knowledge of 5 clinging aggregates, a coded meditation diagram 10 6. Origin of silver, carbon date of beeswax 93-144 AD, ring of iron ∼380-200 BC 13 6.1 Trajan & Hadrian’s birth in Spain: their ancestral link to the teachings of Pythagoras in Italy 14 6.2 Roman capital Mogontiacum named after “the great one” of the Treveri tribe 16 6.3 Dancing Mannikin quinarii of Dünsburg 17 6.4 “Birdman”quinarii: coins of the Heidetränk Oppidum 17 6.5 Prince of Glauberg: “to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha” 18 6.6 Coriosolites horse coins of Armorica (west coast of France) 20 6.7 Pantheon built by Agrippa (general of Caesar Augustus) and the link with the ‘E’ at Delphi 20 6.8 The iron of the Gundestrup Cauldron dated to ∼380-200 BC 22 MAP: Celtic and Germanic silver, locations of Hadrian’s activities 23 7. A message beyond language: 16 silver parts, toolsets used, variable copper mix 24 8. Was Hadrian involved in the making the making of the Gundestrup Cauldron? 26 MAP: Cursus publicus: Roman sponsored roads network 27 9. The Pantheon & the Gundestrup Cauldron: a culture of observing the rebirth cycle 28 10. The Cauldron’s 3rd-century BC iron ring and the link with Delphi 30 11. Mystic numbers of Pythagoras linked to meditation techniques of the Buddha 34 12. Ashoka’s envoy: cultural origins of the cauldron’s iron ring ∼380-200 BC 35 13. Hadrian and Plutarch define the concepts of Pythagoras: “On the ‘E’ at Delphi” 36 14. Numbers of Pythagoras: used to design the Elder Futhark rune symbols 37 15. Gundestrup Cauldron: detailed analysis 41 15.1 Meaning of the Cauldron: 3 phases of knowledge that spanned 1,700 years 41 First phase of interpretation: meaning of 17 pieces translated with Elder Futhark Rune symbols 42 Second phase of interpretation of the cauldron: project of cooperation under Hadrian 42 Third phase: Holy number 20, Perfect number 10 of Pythagoras to represent the Buddha 43 15.2 Meaning of 16 silver pieces buried together 43 Linking Plutarch’s concepts and runes to modern meditation practice 44 15.3 Outer panels, 7 or 8: what the meditator must do 45 15.4 Five inner panels and communication with outer panels 45 15.5 Communication between inner and outer panels: 2 holes through 4 panels 45 Diagram Gundestrup Cauldron layout of panels: position & meaning of 2 holes 46 © Setti Wessels !3 www.settiwessels.com All contents is the personal view of the author. 16. Gundestrup Cauldron: layout and analysis of individual panels 47 Diagram Gundestrup Cauldron: 12 silver panels 47 Symbolic meaning of the 12 panels: 12 Dependent Origination factors (Cause & Effect) 48 16. 1 Analysis of 5 inner panels & central medallion: what the Buddha taught 49 Plate 1 (C 6571): Seated teacher of the Deer Park: the Dhamma Cakka Ppvattana sutta 50 Plate 2 (C 6573): 6 senses: investigation to see past life Cause and future life Effect 51 Plate 3 (C 6575): Bull plate: Three Trainings and Dependent Origination 52 Plate 4 (C 6574): Rebirth panel: what a meditator must do to attain liberation 53 Plate 5 (C 6572): Eightfold Noble Path: Meditator (floating figure) holds on to Dhamma wheel 54 Inner medallion (C 6563): Goal of the 6th sense and assistance of the light of wisdom 56 16.2 Analysis of the 7 outer panels: Seven Stages of Purification 57 Diagram: Gundestrup Cauldron layout of panels around the central medallion: 6th sense 57 Chart of Meditation Techniques: Seven Stages of Purification 58 Panel 1 (C 6566): 1.Purification of Virtue (Sīlavisuddhi) 61 Panel 2 (C 6568): 2. Purification of Consciousness (Cittavisuddhi) 62 Panel 3 (C 6567): 3. Purification of View (Diṭṭhivisuddhi) 63 Panel 4 (C 6565): 4. Purification by Overcoming Doubt (Kankhāvitarana-visuddhi) 65 Panel 5 (C 6569): 5. Purification by Knowledge & Vision of What is & What is Not Path (Maggāmagga ñāṇa-dassana-visuddhi) 66 Panel 6 (C 6564): 6. Purification by Knowledge & Vision of Way (Patipadā ñāṇa dassana-visuddhi) 67 Panel 7 (C 6570): 7. Purification by Supramundane Knowledge & Vision (ñāṇa dassana-visuddhi) 68 16.3 Bodhi leaves on panels: meaning of the numbers expressed as its rune equivalent 70 16.3.1 Layout of Bodhi leaves on inner panels: meaning expressed as its rune equivalent 72 16.3.2 Layout of Bodhi leaves on outer panels: meaning expressed as its rune equivalent 76 Diagram Bodhi leaves on panels: layout & meaning of the numbers expressed by runes 78 17. Gundestrup Cauldron: the key that unlocks 1,700 years of forgotten history 79 17.1 Horns: codes of the 6th sense and concentration 79 17.2 Confusion about Pythagoras and the Buddha’s date of birth 81 17.3 Aesop’s fables and the story of Claudius: emperor & author of lost Etruscan histories 84 17.4 Hadrian: protector of philosophy in the Empire and designer of the Cauldron of Peace 85 17.5 Hadrian and Plutarch design definitions to describe the E at Delphi 89 17.6 The silver Cauldron: source of Runes, Golden Collars and Viking coins of Scandinavia? 90 17.7 Burial of the Cauldron at Gundestrup near ring-forts of Harald Bluetooth: a subtle message 93 18. Addendum: Information about meditation 95 Animated Video-text online 98 Additional texts & contact: Lost Links of Buddhism in Europe 99 © Setti Wessels !4 www.settiwessels.com All contents is the personal view of the author. Gundestrup Cauldron: a diagram of meditation as taught by the Buddha * 93-144 AD ? c. 200 BC - 300 AD Gundestrup Cauldron, Denmark 69 cm diameter, 42 centimetres high (Wikipedia) * Date: from new carbon dating Nielsen, S; Andersen, J; Baker, J; Christensen, C; Glastrup, J; et al. (2005). "The Gundestrup cauldron: New scientific and technical investigations”, Acta Archaeologica, 76: 1–58 1. Gundestrup Cauldron: a diagram of meditation as taught by the Buddha The silver Gundestrup Cauldron was found disassembled and carefully buried in a peat bog in Denmark. The meaning of the images are unknown and the cauldron was described as “Viking loot” brought from elsewhere; most themes seem Celtic, the style Thracian. Dates of its origin varies between 200 BC and 300 AD with a preference for the 2-1st century BC (150-1BC) - which coincides with the reign of the enlightened Indo-Greek king Menander I of Bactria, whose life story as king who became enlightened may be illustrated on the cauldron. Recent scientific carbon dating of the beeswax places the cauldron in a new time frame that coincides with the reign of emperor Hadrian, who made an effort to rule the Roman Empire from “friendship” rather than force, which poses the question: did Hadrian initiate the making of the cauldron in his efforts to encourage the renewed practice of “the dialectics of philosophy” in Europe? The images on the panels represent universal knowledge and fit both dates; a summary of centuries of knowledge about the meditation methods originally taught by the Buddha Gotama in India after his enlightenment in 588 BC until his death in 544 BC. The Buddha’s followers also practiced successfully and the Buddha became very famous in his lifetime, practice of the techniques spread globally and as time progressed the oral teachings were recorded by using diagrams and abstract symbols to tell the story as a memory aid: how to systematically follow the steps of purification, until Causes that result in Effect as future rebirth is observed through concentration. A meditator who observes how the interdependent mind- materiality phenomenon works will develop insight to “to see the truth as it is”, Vipassanā meditation; when wisdom matures liberation is attained: victory over the cycle of rebirth.