Author Topic: Mermaids - do they really exist?  (Read 12806 times)

DS Star

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Mermaids - do they really exist?
« on: June 02, 2013, 04:16:38 PM »
The recent Discovery Channel's airing of “Mermaids: The New Evidence,” drew 3.6 million viewers, the most in the history of the channel. It also sparks off new debates on the existence of this mystical creature. Though the series aired by Discovery Channel were controversial, the series were based on actual accounts recorded by people who sworn to have witness the mermaids or merman in some cases.

“Much of what’s in ‘Mermaids’ is not informed conjecture or made-up story but fact.”

To some, the mermaids are real. There are timeline records compiled to prove their existence as stated in this article:

"A look over the years shows that many people around the world have sighted or even directly experienced mermaids. Here’s a timeline of some of the major sightings and experiences, including Christoper Columbus, John Smith, and William Shakespeare... "

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/82540-mermaid-hoax-columbus-shakespeare-and-pliny-the-elder-say-mermaids-are-real/

The timeline have records as early as in 1st Century AD by "Pliny the Elder" who writes about "Nereids" or "women with rough, scaly bodies like fish." up till the most recent in 2012 by an official in Zimbabwe who said that "mermaids were hounding government workers off dam sites in several different areas."

Now if the mermaids really exist, which of the 6 realms they should be classified to be in, human or animals?

Will this discoveries change anything to the human's belief in other mystical creatures as well, like the 'naga'?

Midakpa

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2013, 05:03:24 PM »
It is possible that mermaids are a form of nagas. Nagas appear in different forms, some have fish tails so they look like mermaids. Nagas are generally regarded as belonging to the animal realm.

fruven

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2013, 11:28:54 PM »
It cannot be a coincident that different people from different places and different times reported seeing mermaid. Whatever they are seeing definitely exist. I would guessed that mermaid categorized under the animal realm but interestingly I read they have intellectual capacity of a human being and can converse.

If mermaid are real what sort of karma that resulted it being born with an animal body and a human-like intelligence?

diablo1974

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2013, 03:24:02 AM »
I believe there are many mystical creatures around us or in a different dimension which we cannot see them. The main reason that i believe that it exists is because of the theory in Karma discovered by Lord Buddha. All of us have different karma due to different actions of Body speech and mind, thus the different karmic effects that result in different form and formless entity.

yontenjamyang

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2013, 08:49:43 AM »
The best proof that ghost exist is that in ancient times when communication is not good ie not phone, internet, planes, cars and travel from one place to another takes months; there are independent accounts of ghost which are eerily similar. The logic is that if these accounts are similar and is only compared and shared much later in times then there is not chance of these accounts being copied or fabricated; then it must be real.

Similarly, accounts of UFOs and aliens that were recorded down in ancient times; usually referred to as "gods" has credibility because these accounts were independent of each other.

Hence, if mermaids were seen by people from countries far and wide in ancient times then it is more credible. Otherwise, their existent is less likely.

bonfire

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2013, 02:54:12 PM »
Well... I am not quite sure what to think about mermaids... we know cows exist, we know turtles exist and we know that dinosaurs existed, but I have never seen a mermaid nor the corpse of a mermaid...

So what did all these people see? A mermaid or something else?
Sometimes it is easier to label something that we can't recognize rather than recognize the unknown...

I would more likely believe in ghosts than in mermaids...
Then also, how to explain a physiological evolution that went "fishy" the waist down and "human" the waist up?
I give credit to the yeti, to the dinosauresque monster of the Loch Ness, but I take the liberty to doubt mermaids.

How many kids have seen Santa Claus, but does he exist? Or did they see something else onto which they projected Santa Claus.
Or does Santa exist anyway because so many kids have proven it by seeing him and receiving gifts from him?
Tell me if I am confusing everything here...

buddhalovely

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2013, 05:27:40 AM »
Oh the contrary, I believe that mermaids are very much real. Most sightings by sailors were probably normal marine creatures, such as manatees, dugongs, or sea-cows (now extinct). These appear to cradle their young much as a human would carry a baby. It is possible that sailors, seeing these unfamiliar beasts, would assume that they had stumbled across some sort of humanoid species. Mermaids described by the famous explorer, Christopher Columbus, were almost certainly manatees. He reported seeing three mermaids in the ocean off Haiti, in January of 1493. He said they "came quite high out of the water", but were "not as pretty as they are depicted, for somehow in the face they look like men."

However such descriptions are very different from the usual portrayal of a mermaid and the idea, of a beautiful but dangerous creature, probably arose from the earlier stories of the Sirens of the Aegean Sea. The Sirens were sea-nymphs who had the power to charm by their song all who heard them, so that the unhappy mariners were irresistibly impelled to cast themselves into the sea to their destruction. The Sirens were first mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. This may have shaped the portrayal of mermaids from medieval times onwards. The modern view of mermaids has also been influenced by Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, The Little Mermaid, written in 1836.

In British folklore they can be bringers of bad fortune, capable of causing storms and killing humans.

Some of the bad things that mermaids are accused of include telling sailors their ship is doomed and enchanting sailors and causing shipwrecks. Seeing a mermaid is a sure sign of a violent storm to come. In other stories, they deliberately drag people down in the water and squeeze the life out of drowning men. They also take men down to their underwater kingdoms.

However, on occasions, mermaids can also bring good fortune by giving humans cures or granting them wishes. In some tales, they even marry and live with humans. For example, the Merrow of Ireland and Scotland.

These mermaids are beautiful, gentle, modest and kind. They wear a red cap and, if this is captured and hidden from them, they will shed their skins and stay on land. However, most times they eventually retrieve the cap and return to the sea. They also lure young men to follow them beneath the waves. Here they live in an enchanted state. Merrow music is often heard coming from beneath the waves.

Rihanna

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2013, 04:13:09 PM »
Personally, I believe there are many beings in other realms that we are unable to see just like spirits, hell beings and gods or demi gods. They must exist or otherwise Buddha is wrong about the six realms of existence. For this reason, I believe that mermaids do exist. Perhaps they are one type of nagas? Then my question will be, do dragons exist or it is a myth too?
 

DS Star

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2013, 01:15:24 PM »
Most Buddhists will believe in existence of other beings including the mystical nagas as this creature was mentioned in many of Buddha's scriptures, however, seldom do we find or have yet to find any Buddhist scripture mentioning mermaids. Nevertheless this does not means that they don't exist.

I chanced upon a Buddhist text on mermaids where they are categorised as nagas:

Stories about mermaid or water-sprite-like Naga maidens coupled with human heroes are common in folklore and Buddhist literature. Sarasvati/Benzaiten with Uga Jin, and the Chinese Nu Kua with Fu Xi come to mind… “ quoted from Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations by Karen Tate

Q

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2013, 06:13:38 PM »
You know... being Buddhist and believing about the existence of 6 realms... on top of that there are mountain gods, wind gods etc.... there really is nothing of a surprise if mermaids existed. Just like what people has already said, they could be one form of Nagas living in the ocean... and the very reason why many people do not see them is probably because one needs the third eye to see nagas? Well, at least that's my own reasoning for the mystical.

On the other hand, if we look at things scientifically... I hardly believe that mermaids is a species of homosapiens that was evolved from apes... I do believe however, they probably exist but is yet to be officially discovered. I mean, every year or so, scientists discovers new life forms (some times fossils) in the sea and even on land...

kris

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2013, 06:42:37 PM »
Before I learn about Buddhism, I would made decisions based solely on science :P I don't even believe about ghosts, nagas, etc and I only believe in anything proven by science. This is all now changed :) Therefore, I would say that mermaids do exist.

I must say that it is interesting to learn that mermaids are from the nagas family :)

Aurore

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2013, 02:37:34 PM »
It is possible that mermaids are a form of nagas. Nagas appear in different forms, some have fish tails so they look like mermaids. Nagas are generally regarded as belonging to the animal realm.

I was also told that Nagas belongs to the animal realm. The thing is animal realm is a form realm, why are nagas not seen by our naked human eyes then? Anyone knows the answer to this?

Like what everyone has said, I also concluded that mermaids is a type of a naga which we can't see with our naked eyes. A master once told me that nagas can come in forms of snake, humans and fish. They can cause storms, tsunamis, skin disease and even cancer when they have been offended and angered.

RedLantern

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2013, 02:55:06 PM »
There have been much speculations on the existence of mermaids.You never know if mermaids do really exist.
Scientifically it is not  possible but it might be and you never know ,the sea is a vast place.
The stories of mermaid sightings are known around the world,so it is possible they actually exist?There will always be believers and non -believers,either way there will be some truth to these stories somewhere.Many myths and legends are steeped in the truth.I really don't know what to believe but,it would be great if they really exist.

brian

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2013, 03:48:57 PM »
My opinion on this, yes mermaids should logically exists. If spirits, demi gods,  UFO, Aliens etc exists, why not mermaids? I believe most likely they are of different realms. They might well categorised under the Naga realms as their form suggests. This universe is so huge and one can only think what sort of beings would not exists in this universe.

Jessie Fong

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Re: Mermaids - do they really exist?
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2013, 04:30:56 PM »
Mermaids have been mentioned in legends but there really are no concrete proofs that they existed, or still exist.  If they do, they are just as elusive as the Loch Ness monster.

Some things are best left as they are - their existence need not be proven.