Buddhist Dharma - Mahayana

Chris Chapple talked about Nagarjuna in class.  He was the great seminal thinker of Mahayana Buddhism. He thought a lot about impermanence (anitya), He wanted to move away from complexity to emptiness (sunyata).violence

He talked about the Binary: Good vs Evil.  The binary pushes us towards violence.  Instead he spoke of the quadranerary model

1. Sunyata (language)
2. Karuna (cultivation of karuna, I am going to end suffering of all beings)
3. Samsara=Nirvana
4. Bodhhisattva Cow

The Mahayana represents a huge shift in the task of the monasticism with the inclusion of the community.  The first 600 years of Buddhism, Buddhist were all monks and nuns.  But now, why exclude lay people.

Robert Thurman's 1st book was on Vilmalkirti.  Now, the life of a lay person doesn't differ from the life of a monk.  We are all called to a higher degree of sila because we are not sheltered from people who do not share our vow.

Theraveda Buddhism was in South India until 400 years ago.  There is a huge geographical divide in Buddhism. Tibetan's criticized the Hinyana by saying they don't understand emptiness and they don't have compassion.

So what has happening that spurred the Mahayana?  Around 100 CE was the peak of Roman trade in India.  There was a cosmpolitanism.

The Boddhisatva vow may be influenced by Messianic influences.

Theravada is the one surviving schools of 18 schools.

For some reason I have the quote "Beautiful art reminds us of our best self."

Grasper
Grasping - Only by emtpying our grasping can we be of service to others.
Grasper

When a tile breaks a piece of everyone's heart breaks.

Out of fragility of presence arises karuna.

Samurtti satya - conventional truth - samsara
Paramartha satya - absolute trutch - nirvana

But the can't be separated. Only the unenlightened think there is enlightenment.

Celestial Bodhisattva - Avalokitesvara - Kuan Yin

Avalokitesvara looks down from the Buddha realm of Amitabha Buddha ready to respond to our needs.

His/Her name means "The Lord the Looks Down." In Tibet, the Dalai Lama is believed to be the emanation body of Avalokitesvara. In art, s/he is shown with many arms ready to respond to the many needs all at the same time

. How wonderful.  In East Avalokitesvara is portrayed as a woman, called Kuan-yin in China and Kannon in Japan.

Raw Umber Wipe Out Painting

I did this wipe out painting the Saturday before last.  I came in on the last week of a five week pose so I just decided to do a simple exercise,  It was actually pretty difficult. I wasn't painting as well as I did with Juliette.  I think I got out of rhythm.

Studies in Buddhist Dharma - Mahayana - August 24 - Not I, not me, Not mine

I am not sure if these notes will make sense.  Much of this lecture was over my head.

The Mahayana emerged around the 1st century (at this point we are already 600 years into Buddhism).

Again Chris did a lot of talking about morality.  He talked about when 7 year old boys go to the monastery

they are taught
1) don't hurt things
2) don't tell lies
3) don't steal
4) no inappropriate sexual behavior
5) no intoxicants

Human nature tends toward the good and the beautiful but hatred, delusion and greed are lurking.

sila (morality)
hri (heart)

true sila and hri arise from the heart

There is a moral inventory to be taken everyday

naham nasmi na me

I am not a subject
I am not a predicate
Nothing belongs to me

1st paramita/parami is dana (the giving of self)

na me = I will not own anything

The job of the sangha is the physical provision of material gifts

Vimalakirti said "The quality of my meditation is not diminished by the lifestyle that I lead>"

Vilmalakirti

Our reality is inseparable from our structuring of reality through language.

Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna
- grasper
- grasping
- grasped

Tapas are austerities that reconfigure the relationship of I (such as fasting and silent retreat)

Try to not use I or Me.


Asat_ nonexistence,

?  What was before Chaos?
? What was there before water covered all things

14,000 years ago there was an incredible flood and we lost memory

Joan Halifax book The Fruitful Darkness

Dualism in religion

CC asserts Zoastrianism a dualism religion greatly influences the Hebrews during the Babylonian Exile

.  CC mentions Nieztche and his work Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

Zarathustra

 Ideas of good and evil, heaven and will and a final apocalypse or dualism ideas

Indian religions are not binary - things exists in triplets and quadranaries


asti nasti
nasti nasti
asti nasti nasti
asti nasti

That which we think exists is not
to say that things do not exist is not the case
Existence and no existence is not
Yet there is nothing other than existence and non existence

Then red meditated on red

I saw my mothers's lipstick

, a bathing suit I use to love and imagined swimming at Beachcombers

, the red under the nose

painting by Richard Schmidt

and in the ear

Painting by Sargeant

, the burnt sienna of the buildings in sienna

Drawing and Meditative Mindfulness at Otis - Summer 2014

"Current research in neuroscience has demonstrated that meditative mindfulness practice can sharpen perception, creativity, and intuition, as well as increase attention and nonjudgmental awareness. This course for beginners and advanced alike, explores what drawing and mindfulness awareness meditation have in common. Both practices cultivate a state of mind where direct perception and the experience of the present moment are unfiltered by concepts and ideas. Through short exercises in mindfulness awareness practice and guided meditation sessions, students naturally develop the formal skills related to key elements of drawing. As a result, an understanding of composition, contour, gesture, value, mark-making, perspective and color relationships is enhanced through the meditative mind. Each class includes instruction in mindfulness meditation and hands-on exercises in drawing from observation with discussions, demonstrations, and critical analysis. Course also explores a variety of drawing materials and subject matter."

Taught by "Lisa Oxley, MFA in Fine Art, Otis College of Art and Design; BA, University of the State of New York. Ms. Oxley is an exhibiting artist and trained instructor of mindfulness awareness meditation with over 12 years of a personal daily practice. She has studied meditation in both the Soto Zen and Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, and is a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. Ms. Oxley's art work has been shown locally and internationally in Los Angeles, Barcelona, Madrid and Vienna. She was a recipient of an artist-in-residency grant at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland in 2004." 

I saw this description and signed up for the course.  I had no idea I would be having a summer of hell working 14 to 18 hours every day and weekends.  I didn't get to many classes but here is the work I did

contour drawing

contour drawing

An unfinished still life I didn't make it back for the 2nd week of the set up

a sketch of the Otis studio
 on Wilshire

Last class a got to - still life in pastel

Notes from Lisa Oxley:

Meditation can help our drawing: intuitive, trust oneself, connect with senses, deep relaxation.

Trust in the realization that whatever line we put down was beautiful. 

There is a sense of wonderment and relaxation.

There is a beauty in children's drawings.

Trusting the experience as it is.

There are 3 qualities of the mind 1)stability 2)clarity 3)strength

Follow the breadth

Your hand wants to go faster than the eye so slow down everything.

Day 10 - Juliette Aristides Workshop of BACAA

It is Saturday and I am siting at home after finish Juliette Aristides' 10 day workshop at BACAA.  I am so glad I took it I learned so much

This is how my long painting turned out - I think this is 21 hours of work in all.

I did this at Thursday night's uninstructed.

Juliette Aristedes Workshop - Day 8

Today was day 8 of the 10 workshop.

This is the status of my long pose.  I don't think the face is going very well.  I hope I can save it.  I worked on it this afternoon and scrubbed out the face once because it had too many colors.

I did this 2-1/2 painting this morning.  I am very happy with it.  I changed posts with Linda and painted from her position.