IS THE DRAGON REAL?
ARE STORIES OF THE DRAGON FACT OR FICTION? By Sharon Saw
Phng Li Kim of ‘The Paranormal Zone’ talks to various experts about the mystery of this magnificent creature of legend. She looks at the myths surrounding the Dragon and catches up with the inimitable Lillian Too with whom she has an enlightening conversation…
breathing dragons (or so they tell us). Tese days, however, dragons only seem to appear on the silver screen, either as evil monsters, which the hero strives to slay, or as man’s best friend, helping in various ways. So is the
T
magnificent dragon simply an enduring myth or is there more to the Dragon than many of us realize? We know that many ancient cultures boast many a draconic tale in some guise or other. Think of the Y Ddraig Goch (‘the red dragon’) of Welsh legend,
36 FENGSHUIWORLD | JUNE 2014
here was a time when chivalrous knights would roam lands far and near, rescuing damsels in distress from the clutches of fire-
the celestial lung of Chinese myths and the fabular naga of old Indian texts, and you begin to get an idea of how universal this supposedly mythical creature is, and how deeply- rooted is its existence in our psyche. To the Chinese for sure, the Dragon is something special, as it is not only a feng shui icon, it is also one amongst the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. But it is not just in the East. The English too have their
Dragon, but theirs is an evil dragon, and Saint George who slays the
Dragon is an immortal hero to the West. Ten
The Welsh Dragon
there is the European Dragon contained in village folk stories, although these tend to look like the dinosaur with two webbed
wings. Te Western Dragon is often viewed as demonic. Te Asian dragon, however, is
quite a different creature altogether. To Asians, the Dragon is mythical and represents a great auspiciousness. Here, the Dragon is
serpentine in
shape, manifesting as the naga and lung i.e. as the water snake or as the sky-flying Dragon. In Buddhist legends, Dragons
are sometimes referred to as nagas, serpent-like creatures with human characteristics that reside in water. Nagas from some areas of south India are revered for bringing fertility and wealth to those who supplicate them. In Hinduism, nagas carry the elixir of life and immortality. Tey are not generally regarded as harmful to humans, although they can be. Nagas are often referred to as being part of the entourage of Enlightened Masters.
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