Exhibit curator Davis Leung with Dr. Isabelle Frank, consulting curator, outside the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery “A Glimpse of Tang Prosperity from Murals—The Exhibition Tour on Murals of the Tang Dynasty,” will be concluding soon. On display at the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery until 12 June, the exhibit showcases digitally restored mural art […]
Horizons of Sharing: Ayya Soma and Buddhist Insights in Italy
Ayya Soma and Bhante Suddhaso in Cisternino. Image courtesy of Ayya Soma Ayya Soma is a Theravada Buddhist bhikkhuni and co-founder of the non-profit Buddhist Insights. Recently, she, fellow co-founder Bhante Suddhaso, and members of her organization arrived in Italy to share the richness of the Theravada life, aspects of which would be commonplace in Southeast Asia. […]
From Chu’s Gallery to Oneness: Rebirth of an Art Icon in Central
Images by Lai Chun Hei Standing for 27 years on Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road is a gallery owned by a family for over two generations: Chu’s Gallery. It is an art dealer that contributed to the cultural development of Central district’s emergence as an art hub distinct from Central’s financial and professional emphases. Chu’s Gallery was […]
The Parable of the Vessel
In his memoir, Vessel (Pínáng / 筏喩), Cai Chongda (蔡崇達) describes the tough-love advice given to him by his great-grandmother (太姥爷 / 太婆): “Your body’s a vessel. If you wait on it to do something, there’s no hope for you. If you put your body to work, you can start to live.” Those words made […]
The Noble Fight: The Dharma in Colombia
When the country of Colombia is mentioned, media stereotypes conjure vibrant and romantic communities, passionate dancing and pleasant beaches, and less savory images like high crime rates and drug abuse. Neither stereotype reflects accurately the complexity and nuances of this country of 50.88 million. If there is someone that embodies the fearless, hopeful, and life-loving spirit […]
The Grace of Gold: Buddhist Exhibit Highlights at The British Library’s “GOLD: 50 spectacular manuscripts from around the world”
In lieu of physically attending a private viewing of The British Library’s “GOLD: 50 spectacular manuscripts from around the world,” I was privileged to enjoy a rich and informative virtual tour of the exhibit in the early hours of the Hong Kong morning with others that could not be in London this month. Gold is grandeur. […]
Octopus Buddhas and Aliens: The Story of Tako Yakushi
One of my favorite films about aliens is Arrival (2016), based on Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life (1998). It portrays otherworldly visitors as enlightened extraterrestrials with a literally timeless grasp of language and causality. Aside from being spacefaring travellers and inhabiting spacecraft that leave no residue, traces, or pollution, the advanced creatures of Arrival perceive time […]
Mafan
Mafan. 麻烦 or 麻煩 in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, respectively. Meaning: trouble; troublesome; a bother, a thorn in one’s side. Mafanwas one of the first Chinese words I learned as a child. My grandmother (maa maa / 嫲嫲 / nai nai / 奶奶) would utter the word several times throughout the day when I stayed […]
A Mausoleum of Marvels: Murals of the High Tang in Hong Kong
There is a certain poetry in unearthing the vast world of an entire era of Chinese society, culture, politics, and power by using digitization technology on the murals of dead princes and nobles. The exhibit, “A Glimpse of Tang Prosperity from Murals—The Exhibition Tour on Murals of the Tang Dynasty,” features what I would call […]
Conference: Gender Asymmetry in the Different Buddhist Traditions Through the Prism of Nuns
From 16 to 17 May in Perugia (Piazza Morlacchi 30), the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation of International Scholarly Exchange supported a conference titled, “Gender Asymmetry in the Different Buddhist Traditions Through the Prism of Nuns.” This conference examines the perennially sensitive and sociologically complex topic of women in the monastic traditions of Buddhism. This has been […]