Metta Bhavana, The Practice of Loving Kindness.

May all beings be well,

May all beings be happy,

May all beings be free from suffering,

May no one ever be separated from their happiness.

May all beings have strong and joyful hearts.

May all beings be free from fear and anxiety,

May all beings be free from stress and meanness.

May all beings live in harmony with those around them.

May all beings truly be well and happy.

 

Ajahn Chah

Tanka Painter in Tibet

Kappa Kalden painting the Tanka. 1960s.

Tengboche monastery is an important centre for Buddhist teaching near Chomolungma / Mount Everest. Kappa Kalden trained as an artist in Tibet, but came to Khumjung after the Chinese invasion. Louise Hillary described visiting his house in 1966:

 

“Kappa Kalden was sitting cross-legged in a bay window with a canvas in front of him . . . I loved to watch him at work. His broad Mongolian face with its inscrutable expression changed rarely—only when something really amused him would he toss back his head and roar with uninhibited laughter. A long thick pigtail stretched down his back and his old and slightly unsteady hands seemed to come to life when he held one of his fine brushes.”

 

A thangka, also known as tangka, thanka or tanka is a painting on silk with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic but consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered over which a textile is mounted and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk. Generally, thangkas last a very long time and retain much of their lustre, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture won’t affect the quality of the silk. It is sometimes called a scroll-painting.

These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. One subject is The Wheel of Life which is a visual representation of the Abidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment).

Thangka, when created properly, perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing “themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities (Lipton, Ragnubs).”  

description from Wikipedia.

Traditional Tibetan Mandala

Mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala, ‘circle’) is a spiritual and ritual symbol

Mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala, ‘circle’) is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the Universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a centre point.  Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance. (Wikipedia description)

The term is of Hindu origin. It is also used in other Indian religions, particularly Buddhism.

In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a ”Temenos” sacred space, and as an aid to ”Meditation” and ”Trance” induction.

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the “Cosmos” metaphysically or symbolically; a ”Macrocosm and microcosm” of the ”Universe” from an enlightened perspective; i.e., that of the principal deity.

Plastic Owls

There seems to be a local rather strange fad for putting large plastic owls with rotating heads on the tops of houses to scare off seagulls.

Just to show everyone, it doesn’t work. The seagulls are not stupid!

Shiatsu for Couples

My colleague Heather and I have been running Shiatsu for Couples sessions for some years now. These sessions have evolved through a realisation that couples are so busy that they spend most of their time running parallel lives, paying the bills, working all hours in order to be with each other.

We first ran these sessions, unintentionally, at a Festival where people were just turning up in pairs and we found it to be a very powerful experience. It’s just Shiatsu but with two people lying side by side, each on a futon, with two practitioners working.

People commented that they felt very peaceful and in tune with their partner following treatment and it was lovely for us to witness this.

We now offer Shiatsu for Two, not just to couples but to friends and family members. We have treated quite a few Mothers and Daughters.

Take some time to be with a loved one in an undemanding situation where nobody wants anything, and just breathe, be in the moment with that person. As it was in the beginning… before all the rushing around started.

See my website http://www.bewellandhappy.co.uk for full details.

Reminiscing….

Walking the dog this morning, I went past a young delivery driver waiting to deliver groceries to a local house. I think he was a bit early and most of the street was still asleep.

He was playing this track loud, grinning and singing along to it full pelt. Made me smile and also reminded me of my country bumpkin rock chick roots.

The boys in the Norfolk village I lived in from the age of eleven to sixteen all used to walk around with crash helmets in full leathers and then you would discover that they had a honda 50cc outside. Very funny and we had such a laugh

My first boyfriend when I was fourteen was son of the Mayor, quite a catch. He had a slightly bigger motorbike and wore Brut aftershave. He took me to see UFO and Rush in Birmingham in the late 70s.

My parents moved me away from there because they were worried I was hanging out with the wrong sort. I was so sad to leave these guys, and Norfolk people in general were great – it was the happiest bit of my childhood.

I used to don a smelly old afghan and headbang like the best of ‘em

Shadow

Chillin’ in the front garden. I love sitting out here watching the world go by. Everyone stops for a chat in the sunshine… great way to spend a Sunday afternoon…

Gestalt – Principle of Singularity

Uniqueness. ‘We are always misunderstood’. Everyone will have their unique view.

When someone says that they have a headache it’s easy to think that you know how that feels, because you get headaches. BUT that person will be experiencing a headache in a way unique to them.

We can never really know how somebody feels, we can only listen and try to understand.