Every day, we face the world through our senses. We become absorbed in sights and sounds that make up our reality, and we become convinced, no matter how dream-like it may be, that the picture painted is real. But, when we analyse the nature of that reality, we seem at a loss to know exactly […]
art
Why We’re So Unhappy
The other day I came across a brilliant parody article from the satirical site Newsthump, highlighting how hard a basic task like buying a vacuum cleaner has become in our society. The point is not necessarily that vacuum cleaners are difficult to buy, but how much more effort it seems we must spend on mundane […]
The Offering Goddesses: In Praise of Divine Beauty
Homage to you, the Eight Auspicious Goddesses—Beauty, Garlands, Song, Dance, Flowers, Incense, Light and Perfume—merely thinking of you makes success grow more and more! From The Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones, by Mipham Rinpoche
Mystery of Dakini’s Skull Cup
According to tantra, the human body is perceived as a sacred temple in which all higher forces and the whole truth about existence are present. One of those truths, fundamental to Vajrayana Buddhism, is impermanence (Skt. anitya, Tib. mitagpa). The visual representation of the transience of the human body, and hence the Buddhist idea of […]
Postcard from Raymond: “Monk’s Posture”
This image, shot by photographer Ding Zuhe and called, “Monk’s Posture,” won first prize in the China category for National Geographic’s 2017 photography contest. Here are six people, all in some form of sleep, lethargy, stupor, or unconsciousness. There are two women (the one in the foreground looks older), and four males: a child in […]
Cultural Repatriation of Buddhist Artifacts: A Job for Cool Heads
Instinctively, my politics is anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist. However, I also appreciate the complexity inherent in human affairs and recognize that nuance of thought is required even in—perhaps especially for—matters as emotionally charged as the repatriation of cultural and artistic relics. Today my fellow writer and blogger BD Dipananda has published an article looking back on […]
Love in the Cave of the Buddhas
The cave roof was high enough to tower Over the trees in the forest that had Grown around these medieval refuges. We were two ghosts – wandering in abandoned Land, apparitions from the future. For we were dying. They, languid and still, The buddhas, gazed down at us, their eyes Gentle, free of judgement, seeing […]
Meaning-crafting: An Emerging Discourse of Contemporary Buddhist Art
There is a fascinating group of people shaping contemporary artistic culture in the Buddhist world. Some of them are regular contributors to this website, including Sarah Beasley, Tilly Campbell-Allen, or Tiffani Gyatso, whilst others have been interviewed about their craft (sometimes by our aforementioned artist writers). These individuals include contemporary creators like painter Andrea Traber, […]
Milarepa’s Exhibition 2017
Bodhgaya is a special place of power, in particular when it fills with the energy generated by practices and blessings. Earlier this year, during the Kalachakra 2017, walking from the hotel to the Kalachakra grounds, a leaflet on a market stall caught my attention. It advertised an exhibition being held at the Mahayana Hotel, on […]
Buddhism is Bhutan’s Key to Working with the Great Buddhist Powers
India and China are right now locked in a dispute over a plateau (known as Doklam in India and Donglang in China) that lies at a junction between China, the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, and Bhutan. My focus today is not on the technicalities of the border dispute (this analysis by Wangcha Sangey, a […]