Metamorphosis Myth as Reflected in Dharma Mirror
Author: Hui-Fen Hsu（Applied English Department, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Assistant Professor）
Vol.&No.：Vol. 64 , No. 2
Date：September 2019
Pages：45-68
DOI：10.6210/JNTNU.201909_64(2).0003
Abstract：
In Greco-Roman myths of metamorphosis, humans become other forms of being such as animals, plants and natural objects. The legends of the Narcissus flower, Laurel tree, and Arethusa spring involve the dissipation and alteration of human subjectivity and the fusing of human minds with nature. While the fantastic transformation in these tales was meant to explain natural phenomena, it can be interpreted as the reflection of psychological states instead of ontological reality. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of metamorphosis myths from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy, whose central concern is suffering and cessation of suffering. Metamorphosis implicates universal suffering and the yearning for liberation. Activated by ignorance, transformation points to the potential of liberation through the mingling of separate egos with the large whole. The contents of this study are divided into two parts: karma and interbeing. The first part illustrates the karmic law that reigns in the three tales. The existence of the flower, tree and spring has no inherent essence but gets involved in the causal nexus. The second part explores interbeing in metamorphosis, which dissolves the boundary of life and death as well as self and other. After the transformation, the isolated selfhood is expanded to an all-encompassing life system, evoking today’s ecological consciousness. Dharma sheds a different light on metamorphosis myths, transcending the literal death and doom to the universal truth of human life and reconstituting their significance for the modern world.
Keywords：Dharma, interbeing, karma, metamorphosis myth
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