View allAll Photos Tagged TRANSMUTATION
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth is home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatsworth_House
Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man at Chatsworth
A large-scale exhibition of 12 monumental sculptures located in the park surrounding Chatsworth.
Burning Man is a unique event that usually takes place annually in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA.
This year the events team at Chatsworth has worked with the Burning Man team to bring its distinctive culture of possibility and creativity from the Black Rock Desert to the Derbyshire landscape.
www.chatsworth.org/events/burning-man
9
Transmutation
by Arturo Gonzalez and Maru Izaguirre
This gloriously colourful winged sabre-toothed-tiger stands proud on its stand forcing visitors to look up to take it all in.
The installation aims to raise the question, does extinct mean forever, an artistic comment on the possibility of cloning an extinct species.
Transmutation invites viewers to question whether it is ethical to play at being gods and whether the return of extinct species, such as the sabre-toothed tiger, will give rise to new beings created by man.
The sculpture is decorated with traditional Mexican patterns in acrylic and fluorescent paint.
On the occasion of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, will host Together, a major exhibition of new works by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
Plensa (Spain, b.1955) is one of the world’s foremost artists working in the public art space, with permanent works spanning the globe including the Crown Fountain (Chicago), Echo (Seattle), Breathing (London) and Roots (Tokyo). The exhibition is curated by Clare Lilley, Director of Programmes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The works in the exhibition all make their debut in San Giorgio and reflect the artist’s continued interest in a bodily relationship to space, scale, material and place.
For four hundred years the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore has been a place of worship, communication and meditation, where Palladio’s profound architecture creates a stilling and contemplative environment. Plensa’s response to this powerful space is Together; a conversation between two sculptures - hand, suspended beneath the cupola in the foreground of the altar, and head, sited in the nave. Placed on the dominant west-east axis of the building, the works set up a line of spiritual and intellectual discourse which evokes emotion and seeks to connect with his viewers on an intuitive level.
As a speaker of five languages alongside a nomadic life that takes him around the globe, Plensa’s work reflects a desire to break down barriers. Merging difference is a cornerstone of his work, and here it is further emphasized by the installation of meticulous drawings and a group of five alabaster portraits in the contiguous Officina dell’Arte Spirituale, located 300 meters from the entrance to the Basilica on the island’s northern edge. Plunged in darkness and lit to reveal their luminous opacity, the sculptures were carved using reformed scans of real girls; chosen because, like nomads, they have traveled, settled and traveled again. Chosen, too, because they are teenage girls on the cusp of leaving and arriving, whose potential – like that of all humanity – so deeply glows.
Plensa’s sculptures reference a Judeo-Christian tradition while connecting with a much longer human history, where the making of art has social purpose and which we see played out across histories and geographies – in heads from the Croatian Upper Paleolithic, carved some 26,000 years ago; in exquisite, elongated hands incised in stone from 1300 BCE Egypt. For these and other reasons, Plensa’s forms will connect people and welcome them into the Basilica. Made from stainless steel which distills and diffuses light, Plensa’s hand and head are at times transmutable hazes that pull and root the gaze. The opening, gestural hand formed from characters of eight languages, speaks of a coming together of peoples and traditions. Similarly, Nuria’s face speaks of diversity; indeed the subject is the daughter of a Chinese friend in Barcelona, who in her young life has already crossed many borders.
Clare Lilley, Curator, commented: “Plensa’s installations for the Isola di San Georgio Maggiore are testament to his acute understanding of space and scale. His sculptures do not impose themselves on these historic spaces; rather they capture and reflect the actual light and shadows within to communicate a metaphorical language. Both visually stunning and intimate, they draw our attention to a world where migration and difference challenge civilized behavior; in this place, which for centuries has welcomed world travelers, Plensa’s work will connect people of many faiths and of no faith.
In collaboration with the monks of the Abbazia di San Giorgio, as part of the cultural activities of the Benedicti Claustra Onlus, Together hopes to advance the Benedictine community’s efforts to develop a number of restoration projects of the monumental Palladian complex on San Giorgio Maggiore. Inspired by textual elements in the body of Plensa’s work, the project has contributed a significant donation to restore the Abbazia’s 15th and 16th Century illuminated manuscripts; prayer books previously too delicate for public view. (Press release)
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.
It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
VIDEO: (Coming soon!)
••• SCRIPT/LYRICS: •••
MOLEMAN'S EPIC RAP BATTLES!!!!!!
GARNET…
…VS…
…FIRESTORM!!!
BEGIN!
Firestorm:
We could think about what gimmicks convolute our history:
Mixups with Russians, nature-forces and Yoruba witchery,
And we could think of crises wrought on our identity…
Yes, surely…
…But today, let's only think of flaming enemies with fury!
Hey, here comes a question most alarming; not to be dismissed,
And one whose comprehension won't take an atomic physicist:
Why let a contest measure merger-might to choose from we and you
When the answer is plainer than combining two plus freaking two?!
Don't get too cocky, Ronald; let's see this done as it ought to be:
Transmute lit lyrics from raw beats, and lecture blockheads properly!
It's gonna be a far cry from your Brightest Day; I'm going dark,
With aims to end this in a Flash just like my debut story arc!
Complete transparency, now; tip: skip on a kicked-in butt tonight.
Called on and dared to speak out? Quit, not even picking up the mic!
You see your worth as apt for some Gem-world princess, or even goddess,
Yet I wouldn't appraise your value at one-half Nicki Minaj's!
It's a lock, and un-jail-breakable, at that: you're getting blasted;
Your cut's unfit for this face-off, falling flat in every facet.
Why, it's evident: our foe lacks proper grasp of her position,
Just as suits the fruit of reckless, raw romance at first collision!
Molecules are being rewritten, spelling death for sucker golems;
Souring your Sugar sweetness!
That reminds me of a poem… how's it go?
A Ruby's red, and a Sapphire's colored blue;
When they're together, all the better to set fire onto you!
Garnet:
It seems your touted tangibility-tweaking tricks are getting screwy:
Though plainly made with fazing aims, your statements phase directly through me!
Fisticuffs raised to the max, I'll put it heavy-handedly:
This space-borne stone immortal's here to Vandalize you Savagely!
Don't think the balanced bond behind a harmonizing master humbled
By the body-bunking counterpart of Simon and Garfunkel;
You're the one Nuclear waste it's best to keep left in the ashcan:
That brute in Supes' ill-fated Quest for Peace was less a hack, man!
Your own saw Lanterns, Squads, the Reds and A-bombs quell your mission;
That's as jacked up as your black successor's break on television!
You'd do well to fission: squishies risk affliction, sticking to that kind of nexus;
It's as if you're mixing in black clouds in morning-time for breakfast.
Hawking off your power-set as something there's no reproducing?
Your old flame Lorraine objects, and check that shared New 52 scene!
Take me on? You're tripping; I could go all Summer Day,
Mad-laughing as you're curse-slapped, your collapse one stone's throw-down away!
Firestorm:
I'd hardly call that verse a gem, but do see you're impassioned;
Now, brace for an opposite, unequal nuclear reaction!
I'd advise you set about disarming; keep at trying to battle,
And you'll only fall apart, so turn around, three-eyes: skedaddle!
Put a bubble on your gushing pride, and hear just what I'm made of:
Nobel Prize-commemorated brains and brawn prime for the playoffs…
Oh, and right: the atoms' might, infused not in a tiny me,
But through a union whose inducement gets them splitting violently!
The irony…
These elements comprising me like father, son and holy ghost,
Your cotton candy composition couldn't come remotely close;
These bogglers are built to leave your flipping mind
As broken as that gay love metaphor between two different kinds!
Pursuing this is straight-up suicidal; heed some good advice:
Lest you be undone swiftly as a Slipknot, fleeing would be wise!
Hmm… knots, you say?
Tying yours sure garnered fandom's queerness-touting cheers.
What an accomplishment; it merely took damn-near six thousand years!
Our souls, conjoining, form an epic entelechy, knowing which,
Forgo all hopefulness of cloning this, as shown amiss with Soviets,
You cloying, kitschy clod! As for the riffs you spit haphazardly,
Those bare-bones bars have less meat than the prick who nicked your anthem, G!
Ours? Fine-tuned to the quantum level; spliced into arrangements
Set to shake your union to the brink of thrice-induced estrangement,
And don't count on pulling back together, damaged faith restored,
'Cause just the two of us are stronger than your whole volcanic Megazord!
Garnet:
Yeah, I'd imagine you'd know all about that, Orange Ranger,
But your floating mentor-head ought to have warned you to the danger;
What if I told you you'll be blindsided, both blacking-out in quick turn,
When I yank you from the Matrix like my name was Laurence Fishburne?
Known to wreck hard-headed haters, your hot one'll prove no different,
As part-timing casuals get taught the sum of true commitment!
Wanna see a giant of a power couple? I'm your girl; espouse its meaning:
Steady-rocking since mankind, they say, was still fresh out of Eden!
Plus, your Time Squad of a secret team can bite me;
Your whole future's at an end, and naught will tweak it, even slightly!
I mean, blimey: screw false pretense for some cackling magician bull;
That mind-entrapping weeks-long bender? Flatly unforgivable!
I'm dropping bombs; the biggest Ron, his mommy or his pops have seen,
For overkill to match the namesake of a poor man's Constantine:
Destabilizing deconstruction, it'll make them draw a blank.
I'd call your deal a nature-crime; rechristen Raymond: "Ronnie Frank"!
Firestorm:
You say your bodyguard-love schtick will never come to dissolution,
Like a pair of mutant, midget technicolor Whitney Houstons!
Think we'll have a problem here?
Now, that's bananas! We'll be home by daylight,
NASA asked that she's seen, fee-free, to her own, one-way flight!
Girl, your jointly self-absorbed felicity's an utter joke;
Make threats of dropping bombs, and watch your dignity go up in smoke!
You're unprepared for prime time, Gemmy! How can you expect to win this
When your origin got upstaged by a Robot Chicken Christmas?
From N.Y.C. streets to Justice Leagues, we've made ourselves a name;
You've kept ones shared with countless drones, all bred and trained to be the same!
I live up to and past the heights of my Star-Spangled heritage;
You aren't worth your own weight at the ideal price per carat, bitch:
You're meritless! You call those palette-swapped foam Hulk props on you gauntlets?
Come at me with them, and catch a flaming knuckle through the faceplate!
Your lame cheeto P.S.A. coach couldn't top this all-new hotness,
So if you can't stand the heat, beam back on up into your safe space.
See all notions that it's nearly so severely hard to beat her
Shattered like the trust invested in her dear, departed leader!
You perceive self-value more-than-constituting both your parts' sum,
But the math says otherwise; check any jewelry broker's charts, hon!
Half of you served in a royal court as its official seer;
You've gone some kind of third-eye-blind, though, if this isn't crystal-clear:
You don't look awesome, and it's time you went to bed!
Now close the deal!
I'll let your godson know that what you did today was choke, for real!
Garnet:
Oh, you'll find no exhaustion here; I'm far from prone to break a sweat:
When I wipe the floor with phony-hot shits, it's liable to wind up painted red!
It's viable to say I've wholly got this: child's play, though only for Garnet;
Joining in on it? You're gonna get rolled and left cold, all your folks going: "Oh no, they are dead."
Try on a total toxin-taste: raw space-rock rhymes, created ground-up,
Like your Ogaden oasis, the fate of which I wouldn't take it you're too proud of.
A tenth-level belter, I rep rebel melders:
Test against my mettle? Best inject some Nth; augment your cells, or get to shelter!
It's a song of ice and fire; when you're packing just the latter,
Your whole rhythm-ride's implosion-bound, and plasma's gonna splatter.
As for your nuclear family values? I'm beyond such rigid norms,
With Multiplex strengths, all rolled up inside one monolithic form!
Ever-flowering, love letter-showered, empowering, towering gay-romantic titan,
Shade thrown my way's, with a hand-flick, reflected, and BAM: it's the source who sees dishonor.
Dominant during debates, dissent-drainingly as any achromatic tyrant,
Try shouting this down, and watch me unshakenly pluck out your core; ensure you'll be a goner!
………
(*SOLO ROUND!*)
………
Martin Stein:
How's Stein's schooling session's starting something Sapph's supposed to handle?
Kindergarten rooms have brought her whole proud pairing to a standstill!
Singlehandedly one-upping that accursed menagerie,
Observe: in verse, a worse-disturbing blasphemy!
Your present-perspicacity has faltered from foresight-fixation; your taste in soulmates shows, for starters:
Even Jason never sunk to such low standards with his partners!
When this atomic architect takes to the floor,
The only overhyped-up ship that's headed for a wreck is yours!
Sapphire:
I see a glorified Jiminy Cricket with a nonexistent sex life.
He will find less clemency afforded here than with his ex-wife!
You've not met a Crystal cold to you as this; you'd better hide:
No psycho on any of infinite Earths could hope to sway me to your side.
Your Doomsday Clock is ticking; precognition needn't spell what's gonna happen,
When the baddest blue boss bombshells 'bout you break since Doc Manhattan's!
This alleged Legend won't see tomorrow: it's apparent you'll be slaughtered;
Deploring the oracle was a mistake just as aberrant as your daughter!
Martin Stein:
Hey, h- …Oh, why should I fall back onto dumb distraction-tunes,
When you're as prone to cause your own strikeout, all while we shoot the moon?
Cut with the C.R.A.P.; let this theory of mine be self-fulfilled: you'll cease to diss me,
Lest I cut your lifeline like your Greek ancestors three from Disney!
Sapphire:
If that Titanic travesty of trite trash-talk's all you've got,
Then it's no inner-fascist speaking when I say you should be shot!
Though I'd have warned you, that would be to squander breath for me; I know this:
You'd be heedless even with a quarter-century of notice!
Ruby:
Hit the streets, relapsed to homelessness: you'll want to keep anonymous;
A fuming-to-the-brim stone's bent on bringing your Apokalips!
The CW can have Ms. Kane informed on termination:
There was no room for her once this Ruby rose to the occasion!
Ronnie Raymond:
It was plain why you would be a cowboy: shit got polarizing.
Now, take one more comic page to heart: ride into the horizon;
No horsebacking, though! Try force-propelled ascension through the sky;
Yo, when you get to space's vacuum, tell your brethren I said "Hi",
And like the Happy of those five red dwarves reneged on standing with you,
Just back down from whence you've stepped up. Better yet, abandon ship, too!
Gangster-rapping worthily of some Dakotaversal bang-baby,
Watch this meta-S.T.A.R. extinguish your eternal flame, baby!
Ruby:
Funny you'd mention horizons: the events that I discern
Are painting you abyss-inbound, and past the point of no return!
Your jerkhole gripes and talking smack? I wouldn't fly to such judgments, were I to be you;
Full-circled like a Tokamak, your lapped back attacks will bite you something entirely new!
Ronnie Raymond:
A tempered temper lends to endless energy attained to blow through;
Rage has got you burning out, and that's my okay to K.O. you,
So let's leave the hero business to myself and the professor,
Making sure they'll see the written notice of your surrend
er!
Ruby:
Have you turned your own brains to jelly?! You're intoxicated; face it:
Flying off the rails, you'll plummet to rock bottom, getting wasted!
I'm out to bring hurt beyond mere heartbreak, and thus, your wounds yet need more salting,
Like your record's blackest mark, which Rusch won't soon let be forgotten!
Sapphire: That was rotten, alright; biting to look back upon as Sodom's burning.
White light this night, too, will end your torment, though with no returning!
Ruby: Or, in more straightforward wording: DIE. You must be nuts,
'Cause if the wedding stage didn't clue you in…
R+S: Today belongs to us!
Martin Stein:
I'll gladly rain on your reunion, jerks; it's time to face the truth:
You're plainly out of it as any circus sideshow saber-tooth!
Ronnie Raymond: If the professor is the passenger beside my pilot, punks,
That puts you as the ones blindfolded, bound and gagged inside our trunk!
Firestorm: You've walked Earth since prehistory?
Well, let's address the elephant…
A flung-back Furby's apt to outpace your epochal relevance!
You'll soon return to purpose-lacking, playing parent off the table,
Once our 'verses clash, and Steven takes an arrow in the navel!
Ruby:
Dude; leukemia is one thing, but those bars of your creation?
Sapphire: Cancerous beyond the help of your most cosmic incarnation!
R+S: Striking with a shadow's subtle grace, yet shining steel's lethality,
You may think it's Injustice, but we're winning by fatality! (Frosty!)
(*♪, ♪-♪-♪, ♪-♪*)
Garnet: You're getting throttled,
Harder than you dropped the ball with Brainiac's whole ship of bottles!
Take a moment to think, now, of just how very wrong you were, disputing me:
A clear-cut polymerized paragon; let no-con-fusion be.
?????????:
The trigger word's been stated! Now, my trap is activated;
Thus, the trump card's played in my fair maiden's name, so sayeth I!
The coming game's experience? You bums should take to fearing it,
Because it's time to D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DIE!
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon:
I'm the overkill O.G. of owning old O.C.G. scenes; don't test me:
M.C. B.E.U.D. on the track? Best bet that it's your Death-T!
I inflict direct attacks; take life points down to zero, no doubt,
For this joke of a Gem-Knight and Elemental HERO dropout!
I drop right on in, without a brutal cost; sans Cyber-Stein:
Bring triple threats, converging onto Ruby, Ron, Sapphire and Stein!
You're all exhausted; left defenseless as a goblin-force one-shotter:
Losing hands dealt to you all played-out, and now I strike like Yata
Garasu, to lock you pussy Fusionists in strangleholds!
You'd never bend my will in shining armor forged of rarest gold.
In terms of targets fixed upon you, you'll have no chance to Scapegoat it:
One fell burst-stream's zapping your whole sheepish quartet of components!
Weighing you against me, the Millennium Scales will tip so hard,
You'll catapult, with robo-turtles wishing they could flick as far.
You're standing on the edge; ensuing shock is sure to wreck your balance,
Come the baddest dragon's dark discharge from his Zorc Necrophallus!
Need I spell it out? Your destiny is FINAL; undisputed!
As for changing fate, moreover, that's my job, with gods tributed!
Crushing you, why would I spring some virus? That ain't worth my time,
When all your values at their highest couldn't match a third of mine!
The legend that began it all: oft-mimicked, never replicated.
My pot runneth over; it's not necessary to explain it!
You'll beg for some shadow penalty, such twistedness you'll face;
For those who come in behind Blue-Eyes, a Limp Bizkit's what they taste!
Firestorm:
Self-special-summoning into our double-duel? Screw that whole deal;
If I had wanted a royale, I'd just be playing Battlefield!
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: Don't drag this out with dialogue, delaying; I haven't got all day,
And when this card is heartless to you, how can you so much as pray?
Garnet: Well, I'd say you've let your defenses down, and I ain't talking misprints:
Your effect on me's, put simply as your text box, nonexistent!
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon:
It's the rapper-kingdom finals, whelp; that isn't gonna fly:
Those one-star-studded gauntlets plainly tell that you're unqualified!
I've got you insects flipping out, but doing so won't serve to bite me,
For your lot's too basic!
Lusterless!
Dull!
…Let alone worthy to ride me,
While I shine on ever brightly, even scaled down for the big screen;
Steal the thunder of Gate-Guards: my lyrics' layout's labyrinthine!
This collective looks combustion-bound, face flared up; in a frenzy,
But I've felled far more infernal red-eyed monsters full of envy.
Cards here stacked against you steeper still than Reshef of Destruction,
White light's sealing your demise, so though you guessed correct on one thing,
Know my arsenal's evolved to make for new alternatives;
With chaos rituals to maximize the pain, I'll burn you, bitch!
Watch me send this three-eyed sucker straight to the grave; negate a compensating deck search:
End malformed mashups' miseries, like the doggy saying "Edward"!
Garnet:
Oh, you can banish that shit; try, instead, Fullmetal Jacket,
'Cause I have to ask it: what is your mammoth malfunction, maggot?!
Firestorm: I have had it with these Muto-fighting dragons, coalesced as one,
But for us coming back from this hijacking, hopes look next to none…
Our best's yet unexhausted…
Garnet: The sole option left to take here…
Firestorm: …Should we all agree we want it.
Garnet: …Would be nuclear in nature.
Firestorm: Are you thinking what I am?
Garnet: I don't think that's how fusion works.
Firestorm: Well, screw the rules; we have fan fiction logic!
Garnet: Let's just do this, jerk…
………
Garnetstorm:
Know your last-minute winning plays; details: I take no pleasure in this
As I bust loose from our tightest spot and get direct to business,
No less vocal for it, mind you, while I counter-steal the show,
And finish what your master started, with one down, and three to go!
These blows will knock you sideways, keeping up the damage all the same,
With meteoric impacts fit to fuel your blackest rival's flames!
I'm breaking your sustaining chains; those of my components' restraint, too:
But four pieces here need come together to obliterate you!
Brightly-blazing stone conglomerate, far from some shadow puppet:
Mega-mixture; this vanilla triple-dipper can go shove it!
If you're triple-A, call me the alphabet's whole backmost leg;
No Toonish trickery required, I'll deflect attacks all day!
My fighting spirit's too intense to stay; my presence here is fleeting,
But the Last Turn is upon us, and you're set for searing beating!
Wanna end this with a draw? I'll go Berserker, then: get violent,
And remake Destroy All Monsters; stomp out this tri-headed tyrant.
WHO WON?
WHO'S NEXT?
I DECIDE!
MOLE…
…MAN'S…
HA!
…EPIC RAP BATTLES!!!!!!!
It is believed that spirits often feed themselves thru inhaling from joss sticks.
======
It's the Luner 7th month, which means it's the scariest month in the whole year according to Chinese believes.
As a child I was always warned to be extra cautious: avoid going out at night, never answer when I heard anyone call my name from behind, don't whistle and no mention the word "ghosts" are among the rules during the Ghost Month.
This year I decide to pay a visit to one of the remaining Ghost Month ( which is called "Yu Lan Festival" in the formal term ) to document some of its believes.
So here's the beginning of my first documentation of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
在香港大多數都是潮籍盂蘭勝會， 廣府的確實比較少見。
一樣是觀音化生，比起潮籍大士爺冠上有著觀音像, 這位廣府大士爺手上就捧著觀音人偶。
華人民間則多採佛教說法，無論是中元盛會，或是各種類型的超度法會與齋醮，多以佛教形式塑造大士爺神像：“頂生二角、青面獠牙，高大威武，頭上還有一尊觀世音菩薩佛像，象徵其代表慈悲的觀音大士”。
大士爺的造型也因為不同習俗而有所不同。應為造價不菲，有些比較小型的法會選擇用畫像代替，心誠責靈, 原意還是一樣的.
The Lord of All Spirits is said to be a second self of the All Merciful Kwan Yin, despite his chilling looks, he is actually the "good guy" who keeps the wandering spirits in line, and to oversee the smooth transition of events at the Hungry Ghosts Festival venue.
This paper crafted statue can reach up to 20 feet tall, it will be burnt at the end of the festival, symbolizing his return to the heavenly realm.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokiteśvara. Tārā is also known as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in saṃsāra.
The most widely known forms of Tārā are:
Green Tārā, (Syamatara) known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
White Tārā, (Sitatara) also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
Red Tārā, (Kurukulla) of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
Black Tārā, associated with power
Yellow Tārā, (Bhrikuti) associated with wealth and prosperity
Blue Tārā, associated with transmutation of anger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(Buddhism)
Temple of the Five Pagodas
Temple of the Five Pagodas , also known as the "Precious Pagoda of the Buddhist Relics of the Diamond Throne" , is a Buddhist temple in the city of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia in north-west China. It is located in the older part of the city in the vicinity of Qingcheng Park.
Construction of the temple began in 1727 and was completed in 1732. The distinctive five pagodas surmount contains a temple with 1563 images of Buddha carved into its walls each differing slightly to the other. Inside is a rare Mongolian cosmological map carved into a large stone which illustrates the zodiac and positions of numerous stars.
理事們給神明的掌聲，同時也是給自己默默付出的鼓勵
Committee members clapping after praying ceremony, it's an applause for the Gods as well as gratitude towards their own efforts.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
Please read my profile for more information about my craft.
This 145 carat handcrafted Jasper pendant is created swirling and shaping gun metal copper wire by hand, adding goldsand chips and wooden beads to enhance the natural beauty and shape of the stone. This stone has many earthy colors such as gray, beige, rust, green and cream. Perfect for you down-to-earth ladies.
It measures 2" across and 3" top to tip including the bail.
The bail is designed to be large enough to accommodate your favorite chain, choker or cord. Black leather cord necklace included.
All purchases are nicely packaged in a gift box.
Jasper's healing effects:
Jasper is the stone of selflessness; it is the mother of all stones bringing about Love of all mankind. Red jasper assists in transmuting pain, especially menstrual pain. To draw away focus from pain, back to the centre. For emotional, mental and physical pain, it is a grounding and healing stone. Jasper makes its effects known slowly and gradually, just like nature. It's considered an emotionally calming stone, and can be an excellent stone for either those who are hypersensitive to crystalline energy and find it difficult to work with, or for those who like change to be a gradual, unfolding process.
Chakras: All
Astrological sign: Virgo, Libra, Scorpio
exhibition view
Altering News/ Nachrichten verändern
27.4. - 6.5.2018
Dachauer Wassertrum
Sa/So 11 - 18 Uhr
"Harmonic Artworks are unique energetic instruments crafted with the precise application of ancient Egyptian design principle. Jadene Mayla combines art and science to embed this technology within vibrationally harmonic sculptural instruments that successfully transmute electromagnetic fields (EMFs) into healing energies. Her work opens a portal to co-creative communication with the Devic realm of Nature, by which human beings can come into contact with the positive influence of ancient element forces."
Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokiteśvara. Tārā is also known as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in saṃsāra.
The most widely known forms of Tārā are:
Green Tārā, (Syamatara) known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
White Tārā, (Sitatara) also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
Red Tārā, (Kurukulla) of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
Black Tārā, associated with power
Yellow Tārā, (Bhrikuti) associated with wealth and prosperity
Blue Tārā, associated with transmutation of anger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(Buddhism)
Temple of the Five Pagodas
Temple of the Five Pagodas , also known as the "Precious Pagoda of the Buddhist Relics of the Diamond Throne" , is a Buddhist temple in the city of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia in north-west China. It is located in the older part of the city in the vicinity of Qingcheng Park.
Construction of the temple began in 1727 and was completed in 1732. The distinctive five pagodas surmount contains a temple with 1563 images of Buddha carved into its walls each differing slightly to the other. Inside is a rare Mongolian cosmological map carved into a large stone which illustrates the zodiac and positions of numerous stars.
祭典總理身負重任，將神爐擺放上祭壇。
The ceremony's elected Chancellor takes up the important responsibility to place the all important incense burner at the altar.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
Last week - with the warmest temperatures about 20 °C ever in October - we have been to Rügen with the whole family.
We all have had great fun at the beach.
A few days more and Hugo would have completely transmuted in a retrieving seal...
Obviously the centre of all attention is the Center Stage made of bamboo structure with aluminium zinc roof.
Not only does this podium provides entertainment for the visitors, it is believed the spiritual buddies enjoy it even more so. In fact, the front row is often vacant out and reserved for the spirits.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
Photo shot with Photo shot with Olympus E-PL2
=====
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
newspaper, thread and wire.
from the series "transmuting news" which looks for the optimum surrounding for newspaper to evolve
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
On the occasion of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, will host Together, a major exhibition of new works by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
Plensa (Spain, b.1955) is one of the world’s foremost artists working in the public art space, with permanent works spanning the globe including the Crown Fountain (Chicago), Echo (Seattle), Breathing (London) and Roots (Tokyo). The exhibition is curated by Clare Lilley, Director of Programmes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The works in the exhibition all make their debut in San Giorgio and reflect the artist’s continued interest in a bodily relationship to space, scale, material and place.
For four hundred years the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore has been a place of worship, communication and meditation, where Palladio’s profound architecture creates a stilling and contemplative environment. Plensa’s response to this powerful space is Together; a conversation between two sculptures - hand, suspended beneath the cupola in the foreground of the altar, and head, sited in the nave. Placed on the dominant west-east axis of the building, the works set up a line of spiritual and intellectual discourse which evokes emotion and seeks to connect with his viewers on an intuitive level.
As a speaker of five languages alongside a nomadic life that takes him around the globe, Plensa’s work reflects a desire to break down barriers. Merging difference is a cornerstone of his work, and here it is further emphasized by the installation of meticulous drawings and a group of five alabaster portraits in the contiguous Officina dell’Arte Spirituale, located 300 meters from the entrance to the Basilica on the island’s northern edge. Plunged in darkness and lit to reveal their luminous opacity, the sculptures were carved using reformed scans of real girls; chosen because, like nomads, they have traveled, settled and traveled again. Chosen, too, because they are teenage girls on the cusp of leaving and arriving, whose potential – like that of all humanity – so deeply glows.
Plensa’s sculptures reference a Judeo-Christian tradition while connecting with a much longer human history, where the making of art has social purpose and which we see played out across histories and geographies – in heads from the Croatian Upper Paleolithic, carved some 26,000 years ago; in exquisite, elongated hands incised in stone from 1300 BCE Egypt. For these and other reasons, Plensa’s forms will connect people and welcome them into the Basilica. Made from stainless steel which distills and diffuses light, Plensa’s hand and head are at times transmutable hazes that pull and root the gaze. The opening, gestural hand formed from characters of eight languages, speaks of a coming together of peoples and traditions. Similarly, Nuria’s face speaks of diversity; indeed the subject is the daughter of a Chinese friend in Barcelona, who in her young life has already crossed many borders.
Clare Lilley, Curator, commented: “Plensa’s installations for the Isola di San Georgio Maggiore are testament to his acute understanding of space and scale. His sculptures do not impose themselves on these historic spaces; rather they capture and reflect the actual light and shadows within to communicate a metaphorical language. Both visually stunning and intimate, they draw our attention to a world where migration and difference challenge civilized behavior; in this place, which for centuries has welcomed world travelers, Plensa’s work will connect people of many faiths and of no faith.
In collaboration with the monks of the Abbazia di San Giorgio, as part of the cultural activities of the Benedicti Claustra Onlus, Together hopes to advance the Benedictine community’s efforts to develop a number of restoration projects of the monumental Palladian complex on San Giorgio Maggiore. Inspired by textual elements in the body of Plensa’s work, the project has contributed a significant donation to restore the Abbazia’s 15th and 16th Century illuminated manuscripts; prayer books previously too delicate for public view. (Press release)
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Photographer: Fred H. Politinsky
Subjects: Jazz trumpeter Carlos Nwankwo and jazz saxophonist Nzinga Banks
Location: William Paterson University
Art is fluid, transmutable, open-ended, and never perfect. Art is an event.
---- Robert Genn
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Major transformations and transmutations taking place, outcome is different than expected. Symbol of joy, color, gentleness, lightness, and change in life. Awakens us to dance on the winds of life, teaches that growth doesn't have to be painful, allows us to discover the important issues in life for conscious transformation. Can you discern what is important right now? Don't sweat the small stuff, be joyful and thankful for your blessings.
Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokiteśvara. Tārā is also known as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in saṃsāra.
The most widely known forms of Tārā are:
Green Tārā, (Syamatara) known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
White Tārā, (Sitatara) also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
Red Tārā, (Kurukulla) of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
Black Tārā, associated with power
Yellow Tārā, (Bhrikuti) associated with wealth and prosperity
Blue Tārā, associated with transmutation of anger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(Buddhism)
Temple of the Five Pagodas
Temple of the Five Pagodas , also known as the "Precious Pagoda of the Buddhist Relics of the Diamond Throne" , is a Buddhist temple in the city of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia in north-west China. It is located in the older part of the city in the vicinity of Qingcheng Park.
Construction of the temple began in 1727 and was completed in 1732. The distinctive five pagodas surmount contains a temple with 1563 images of Buddha carved into its walls each differing slightly to the other. Inside is a rare Mongolian cosmological map carved into a large stone which illustrates the zodiac and positions of numerous stars.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.
It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Dualism in cosmology is the moral, or spiritual belief that two fundamental concepts exist, which often oppose each other. It is an umbrella term that covers a diversity of views from various religions, including both traditional religions and scriptural religions.
Moral dualism is the belief of the great complement of, or conflict between, the benevolent and the malevolent. It simply implies that there are two moral opposites at work, independent of any interpretation of what might be "moral" and independent of how these may be represented. Moral opposites might, for example, exist in a worldview which has one god, more than one god, or none. By contrast, duotheism, bitheism or ditheism implies (at least) two gods. While bitheism implies harmony, ditheism implies rivalry and opposition, such as between good and evil, or light and dark, or summer and winter. For example, a ditheistic system could be one in which one god is a creator, and the other a destroyer. In theology, dualism can also refer to the relationship between the deity and creation or the deity and the universe (see theistic dualism). This form of dualism is a belief shared in certain traditions of Christianity and Hinduism.[1] Alternatively, in ontological dualism, the world is divided into two overarching categories. The opposition and combination of the universe's two basic principles of yin and yang is a large part of Chinese philosophy, and is an important feature of Taoism. It is also discussed in Confucianism.
Many myths and creation motifs with dualistic cosmologies have been described in ethnographic and anthropological literature. These motifs conceive the world as being created, organized, or influenced by two demiurges, culture heroes, or other mythological beings, who either compete with each other or have a complementary function in creating, arranging or influencing the world. There is a huge diversity of such cosmologies. In some cases, such as among the Chukchi, the beings collaborate rather than competing, and contribute to the creation in a coequal way. In many other instances the two beings are not of the same importance or power (sometimes, one of them is even characterized as gullible). Sometimes they can be contrasted as good versus evil.[2] They may be often believed to be twins or at least brothers.[3][4] Dualistic motifs in mythologies can be observed in all inhabited continents. Zolotaryov concludes that they cannot be explained by diffusion or borrowing, but are rather of convergent origin: they are related to a dualistic organization of society (moieties); in some cultures, this social organization may have ceased to exist, but mythology preserves the memory in more and more disguised ways.[5]
Moral dualism[edit]
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Moral dualism is the belief of the great complement or conflict between the benevolent and the malevolent. Like ditheism/bitheism (see below), moral dualism does not imply the absence of monist or monotheistic principles. Moral dualism simply implies that there are two moral opposites at work, independent of any interpretation of what might be "moral" and—unlike ditheism/bitheism—independent of how these may be represented.
For example, Mazdaism (Mazdean Zoroastrianism) is both dualistic and monotheistic (but not monist by definition) since in that philosophy God—the Creator—is purely good, and the antithesis—which is also uncreated–is an absolute one. Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism), Manichaeism, and Mandaeism are representative of dualistic and monist philosophies since each has a supreme and transcendental First Principle from which the two equal-but-opposite entities then emanate. This is also true for the lesser-known Christian gnostic religions, such as Bogomils, Catharism, and so on. More complex forms of monist dualism also exist, for instance in Hermeticism, where Nous "thought"—that is described to have created man—brings forth both good and evil, dependent on interpretation, whether it receives prompting from the God or from the Demon. Duality with pluralism is considered a logical fallacy.
History[edit]
Moral dualism began as a theological belief. Dualism was first seen implicitly in Egyptian religious beliefs by the contrast of the gods Set (disorder, death) and Osiris (order, life).[6] The first explicit conception of dualism came from the Ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism around the mid-fifth century BC. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion that believes that Ahura Mazda is the eternal creator of all good things. Any violations of Ahura Mazda's order arise from druj, which is everything uncreated. From this comes a significant choice for humans to make. Either they fully participate in human life for Ahura Mazda or they do not and give druj power. Personal dualism is even more distinct in the beliefs of later religions.
The religious dualism of Christianity between good and evil is not a perfect dualism as God (good) will inevitably destroy Satan (evil). Early Christian dualism is largely based on Platonic Dualism (See: Neoplatonism and Christianity). There is also a personal dualism in Christianity with a soul-body distinction based on the idea of an immaterial Christian soul.[7]
Duotheism, bitheism, ditheism[edit]
When used with regards to multiple gods, dualism may refer to duotheism, bitheism, or ditheism. Although ditheism/bitheism imply moral dualism, they are not equivalent: ditheism/bitheism implies (at least) two gods, while moral dualism does not necessarily imply theism (theos = god) at all.
Both bitheism and ditheism imply a belief in two equally powerful gods with complementary or antonymous properties; however, while bitheism implies harmony, ditheism implies rivalry and opposition, such as between good and evil, bright and dark, or summer and winter. For example, a ditheistic system would be one in which one god is creative, the other is destructive (cf. theodicy). In the original conception of Zoroastrianism, for example, Ahura Mazda was the spirit of ultimate good, while Ahriman (Angra Mainyu) was the spirit of ultimate evil.
In a bitheistic system, by contrast, where the two deities are not in conflict or opposition, one could be male and the other female (cf. duotheism[clarification needed]). One well-known example of a bitheistic or duotheistic theology based on gender polarity is found in the neopagan religion of Wicca. In Wicca, dualism is represented in the belief of a god and a goddess as a dual partnership in ruling the universe. This is centered on the worship of a divine couple, the Moon Goddess and the Horned God, who are regarded as lovers. However, there is also a ditheistic theme within traditional Wicca, as the Horned God has dual aspects of bright and dark - relating to day/night, summer/winter - expressed as the Oak King and the Holly King, who in Wiccan myth and ritual are said to engage in battle twice a year for the hand of the Goddess, resulting in the changing seasons. (Within Wicca, bright and dark do not correspond to notions of "good" and "evil" but are aspects of the natural world, much like yin and yang in Taoism.)
Radical and mitigated dualism[edit]
Radical Dualism – or absolute Dualism which posits two co-equal divine forces.[8] Manichaeism conceives of two previously coexistent realms of light and darkness which become embroiled in conflict, owing to the chaotic actions of the latter. Subsequently, certain elements of the light became entrapped within darkness; the purpose of material creation is to enact the slow process of extraction of these individual elements, at the end of which the kingdom of light will prevail over darkness. Manicheanism likely inherits this dualistic mythology from Zoroastrianism, in which the eternal spirit Ahura Mazda is opposed by his antithesis, Angra Mainyu; the two are engaged in a cosmic struggle, the conclusion of which will likewise see Ahura Mazda triumphant. 'The Hymn of the Pearl' included the belief that the material world corresponds to some sort of malevolent intoxication brought about by the powers of darkness to keep elements of the light trapped inside it in a state of drunken distraction.
Mitigated Dualism – is where one of the two principles is in some way inferior to the other. Such classical Gnostic movements as the Sethians conceived of the material world as being created by a lesser divinity than the true God that was the object of their devotion. The spiritual world is conceived of as being radically different from the material world, co-extensive with the true God, and the true home of certain enlightened members of humanity; thus, these systems were expressive of a feeling of acute alienation within the world, and their resultant aim was to allow the soul to escape the constraints presented by the physical realm.[8]
However, bitheistic and ditheistic principles are not always so easily contrastable, for instance in a system where one god is the representative of summer and drought and the other of winter and rain/fertility (cf. the mythology of Persephone). Marcionism, an early Christian sect, held that the Old and New Testaments were the work of two opposing gods: both were First Principles, but of different religions.[9]
Theistic dualism[edit]
In theology, dualism can refer to the relationship between God and creation or God and the universe. This form of dualism is a belief shared in certain traditions of Christianity and Hinduism.[10][1]
In Christianity[edit]
The Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. The Cathars were denounced as heretics by the Roman Catholic Church for their dualist beliefs.
The dualism between God and Creation has existed as a central belief in multiple historical sects and traditions of Christianity, including Marcionism, Catharism, Paulicianism, and other forms of Gnostic Christianity. Christian dualism refers to the belief that God and creation are distinct, but interrelated through an indivisible bond.[1] However, Gnosticism is a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in a belief in a distinction between a supreme, transcendent God and a blind, evil demiurge responsible for creating the material universe, thereby trapping the divine spark within matter.[11]
In sects like the Cathars and the Paulicians, this is a dualism between the material world, created by an evil god, and a moral god. Historians divide Christian dualism into absolute dualism, which held that the good and evil gods were equally powerful, and mitigated dualism, which held that material evil was subordinate to the spiritual good.[12] The belief, by Christian theologians who adhere to a libertarian or compatibilist view of free will, that free will separates humankind from God has also been characterized as a form of dualism.[1] The theologian Leroy Stephens Rouner compares the dualism of Christianity with the dualism that exists in Zoroastrianism and the Samkhya tradition of Hinduism. The theological use of the word dualism dates back to 1700, in a book that describes the dualism between good and evil.[1]
The tolerance of dualism ranges widely among the different Christian traditions. As a monotheistic religion, the conflict between dualism and monism has existed in Christianity since its inception.[13] The 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia describes that, in the Catholic Church, "the dualistic hypothesis of an eternal world existing side by side with God was of course rejected" by the thirteenth century, but mind–body dualism was not.[14] The problem of evil is difficult to reconcile with absolute monism, and has prompted some Christian sects to veer towards dualism. Gnostic forms of Christianity were more dualistic, and some Gnostic traditions posited that the Devil was separate from God as an independent deity.[13] The Christian dualists of the Byzantine Empire, the Paulicians, were seen as Manichean heretics by Byzantine theologians. This tradition of Christian dualism, founded by Constantine-Silvanus, argued that the universe was created through evil and separate from a moral God.[15]
The Cathars, a Christian sect in southern France, believed that there was a dualism between two gods, one representing good and the other representing evil. Whether or not the Cathari possessed direct historical influence from ancient Gnosticism is a matter of dispute, as the basic conceptions of Gnostic cosmology are to be found in Cathar beliefs (most distinctly in their notion of a lesser creator god), though unlike the second century Gnostics, they did not apparently place any special relevance upon knowledge (gnosis) as an effective salvific force. In any case, the Roman Catholic Church denounced the Cathars as heretics, and sought to crush the movement in the 13th century. The Albigensian Crusade was initiated by Pope Innocent III in 1208 to remove the Cathars from Languedoc in France, where they were known as Albigesians. The Inquisition, which began in 1233 under Pope Gregory IX, also targeted the Cathars.[16]
In Hinduism[edit]
The Dvaita Vedanta school of Indian philosophy espouses a dualism between God and the universe by theorizing the existence of two separate realities. The first and the more important reality is that of Shiva or Shakti or Vishnu or Brahman. Shiva or Shakti or Vishnu is the supreme Self, God, the absolute truth of the universe, the independent reality. The second reality is that of dependent but equally real universe that exists with its own separate essence. Everything that is composed of the second reality, such as individual soul (Jiva), matter, etc. exist with their own separate reality. The distinguishing factor of this philosophy as opposed to Advaita Vedanta (monistic conclusion of Vedas) is that God takes on a personal role and is seen as a real eternal entity that governs and controls the universe.[17][better source needed] Because the existence of individuals is grounded in the divine, they are depicted as reflections, images or even shadows of the divine, but never in any way identical with the divine. Salvation therefore is described as the realization that all finite reality is essentially dependent on the Supreme.[18]
Ontological dualism[edit]
The yin and yang symbolizes the duality in nature and all things in the Taoist religion.
Alternatively, dualism can mean the tendency of humans to perceive and understand the world as being divided into two overarching categories. In this sense, it is dualistic when one perceives a tree as a thing separate from everything surrounding it. This form of ontological dualism exists in Taoism and Confucianism, beliefs that divide the universe into the complementary oppositions of yin and yang.[19] In traditions such as classical Hinduism (Samkhya, Yoga, Vaisheshika and the later Vedanta schools, which accepted the theory of Gunas), Zen Buddhism or Islamic Sufism, a key to enlightenment is "transcending" this sort of dualistic thinking, without merely substituting dualism with monism or pluralism.
In Chinese philosophy[edit]
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The opposition and combination of the universe's two basic principles of yin and yang is a large part of Chinese philosophy, and is an important feature of Taoism, both as a philosophy and as a religion, although the concept developed much earlier. Some argue that yin and yang were originally an earth and sky god, respectively.[20] As one of the oldest principles in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are also discussed in Confucianism, but to a lesser extent.
Some of the common associations with yang and yin, respectively, are: male and female, light and dark, active and passive, motion and stillness. Some scholars believe that the two ideas may have originally referred to two opposite sides of a mountain, facing towards and away from the sun.[20] The yin and yang symbol in actuality has very little to do with Western dualism; instead it represents the philosophy of balance, where two opposites co-exist in harmony and are able to transmute into each other. In the yin-yang symbol there is a dot of yin in yang and a dot of yang in yin. In Taoism, this symbolizes the inter-connectedness of the opposite forces as different aspects of Tao, the First Principle. Contrast is needed to create a distinguishable reality, without which we would experience nothingness. Therefore, the independent principles of yin and yang are actually dependent on one another for each other's distinguishable existence.
The complementary dualistic concept seen in yin and yang represent the reciprocal interaction throughout nature, related to a feedback loop, where opposing forces do not exchange in opposition but instead exchange reciprocally to promote stabilization similar to homeostasis. An underlying principle in Taoism states that within every independent entity lies a part of its opposite. Within sickness lies health and vice versa. This is because all opposites are manifestations of the single Tao, and are therefore not independent from one another, but rather a variation of the same unifying force throughout all of nature.
In traditional religions[edit]
Samoyed peoples[edit]
In a Nenets myth, Num and Nga collaborate and compete with each other, creating land,[21] there are also other myths about competing-collaborating demiurges.[22]
Comparative studies of Kets and neighboring peoples[edit]
Among others, also dualistic myths were investigated in researches which tried to compare the mythologies of Siberian peoples and settle the problem of their origins. Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov compared the mythology of Ket people with those of speakers of Uralic languages, assuming in the studies, that there are modelling semiotic systems in the compared mythologies; and they have also made typological comparisons.[23][24] Among others, from possibly Uralic mythological analogies, those of Ob-Ugric peoples[25] and Samoyedic peoples[26] are mentioned. Some other discussed analogies (similar folklore motifs, and purely typological considerations, certain binary pairs in symbolics) may be related to dualistic organization of society—some of such dualistic features can be found at these compared peoples.[27] It must be admitted that, for Kets, neither dualistic organization of society[28] nor cosmological dualism[29] has been researched thoroughly: if such features existed at all, they have either weakened or remained largely undiscovered;[28] although there are some reports on division into two exogamous patrilinear moieties,[30] folklore on conflicts of mythological figures, and also on cooperation of two beings in creating the land:[29] the diving of the water fowl.[31] If we include dualistic cosmologies meant in broad sense, not restricted to certain concrete motifs, then we find that they are much more widespread, they exist not only among some Siberian peoples, but there are examples in each inhabited continent.[32]
Chukchi[edit]
A Chukchi myth and its variations report the creation of the world; in some variations, it is achieved by the collaboration of several beings (birds, collaborating in a coequal way; or the creator and the raven, collaborating in a coequal way; or the creator alone, using the birds only as assistants).[33][34]
Fuegians[edit]
See also: Fuegians § Spiritual culture
All three Fuegian tribes had dualistic myths about culture heros.[35] The Yámana have dualistic myths about the two [joalox] brothers. They act as culture heroes, and sometimes stand in an antagonistic relation with each other, introducing opposite laws. Their figures can be compared to the Kwanyip-brothers of the Selk'nam.[36] In general, the presence of dualistic myths in two compared cultures does not imply relatedness or diffusion necessarily.[32]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualistic_cosmology
In spirituality, nondualism, also called non-duality, means "not two" or "one undivided without a second".[1][2] Nondualism primarily refers to a mature state of consciousness, in which the dichotomy of I-other is "transcended", and awareness is described as "centerless" and "without dichotomies". Although this state of consciousness may seem to appear spontaneous,[note 1] it usually follows prolonged preparation through ascetic or meditative/contemplative practice, which may include ethical injunctions. While the term "nondualism" is derived from Advaita Vedanta, descriptions of nondual consciousness can be found within Hinduism (Turiya, sahaja), Buddhism (emptiness, pariniṣpanna, nature of mind, rigpa), Islam (Wahdat al Wujud, Fanaa, and Haqiqah) and western Christian and neo-Platonic traditions (henosis, mystical union).
The Asian ideas of nondualism developed in the Vedic and post-Vedic Upanishadic philosophies around 800 BCE,[3] as well as in the Buddhist traditions.[4] The oldest traces of nondualism in Indian thought are found in the earlier Hindu Upanishads such as Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, as well as other pre-Buddhist Upanishads such as the Chandogya Upanishad, which emphasizes the unity of individual soul called Atman and the Supreme called Brahman. In Hinduism, nondualism has more commonly become associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Adi Shankara.[5]
In the Buddhist tradition non-duality is associated with the teachings of emptiness (śūnyatā) and the two truths doctrine, particularly the Madhyamaka teaching of the non-duality of absolute and relative truth,[6][7] and the Yogachara notion of "mind/thought only" (citta-matra) or "representation-only" (vijñaptimātra).[5] These teachings, coupled with the doctrine of Buddha-nature have been influential concepts in the subsequent development of Mahayana Buddhism, not only in India, but also in East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, most notably in Chán (Zen) and Vajrayana.
Western Neo-Platonism is an essential element of both Christian contemplation and mysticism, and of Western esotericism and modern spirituality, especially Unitarianism, Transcendentalism, Universalism and Perennialism.Etymology[edit]
When referring to nondualism, Hinduism generally uses the Sanskrit term Advaita, while Buddhism uses Advaya (Tibetan: gNis-med, Chinese: pu-erh, Japanese: fu-ni).[8]
"Advaita" (अद्वैत) is from Sanskrit roots a, not; dvaita, dual, and is usually translated as "nondualism", "nonduality" and "nondual". The term "nondualism" and the term "advaita" from which it originates are polyvalent terms. The English word's origin is the Latin duo meaning "two" prefixed with "non-" meaning "not".
"Advaya" (अद्वय) is also a Sanskrit word that means "identity, unique, not two, without a second," and typically refers to the two truths doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, especially Madhyamaka.
One of the earliest uses of the word Advaita is found in verse 4.3.32 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (~800 BCE), and in verses 7 and 12 of the Mandukya Upanishad (variously dated to have been composed between 500 BCE to 200 CE).[9] The term appears in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in the section with a discourse of the oneness of Atman (individual soul) and Brahman (universal consciousness), as follows:[10]
An ocean is that one seer, without any duality [Advaita]; this is the Brahma-world, O King. Thus did Yajnavalkya teach him. This is his highest goal, this is his highest success, this is his highest world, this is his highest bliss. All other creatures live on a small portion of that bliss.
— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.32, [11][12][13]
The English term "nondual" was also informed by early translations of the Upanishads in Western languages other than English from 1775. These terms have entered the English language from literal English renderings of "advaita" subsequent to the first wave of English translations of the Upanishads. These translations commenced with the work of Müller (1823–1900), in the monumental Sacred Books of the East (1879).
Max Müller rendered "advaita" as "Monism", as have many recent scholars.[14][15][16] However, some scholars state that "advaita" is not really monism.[17]
Definitions[edit]
See also: Monism, Mind-body dualism, Dualistic cosmology, and Pluralism (philosophy)
Nondualism is a fuzzy concept, for which many definitions can be found.[note 2]
According to Espín and Nickoloff, "nondualism" is the thought in some Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist schools, which, generally speaking:
... teaches that the multiplicity of the universe is reducible to one essential reality."[18]
However, since there are similar ideas and terms in a wide variety of spiritualities and religions, ancient and modern, no single definition for the English word "nonduality" can suffice, and perhaps it is best to speak of various "nondualities" or theories of nonduality.[19]
David Loy, who sees non-duality between subject and object as a common thread in Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta,[20][note 3] distinguishes "Five Flavors Of Nonduality":[web 1]
The negation of dualistic thinking in pairs of opposites. The Yin-Yang symbol of Taoism symbolises the transcendence of this dualistic way of thinking.[web 1]
Monism, the nonplurality of the world. Although the phenomenal world appears as a plurality of "things", in reality they are "of a single cloth".[web 1]
Advaita, the nondifference of subject and object, or nonduality between subject and object.[web 1]
Advaya, the identity of phenomena and the Absolute, the "nonduality of duality and nonduality",[web 1] c.q. the nonduality of relative and ultimate truth as found in Madhyamaka Buddhism and the two truths doctrine.
Mysticism, a mystical unity between God and man.[web 1]
The idea of nondualism is typically contrasted with dualism, with dualism defined as the view that the universe and the nature of existence consists of two realities, such as the God and the world, or as God and Devil, or as mind and matter, and so on.[23][24]
Ideas of nonduality are also taught in some western religions and philosophies, and it has gained attraction and popularity in modern western spirituality and New Age-thinking.[25]
Different theories and concepts which can be linked to nonduality are taught in a wide variety of religious traditions. These include:
Hinduism:
In the Upanishads, which teach a doctrine that has been interpreted in a nondualistic way, mainly tat tvam asi.[26]
The Advaita Vedanta of Shankara[27][26] which teaches that a single pure consciousness is the only reality, and that the world is unreal (Maya).
Non-dual forms of Hindu Tantra[28] including Kashmira Shaivism[29][28] and the goddess centered Shaktism. Their view is similar to Advaita, but they teach that the world is not unreal, but it is the real manifestation of consciousness.[30]
Forms of Hindu Modernism which mainly teach Advaita and modern Indian saints like Ramana Maharshi and Swami Vivekananda.
Buddhism:
"Shūnyavāda (emptiness view) or the Mādhyamaka school",[31][32] which holds that there is a non-dual relationship (that is, there is no true separation) between conventional truth and ultimate truth, as well as between samsara and nirvana.
"Vijnānavāda (consciousness view) or the Yogācāra school",[31][33] which holds that there is no ultimate perceptual and conceptual division between a subject and its objects, or a cognizer and that which is cognized. It also argues against mind-body dualism, holding that there is only consciousness.
Tathagatagarbha-thought,[33] which holds that all beings have the potential to become Buddhas.
Vajrayana-buddhism,[34] including Tibetan Buddhist traditions of Dzogchen[35] and Mahamudra.[36]
East Asian Buddhist traditions like Zen[37] and Huayan, particularly their concept of interpenetration.
Sikhism,[38] which usually teaches a duality between God and humans, but was given a nondual interpretation by Bhai Vir Singh.
Taoism,[39] which teaches the idea of a single subtle universal force or cosmic creative power called Tao (literally "way").
Subud[25]
Abrahamic traditions:
Christian mystics who promote a "nondual experience", such as Meister Eckhart and Julian of Norwich. The focus of this Christian nondualism is on bringing the worshiper closer to God and realizing a "oneness" with the Divine.[40]
Sufism[39]
Jewish Kabbalah
Western traditions:
Neo-platonism [41] which teaches there is a single source of all reality, The One.
Western philosophers like Hegel, Spinoza and Schopenhauer.[41] They defended different forms of philosophical monism or Idealism.
Transcendentalism, which was influenced by German Idealism and Indian religions.
Theosophy
New age
Hinduism[edit]
"Advaita" refers to nondualism, non-distinction between realities, the oneness of Atman (individual self) and Brahman (the single universal existence), as in Vedanta, Shaktism and Shaivism.[42] Although the term is best known from the Advaita Vedanta school of Adi Shankara, "advaita" is used in treatises by numerous medieval era Indian scholars, as well as modern schools and teachers.[note 4]
The Hindu concept of Advaita refers to the idea that all of the universe is one essential reality, and that all facets and aspects of the universe is ultimately an expression or appearance of that one reality.[42] According to Dasgupta and Mohanta, non-dualism developed in various strands of Indian thought, both Vedic and Buddhist, from the Upanishadic period onward.[4] The oldest traces of nondualism in Indian thought may be found in the Chandogya Upanishad, which pre-dates the earliest Buddhism. Pre-sectarian Buddhism may also have been responding to the teachings of the Chandogya Upanishad, rejecting some of its Atman-Brahman related metaphysics.[43][note 5]
Advaita appears in different shades in various schools of Hinduism such as in Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (Vaishnavism), Suddhadvaita Vedanta (Vaishnavism), non-dual Shaivism and Shaktism.[42][46][47] In the Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankara, advaita implies that all of reality is one with Brahman,[42] that the Atman (soul, self) and Brahman (ultimate unchanging reality) are one.[48][49] The advaita ideas of some Hindu traditions contrasts with the schools that defend dualism or Dvaita, such as that of Madhvacharya who stated that the experienced reality and God are two (dual) and distinct.[50][51]
Vedanta[edit]
Main article: Vedanta
Several schools of Vedanta teach a form of nondualism. The best-known is Advaita Vedanta, but other nondual Vedanta schools also have a significant influence and following, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta and Shuddhadvaita,[42] both of which are bhedabheda.
Advaita Vedanta[edit]
Main article: Advaita Vedanta
Swans are important figures in Advaita
The nonduality of the Advaita Vedanta is of the identity of Brahman and the Atman.[52] Advaita has become a broad current in Indian culture and religions, influencing subsequent traditions like Kashmir Shaivism.
The oldest surviving manuscript on Advaita Vedanta is by Gauḍapāda (6th century CE),[5] who has traditionally been regarded as the teacher of Govinda bhagavatpāda and the grandteacher of Adi Shankara. Advaita is best known from the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Adi Shankara (788-820 CE), who states that Brahman, the single unified eternal truth, is pure Being, Consciousness and Bliss (Sat-cit-ananda).[53]
Advaita, states Murti, is the knowledge of Brahman and self-consciousness (Vijnana) without differences.[54] The goal of Vedanta is to know the "truly real" and thus become one with it.[55] According to Advaita Vedanta, Brahman is the highest Reality,[56][57][58] The universe, according to Advaita philosophy, does not simply come from Brahman, it is Brahman. Brahman is the single binding unity behind the diversity in all that exists in the universe.[57] Brahman is also that which is the cause of all changes.[57][59][60] Brahman is the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world".[61]
The nondualism of Advaita, relies on the Hindu concept of Ātman which is a Sanskrit word that means "real self" of the individual,[62][63] "essence",[web 3] and soul.[62][64] Ātman is the first principle,[65] the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual. Atman is the Universal Principle, one eternal undifferentiated self-luminous consciousness, asserts Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism.[66][67]
Advaita Vedanta philosophy considers Atman as self-existent awareness, limitless, non-dual and same as Brahman.[68] Advaita school asserts that there is "soul, self" within each living entity which is fully identical with Brahman.[69][70] This identity holds that there is One Soul that connects and exists in all living beings, regardless of their shapes or forms, there is no distinction, no superior, no inferior, no separate devotee soul (Atman), no separate God soul (Brahman).[69] The Oneness unifies all beings, there is the divine in every being, and all existence is a single Reality, state the Advaita Vedantins.[71] The nondualism concept of Advaita Vedanta asserts that each soul is non-different from the infinite Brahman.[72]
Advaita Vedanta – Three levels of reality[edit]
Advaita Vedanta adopts sublation as the criterion to postulate three levels of ontological reality:[73][74]
Pāramārthika (paramartha, absolute), the Reality that is metaphysically true and ontologically accurate. It is the state of experiencing that "which is absolutely real and into which both other reality levels can be resolved". This experience can't be sublated (exceeded) by any other experience.[73][74]
Vyāvahārika (vyavahara), or samvriti-saya,[75] consisting of the empirical or pragmatic reality. It is ever-changing over time, thus empirically true at a given time and context but not metaphysically true. It is "our world of experience, the phenomenal world that we handle every day when we are awake". It is the level in which both jiva (living creatures or individual souls) and Iswara are true; here, the material world is also true.[74]
Prāthibhāsika (pratibhasika, apparent reality, unreality), "reality based on imagination alone". It is the level of experience in which the mind constructs its own reality. A well-known example is the perception of a rope in the dark as being a snake.[74]
Similarities and differences with Buddhism[edit]
Scholars state that Advaita Vedanta was influenced by Mahayana Buddhism, given the common terminology and methodology and some common doctrines.[76][77] Eliot Deutsch and Rohit Dalvi state:
In any event a close relationship between the Mahayana schools and Vedanta did exist, with the latter borrowing some of the dialectical techniques, if not the specific doctrines, of the former.[78]
Advaita Vedanta is related to Buddhist philosophy, which promotes ideas like the two truths doctrine and the doctrine that there is only consciousness (vijñapti-mātra). It is possible that the Advaita philosopher Gaudapada was influenced by Buddhist ideas.[5] Shankara harmonised Gaudapada's ideas with the Upanishadic texts, and developed a very influential school of orthodox Hinduism.[79][80]
The Buddhist term vijñapti-mātra is often used interchangeably with the term citta-mātra, but they have different meanings. The standard translation of both terms is "consciousness-only" or "mind-only." Advaita Vedanta has been called "idealistic monism" by scholars, but some disagree with this label.[81][82] Another concept found in both Madhyamaka Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta is Ajativada ("ajāta"), which Gaudapada adopted from Nagarjuna's philosophy.[83][84][note 6] Gaudapada "wove [both doctrines] into a philosophy of the Mandukaya Upanisad, which was further developed by Shankara.[86][note 7]
Michael Comans states there is a fundamental difference between Buddhist thought and that of Gaudapada, in that Buddhism has as its philosophical basis the doctrine of Dependent Origination according to which "everything is without an essential nature (nissvabhava), and everything is empty of essential nature (svabhava-sunya)", while Gaudapada does not rely on this principle at all. Gaudapada's Ajativada is an outcome of reasoning applied to an unchanging nondual reality according to which "there exists a Reality (sat) that is unborn (aja)" that has essential nature (svabhava), and this is the "eternal, fearless, undecaying Self (Atman) and Brahman".[88] Thus, Gaudapada differs from Buddhist scholars such as Nagarjuna, states Comans, by accepting the premises and relying on the fundamental teaching of the Upanishads.[88] Among other things, Vedanta school of Hinduism holds the premise, "Atman exists, as self evident truth", a concept it uses in its theory of nondualism. Buddhism, in contrast, holds the premise, "Atman does not exist (or, An-atman) as self evident".[89][90][91]
Mahadevan suggests that Gaudapada adopted Buddhist terminology and adapted its doctrines to his Vedantic goals, much like early Buddhism adopted Upanishadic terminology and adapted its doctrines to Buddhist goals; both used pre-existing concepts and ideas to convey new meanings.[92] Dasgupta and Mohanta note that Buddhism and Shankara's Advaita Vedanta are not opposing systems, but "different phases of development of the same non-dualistic metaphysics from the Upanishadic period to the time of Sankara."[4]
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta[edit]
Ramanuja, founder of Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, taught 'qualified nondualism' doctrine.
See also: Bhedabheda
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is another main school of Vedanta and teaches the nonduality of the qualified whole, in which Brahman alone exists, but is characterized by multiplicity. It can be described as "qualified monism," or "qualified non-dualism," or "attributive monism."
According to this school, the world is real, yet underlying all the differences is an all-embracing unity, of which all "things" are an "attribute." Ramanuja, the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy contends that the Prasthana Traya ("The three courses") – namely the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras – are to be interpreted in a way that shows this unity in diversity, for any other way would violate their consistency.
Vedanta Desika defines Vishishtadvaita using the statement: Asesha Chit-Achit Prakaaram Brahmaikameva Tatvam – "Brahman, as qualified by the sentient and insentient modes (or attributes), is the only reality."
Neo-Vedanta[edit]
Main articles: Neo-Vedanta, Swami Vivekananda, and Ramakrishna Mission
Neo-Vedanta, also called "neo-Hinduism"[93] is a modern interpretation of Hinduism which developed in response to western colonialism and orientalism, and aims to present Hinduism as a "homogenized ideal of Hinduism"[94] with Advaita Vedanta as its central doctrine.[95]
Neo-Vedanta, as represented by Vivekananda and Radhakrishnan, is indebted to Advaita vedanta, but also reflects Advaya-philosophy. A main influence on neo-Advaita was Ramakrishna, himself a bhakta and tantrika, and the guru of Vivekananda. According to Michael Taft, Ramakrishna reconciled the dualism of formlessness and form.[96] Ramakrishna regarded the Supreme Being to be both Personal and Impersonal, active and inactive:
When I think of the Supreme Being as inactive – neither creating nor preserving nor destroying – I call Him Brahman or Purusha, the Impersonal God. When I think of Him as active – creating, preserving and destroying – I call Him Sakti or Maya or Prakriti, the Personal God. But the distinction between them does not mean a difference. The Personal and Impersonal are the same thing, like milk and its whiteness, the diamond and its lustre, the snake and its wriggling motion. It is impossible to conceive of the one without the other. The Divine Mother and Brahman are one.[97]
Radhakrishnan acknowledged the reality and diversity of the world of experience, which he saw as grounded in and supported by the absolute or Brahman.[web 4][note 8] According to Anil Sooklal, Vivekananda's neo-Advaita "reconciles Dvaita or dualism and Advaita or non-dualism":[99]
The Neo-Vedanta is also Advaitic inasmuch as it holds that Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, is one without a second, ekamevadvitiyam. But as distinguished from the traditional Advaita of Sankara, it is a synthetic Vedanta which reconciles Dvaita or dualism and Advaita or non-dualism and also other theories of reality. In this sense it may also be called concrete monism in so far as it holds that Brahman is both qualified, saguna, and qualityless, nirguna.[99]
Radhakrishnan also reinterpreted Shankara's notion of maya. According to Radhakrishnan, maya is not a strict absolute idealism, but "a subjective misperception of the world as ultimately real."[web 4] According to Sarma, standing in the tradition of Nisargadatta Maharaj, Advaitavāda means "spiritual non-dualism or absolutism",[100] in which opposites are manifestations of the Absolute, which itself is immanent and transcendent:[101]
All opposites like being and non-being, life and death, good and evil, light and darkness, gods and men, soul and nature are viewed as manifestations of the Absolute which is immanent in the universe and yet transcends it.[102]
Kashmir Shaivism[edit]
Main articles: Shaivism and Kashmir Shaivism
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Advaita is also a central concept in various schools of Shaivism, such as Kashmir Shaivism[42] and Shiva Advaita.
Kashmir Shaivism is a school of Śaivism, described by Abhinavagupta[note 9] as "paradvaita", meaning "the supreme and absolute non-dualism".[web 5] It is categorized by various scholars as monistic[103] idealism (absolute idealism, theistic monism,[104] realistic idealism,[105] transcendental physicalism or concrete monism[105]).
Kashmir Saivism is based on a strong monistic interpretation of the Bhairava Tantras and its subcategory the Kaula Tantras, which were tantras written by the Kapalikas.[106] There was additionally a revelation of the Siva Sutras to Vasugupta.[106] Kashmir Saivism claimed to supersede the dualistic Shaiva Siddhanta.[107] Somananda, the first theologian of monistic Saivism, was the teacher of Utpaladeva, who was the grand-teacher of Abhinavagupta, who in turn was the teacher of Ksemaraja.[106][108]
The philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism can be seen in contrast to Shankara's Advaita.[109] Advaita Vedanta holds that Brahman is inactive (niṣkriya) and the phenomenal world is an illusion (māyā). In Kashmir Shavisim, all things are a manifestation of the Universal Consciousness, Chit or Brahman.[110][111] Kashmir Shavisim sees the phenomenal world (Śakti) as real: it exists, and has its being in Consciousness (Chit).[112]
Kashmir Shaivism was influenced by, and took over doctrines from, several orthodox and heterodox Indian religious and philosophical traditions.[113] These include Vedanta, Samkhya, Patanjali Yoga and Nyayas, and various Buddhist schools, including Yogacara and Madhyamika,[113] but also Tantra and the Nath-tradition.[114]
Contemporary vernacular Advaita[edit]
Advaita is also part of other Indian traditions, which are less strongly, or not all, organised in monastic and institutional organisations. Although often called "Advaita Vedanta," these traditions have their origins in vernacular movements and "householder" traditions, and have close ties to the Nath, Nayanars and Sant Mat traditions.
Ramana Maharshi[edit]
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) explained his insight using Shaiva Siddhanta, Advaita Vedanta and Yoga teachings.
Main article: Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi (30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) is widely acknowledged as one of the outstanding Indian gurus of modern times.[115] Ramana's teachings are often interpreted as Advaita Vedanta, though Ramana Maharshi never "received diksha (initiation) from any recognised authority".[web 6] Ramana himself did not call his insights advaita:
D. Does Sri Bhagavan advocate advaita?
M. Dvaita and advaita are relative terms. They are based on the sense of duality. The Self is as it is. There is neither dvaita nor advaita. "I Am that I Am."[note 10] Simple Being is the Self.[117]
Neo-Advaita[edit]
Main article: Neo-Advaita
Neo-Advaita is a New Religious Movement based on a modern, western interpretation of Advaita Vedanta, especially the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.[118] According to Arthur Versluis, neo-Advaita is part of a larger religious current which he calls immediatism,[119][web 9] "the assertion of immediate spiritual illumination without much if any preparatory practice within a particular religious tradition."[web 9] Neo-Advaita is criticized for this immediatism and its lack of preparatory practices.[120][note 11][122][note 12] Notable neo-advaita teachers are H. W. L. Poonja[123][118] and his students Gangaji,[124] Andrew Cohen,[note 13], and Eckhart Tolle.[118]
According to a modern western spiritual teacher of nonduality, Jeff Foster, nonduality is:
the essential oneness (wholeness, completeness, unity) of life, a wholeness which exists here and now, prior to any apparent separation [...] despite the compelling appearance of separation and diversity there is only one universal essence, one reality. Oneness is all there is – and we are included.[126]
Natha Sampradaya and Inchegeri Sampradaya[edit]
Main articles: Nath, Sahaja, and Inchegeri Sampradaya
The Natha Sampradaya, with Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, introduced Sahaja, the concept of a spontaneous spirituality. Sahaja means "spontaneous, natural, simple, or easy".[web 13] According to Ken Wilber, this state reflects nonduality.[127]
Buddhism[edit]
There are different Buddhist views which resonate with the concepts and experiences of non-duality or "not two" (advaya). The Buddha does not use the term advaya in the earliest Buddhist texts, but it does appear in some of the Mahayana sutras, such as the Vimalakīrti.[128] While the Buddha taught unified states of mental focus (samadhi) and meditative absorption (dhyana) which were commonly taught in Upanishadic thought, he also rejected the metaphysical doctrines of the Upanishads, particularly ideas which are often associated with Hindu nonduality, such as the doctrine that "this cosmos is the self" and "everything is a Oneness" (cf. SN 12.48 and MN 22).[129][130] Because of this, Buddhist views of nonduality are particularly different than Hindu conceptions, which tend towards idealistic monism.
In Indian Buddhism[edit]
The layman Vimalakīrti Debates Manjusri, Dunhuang Mogao Caves
According to Kameshwar Nath Mishra, one connotation of advaya in Indic Sanskrit Buddhist texts is that it refers to the middle way between two opposite extremes (such as eternalism and annihilationism), and thus it is "not two".[131]
One of these Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra contains a chapter on the "Dharma gate of non-duality" (advaya dharma dvara pravesa) which is said to be entered once one understands how numerous pairs of opposite extremes are to be rejected as forms of grasping. These extremes which must be avoided in order to understand ultimate reality are described by various characters in the text, and include: Birth and extinction, 'I' and 'Mine', Perception and non-perception, defilement and purity, good and not-good, created and uncreated, worldly and unworldly, samsara and nirvana, enlightenment and ignorance, form and emptiness and so on.[132] The final character to attempt to describe ultimate reality is the bodhisattva Manjushri, who states:
It is in all beings wordless, speechless, shows no signs, is not possible of cognizance, and is above all questioning and answering.[133]
Vimalakīrti responds to this statement by maintaining completely silent, therefore expressing that the nature of ultimate reality is ineffable (anabhilāpyatva) and inconceivable (acintyatā), beyond verbal designation (prapañca) or thought constructs (vikalpa).[133] The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, a text associated with Yogācāra Buddhism, also uses the term "advaya" extensively.[134]
In the Mahayana Buddhist philosophy of Madhyamaka, the two truths or ways of understanding reality, are said to be advaya (not two). As explained by the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna, there is a non-dual relationship, that is, there is no absolute separation, between conventional and ultimate truth, as well as between samsara and nirvana.[135][136] The concept of nonduality is also important in the other major Indian Mahayana tradition, the Yogacara school, where it is seen as the absence of duality between the perceiving subject (or "grasper") and the object (or "grasped"). It is also seen as an explanation of emptiness and as an explanation of the content of the awakened mind which sees through the illusion of subject-object duality. However, it is important to note that in this conception of non-dualism, there are still a multiplicity of individual mind streams (citta santana) and thus Yogacara does not teach an idealistic monism.[137]
These basic ideas have continued to influence Mahayana Buddhist doctrinal interpretations of Buddhist traditions such as Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Zen, Huayan and Tiantai as well as concepts such as Buddha-nature, luminous mind, Indra's net, rigpa and shentong.
Madhyamaka[edit]
Main articles: Madhyamika, Shunyata, and Two truths doctrine
Nagarjuna (right), Aryadeva (middle) and the Tenth Karmapa (left).
Madhyamaka, also known as Śūnyavāda (the emptiness teaching), refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of philosophy [138] founded by Nāgārjuna. In Madhyamaka, Advaya refers to the fact that the two truths are not separate or different.,[139] as well as the non-dual relationship of saṃsāra (the round of rebirth and suffering) and nirvāṇa (cessation of suffering, liberation).[42] According to Murti, in Madhyamaka, "Advaya" is an epistemological theory, unlike the metaphysical view of Hindu Advaita.[54] Madhyamaka advaya is closely related to the classical Buddhist understanding that all things are impermanent (anicca) and devoid of "self" (anatta) or "essenceless" (niḥsvabhāvavā),[140][141][142] and that this emptiness does not constitute an "absolute" reality in itself.[note 14].
In Madhyamaka, the two "truths" (satya) refer to conventional (saṃvṛti) and ultimate (paramārtha) truth.[143] The ultimate truth is "emptiness", or non-existence of inherently existing "things",[144] and the "emptiness of emptiness": emptiness does not in itself constitute an absolute reality. Conventionally, "things" exist, but ultimately, they are "empty" of any existence on their own, as described in Nagarjuna's magnum opus, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK):
The Buddha's teaching of the Dharma is based on two truths: a truth of worldly convention and an ultimate truth. Those who do not understand the distinction drawn between these two truths do not understand the Buddha's profound truth. Without a foundation in the conventional truth the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught. Without understanding the significance of the ultimate, liberation is not achieved.[note 15]
As Jay Garfield notes, for Nagarjuna, to understand the two truths as totally different from each other is to reify and confuse the purpose of this doctrine, since it would either destroy conventional realities such as the Buddha's teachings and the empirical reality of the world (making Madhyamaka a form of nihilism) or deny the dependent origination of phenomena (by positing eternal essences). Thus the non-dual doctrine of the middle way lies beyond these two extremes.[146]
"Emptiness" is a consequence of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent arising),[147] the teaching that no dharma ("thing", "phenomena") has an existence of its own, but always comes into existence in dependence on other dharmas. According to Madhyamaka all phenomena are empty of "substance" or "essence" (Sanskrit: svabhāva) because they are dependently co-arisen. Likewise it is because they are dependently co-arisen that they have no intrinsic, independent reality of their own. Madhyamaka also rejects the existence of absolute realities or beings such as Brahman or Self.[148] In the highest sense, "ultimate reality" is not an ontological Absolute reality that lies beneath an unreal world, nor is it the non-duality of a personal self (atman) and an absolute Self (cf. Purusha). Instead, it is the knowledge which is based on a deconstruction of such reifications and Conceptual proliferations.[149] It also means that there is no "transcendental ground," and that "ultimate reality" has no existence of its own, but is the negation of such a transcendental reality, and the impossibility of any statement on such an ultimately existing transcendental reality: it is no more than a fabrication of the mind.[web 14][note 16] Susan Kahn further explains:
Ultimate truth does not point to a transcendent reality, but to the transcendence of deception. It is critical to emphasize that the ultimate truth of emptiness is a negational truth. In looking for inherently existent phenomena it is revealed that it cannot be found. This absence is not findable because it is not an entity, just as a room without an elephant in it does not contain an elephantless substance. Even conventionally, elephantlessness does not exist. Ultimate truth or emptiness does not point to an essence or nature, however subtle, that everything is made of.[web 15]
However, according to Nagarjuna, even the very schema of ultimate and conventional, samsara and nirvana, is not a final reality, and he thus famously deconstructs even these teachings as being empty and not different from each other in the MMK where he writes:[41]
The limit (koti) of nirvāṇa is that of saṃsāra
The subtlest difference is not found between the two.
According to Nancy McCagney, what this refers to is that the two truths depend on each other; without emptiness, conventional reality cannot work, and vice versa. It does not mean that samsara and nirvana are the same, or that they are one single thing, as in Advaita Vedanta, but rather that they are both empty, open, without limits, and merely exist for the conventional purpose of teaching the Buddha Dharma.[41] Referring to this verse, Jay Garfield writes that:
to distinguish between samsara and nirvana would be to suppose that each had a nature and that they were different natures. But each is empty, and so there can be no inherent difference. Moreover, since nirvana is by definition the cessation of delusion and of grasping and, hence, of the reification of self and other and of confusing imputed phenomena for inherently real phenomena, it is by definition the recognition of the ultimate nature of things. But if, as Nagarjuna argued in Chapter XXIV, this is simply to see conventional things as empty, not to see some separate emptiness behind them, then nirvana must be ontologically grounded in the conventional. To be in samsara is to see things as they appear to deluded consciousness and to interact with them accordingly. To be in nirvana, then, is to see those things as they are - as merely empty, dependent, impermanent, and nonsubstantial, not to be somewhere else, seeing something else.[150]
It is important to note however that the actual Sanskrit term "advaya" does not appear in the MMK, and only appears in one single work by Nagarjuna, the Bodhicittavivarana.[151]
The later Madhyamikas, states Yuichi Kajiyama, developed the Advaya definition as a means to Nirvikalpa-Samadhi by suggesting that "things arise neither from their own selves nor from other things, and that when subject and object are unreal, the mind, being not different, cannot be true either; thereby one must abandon attachment to cognition of nonduality as well, and understand the lack of intrinsic nature of everything". Thus, the Buddhist nondualism or Advaya concept became a means to realizing absolute emptiness.[152]
Yogācāra tradition[edit]
Asaṅga (fl. 4th century C.E.), a Mahayana scholar who wrote numerous works which discuss the Yogacara view and practice.
Main article: Yogacara
In the Mahayana tradition of Yogācāra (Skt; "yoga practice"), adyava (Tibetan: gnyis med) refers to overcoming the conceptual and perceptual dichotomies of cognizer and cognized, or subject and object.[42][153][154][155] The concept of adyava in Yogācāra is an epistemological stance on the nature of experience and knowledge, as well as a phenomenological exposition of yogic cognitive transformation. Early Buddhism schools such as Sarvastivada and Sautrāntika, that thrived through the early centuries of the common era, postulated a dualism (dvaya) between the mental activity of grasping (grāhaka, "cognition", "subjectivity") and that which is grasped (grāhya, "cognitum", intentional object).[156][152][156][157] Yogacara postulates that this dualistic relationship is a false illusion or superimposition (samaropa).[152]
Yogācāra also taught the doctrine which held that only mental cognitions really exist (vijñapti-mātra),[158][note 17] instead of the mind-body dualism of other Indian Buddhist schools.[152][156][158] This is another sense in which reality can be said to be non-dual, because it is "consciousness-only".[159] There are several interpretations of this main theory, which has been widely translated as representation-only, ideation-only, impressions-only and perception-only.[160][158][161][162] Some scholars see it as a kind of subjective or epistemic Idealism (similar to Kant's theory) while others argue that it is closer to a kind of phenomenology or representationalism. According to Mark Siderits the main idea of this doctrine is that we are only ever aware of mental images or impressions which manifest themselves as external objects, but "there is actually no such thing outside the mind."[163] For Alex Wayman, this doctrine means that "the mind has only a report or representation of what the sense organ had sensed."[161] Jay Garfield and Paul Williams both see the doctrine as a kind of Idealism in which only mentality exists.[164][165]
However, it is important to note that even the idealistic interpretation of Yogācāra is not an absolute monistic idealism like Advaita Vedanta or Hegelianism, since in Yogācāra, even consciousness "enjoys no transcendent status" and is just a conventional reality.[166] Indeed, according to Jonathan Gold, for Yogācāra, the ultimate truth is not consciousness, but an ineffable and inconceivable "thusness" or "thatness" (tathatā).[153] Also, Yogācāra affirms the existence of individual mindstreams, and thus Kochumuttom also calls it a realistic pluralism.[82]
The Yogācārins defined three basic modes by which we perceive our world. These are referred to in Yogācāra as the three natures (trisvabhāva) of experience. They are:[167][168]
Parikalpita (literally, "fully conceptualized"): "imaginary nature", wherein things are incorrectly comprehended based on conceptual and linguistic construction, attachment and the subject object duality. It is thus equivalent to samsara.
Paratantra (literally, "other dependent"): "dependent nature", by which the dependently originated nature of things, their causal relatedness or flow of conditionality. It is the basis which gets erroneously conceptualized,
Pariniṣpanna (literally, "fully accomplished"): "absolute nature", through which one comprehends things as they are in themselves, that is, empty of subject-object and thus is a type of non-dual cognition. This experience of "thatness" (tathatā) is uninfluenced by any conceptualization at all.
To move from the duality of the Parikalpita to the non-dual consciousness of the Pariniṣpanna, Yogācāra teaches that there must be a transformation of consciousness, which is called the "revolution of the basis" (āśraya-parāvṛtti). According to Dan Lusthaus, this transformation which characterizes awakening is a "radical psycho-cognitive change" and a removal of false "interpretive projections" on reality (such as ideas of a self, external objects, etc).[169]
The Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra, a Yogācāra text, also associates this transformation with the concept of non-abiding nirvana and the non-duality of samsara and nirvana. Regarding this state of Buddhahood, it states:
Its operation is nondual (advaya vrtti) because of its abiding neither in samsara nor in nirvana (samsaranirvana-apratisthitatvat), through its being both conditioned and unconditioned (samskrta-asamskrtatvena).[170]
This refers to the Yogācāra teaching that even though a Buddha has entered nirvana, they do no "abide" in some quiescent state separate from the world but continue to give rise to extensive activity on behalf of others.[170] This is also called the non-duality between the compounded (samskrta, referring to samsaric existence) and the uncompounded (asamskrta, referring to nirvana). It is also described as a "not turning back" from both samsara and nirvana.[171]
For the later thinker Dignaga, non-dual knowledge or advayajñāna is also a synonym for prajñaparamita (transcendent wisdom) which liberates one from samsara.[172]
Other Indian traditions[edit]
Buddha nature or tathagata-garbha (literally "Buddha womb") is that which allows sentient beings to become Buddhas.[173] Various Mahayana texts such as the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras focus on this idea and over time it became a very influential doctrine in Indian Buddhism, as well in East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism. The Buddha nature teachings may be regarded as a form of nondualism. According to Sally B King, all beings are said to be or possess tathagata-garbha, which is nondual Thusness or Dharmakaya. This reality, states King, transcends the "duality of self and not-self", the "duality of form and emptiness" and the "two poles of being and non being".[174]
There various interpretations and views on Buddha nature and the concept became very influential in India, China and Tibet, where it also became a source of much debate. In later Indian Yogācāra, a new sub-school developed which adopted the doctrine of tathagata-garbha into the Yogācāra system.[166] The influence of this hybrid school can be seen in texts like the Lankavatara Sutra and the Ratnagotravibhaga. This synthesis of Yogācāra tathagata-garbha became very influential in later Buddhist traditions, such as Indian Vajrayana, Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.[175][166] Yet another development in late Indian Buddhism was the synthesis of Madhymaka and Yogacara philosophies into a single system, by figures such as Śāntarakṣita (8th century). Buddhist Tantra, also known as Vajrayana, Mantrayana or Esoteric Buddhism, drew upon all these previous Indian Buddhist ideas and nondual philosophies to develop innovative new traditions of Buddhist practice and new religious texts called the Buddhist tantras (from the 6th century onwards).[176] Tantric Buddhism was influential in China and is the main form of Buddhism in the Himalayan regions, especially Tibetan Buddhism.
I tried one method of using it. It’s the same one as Lawrence Principe uses in his book, and indeed I asked him about it a year before the book was published. He said the secret was in the temperature, or words to that effect. I had previously tried it this way but had either left it in too long or made it too hot, or maybe not had a very good quality of ‘water’. It is worth nothing that the Leyden papyrus doesn’t specify how to use this water.
So first I dipped the silver into the liquid when it was cold, and not a lot happened except that over 10 minutes in it, the silver turned slightly yellow, but left for longer and it went black. Whilst black is an alchemical colour, it isn’t the one we want here, at the end of the process.
So I heated the golden liquid until it became more red, although nowhere near boiling. Say about hand hot. A few seconds immersed in it gave this, shown with some untreated silver:
Note the shine of the metal and the apparent depth of colour.
I stuck another sample in for longer, it turned black. I’d killed it! (Silver sulphides are black, but a thin layer of them is, as you can see, gold coloured)
Which is of course a possible aim, since much reference is made to the death of metals and their resurrection in Graeco-Egyptian alchemy.
The next step in the use of this substance would probably be to seal the colour in using some kind of varnish, because now, three weeks later, the colour on the silver has faded to a slight yellow as the sulphides have evaporated or oxidised.
The next step after turning the silver black would be to melt it with other ingredients, but exactly what I am not sure.
The funny thing is that I haven’t found any later mention of this recipe than a 9/10th century Arabic text. I suspect that might be because by that time and after, both in Arabic countries and in Europe, such a superficial colour change was nothing special and had no value, since it did not lead to anything really like gold. Whereas the Egyptian alchemists were more interested in the specific colour change using divine/ sulphurous substances, themselves of important colours and unusual behaviour and so it was of great use to them.
Some of the world's most famous scientists did indeed believe iron could be turned into gold, and several of them tried desperately to make it happen for hundreds of years. Long before much of modern science became known, many early scientists were fascinated by a practice called alchemy.
Alchemy was a secret and mysterious practice that reflected a spiritual worldview very different from our modern view of science. The metals we know today as individual elements were believed by alchemists to be alive and growing underground. Metals like iron and lead were thought to be merely immature and undeveloped “early" versions of precious metals, like silver and gold.
Alchemists believed they could refine base metals into precious metals if they could just find the mythical substance they called philosopher's stone. The philosopher's stone they searched for wasn't an actual rock. Instead, it was supposedly a magical wax, liquid, or powder that could heal ailments and prolong life, as well as change base metals into precious metals.
Knowing what we do today about science, alchemy sounds crazy, doesn't it? After all, it's no surprise that alchemists ultimately failed in their quest, since the very idea of alchemy contradicts the basic laws of chemistry and physics. Rather than the atoms and elements we know today, alchemists believed everything in the world was made up of four elements: air, earth, fire, and water.
We now know that air, earth, fire, and water are not actual elements. Therefore, it's not possible to adjust the percentages of those elements within iron to turn it into gold. Despite the utter failure of alchemy to transform iron into gold, it wasn't a completely worthless pursuit. Scientists and historians now credit ancient alchemists for developing the groundwork for what would become modern chemistry.
In fact, you're probably already familiar with one of the more famous alchemists from ancient history. Ever heard of a guy named Sir Isaac Newton? That's right! Sir Isaac Newton, the guy who invented calculus and is considered the father of modern physics, was a devoted alchemist who believed at one time that he had discovered the mythical philosopher's stone.
Newton's dedication to alchemy has made modern scientists reconsider its importance in the history of the development of modern science. Many experts now agree that alchemy was an important natural step in laying the foundation for modern science. Instead of superstitious witchcraft, alchemy is now often seen as an ancient practice of early scientists trying to make sense of the world around them.
Other experts point out the many scientific advancements that can be traced back to alchemy. For example, alchemists created new alloys and manufactured acids and pigments for the first time. They also invented distillation apparatuses and conceived of atoms hundreds of years before modern atomic theory. Perhaps most importantly, though, they helped to forge the basis for the modern scientific method by repeating controlled experiments over and over.
For hundreds of years alchemists toiled in their laboratories to produce a mythical substance known as the philosopher’s stone. The supposedly dense, waxy, red material was said to enable the process that has become synonymous with alchemy—chrysopoeia, the metamorphosis, or transmutation, of base metals such as lead into gold.
Alchemists have often been dismissed as pseudoscientific charlatans but in many ways they paved the way for modern chemistry and medicine. The alchemists of the 16th and 17th centuries developed new experimental techniques, medicines and other chemical concoctions, such as pigments. And many of them "were amazingly good experimentalists,” says Lawrence Principe, a chemist and science historian at Johns Hopkins University. “Any modern professor of chemistry today would be more than happy to hire some of these guys as lab techs.” The alchemists counted among their number Irish-born scientist Robert Boyle, credited as one of the founders of modern chemistry; pioneering Swiss-born physician Paracelsus; and English physicist Isaac Newton.
But despite the alchemists’ intellectual firepower and experimental acumen, the philosopher’s stone lay forever out of reach. The problem, Principe says, is that the alchemists did not yet know that lead and gold were different atomic elements—the periodic table was still hundreds of years away. Believing them to be hybrid compounds, and therefore amenable to chemical change in laboratory reactions, the alchemists pursued the dream of chrysopoeia to no avail.
With the dawn of the atomic age in the 20th century, however, the transmutation of elements finally became possible. Nowadays nuclear physicists routinely transform one element to another. In commercial nuclear reactors, uranium atoms break apart to yield smaller nuclei of elements such as xenon and strontium as well as heat that can be harnessed to generate electricity. In experimental fusion reactors heavy isotopes of hydrogen merge together to form helium. (An element is defined by the number of protons in its nucleus whereas an isotope of a given element is determined by the quantity of neutrons.)
But what of the fabled transmutation of lead to gold? It is indeed possible—all you need is a particle accelerator, a vast supply of energy and an extremely low expectation of how much gold you will end up with. More than 30 years ago nuclear scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in California succeeded in producing very small amounts of gold from bismuth, a metallic element adjacent to lead on the periodic table. The same process would work for lead, but isolating the gold at the end of the reaction would prove much more difficult, says David J. Morrissey, now of Michigan State University, one of the scientists who conducted the research. “We could have used lead in the experiments, but we used bismuth because it has only one stable isotope,” Morrissey says. The element’s homogeneous nature means it is easier to separate gold from bismuth than it is to separate gold from lead, which has four stable isotopic identities.
Using the LBNL’s Bevalac particle accelerator, Morrissey and his colleagues boosted beams of carbon and neon nuclei nearly to light speed and then slammed them into foils of bismuth. When a high-speed nucleus in the beam collided with a bismuth atom, it sheared off part of the bismuth nucleus, leaving a slightly diminished atom behind. By sifting through the particulate wreckage, the team found a number of transmuted atoms in which four protons had been removed from a bismuth atom to produce gold. Along with the four protons, the collision-induced reactions had removed anywhere from six to 15 neutrons, producing a range of gold isotopes from gold 190 (79 protons and 111 neutrons) to gold 199 (79 protons, 120 neutrons), the researchers reported in the March 1981 issue of Physical Review C.
The amount of gold produced was so small that Morrissey and his colleagues had to identify it by measuring the radiation given off by unstable gold nuclei as they decayed over the course of a year. In addition to the several radioactive isotopes of gold, the particle collisions presumably produced some amount of the stable isotope gold 197—the stuff of wedding bands and gold bullion—but because it does not decay the researchers were unable to confirm its presence. “The stable isotope would have to be observed in a mass spectrometer,” Morrissey says, “but I think that the number of atoms was, and is still, below the level of detection by mass spec.”
Isolating the minute quantities of gold would be even more difficult using lead as a starting material, but smashing high-speed nuclei into a lead target would indeed complete the long-sought transmutation. Some of the collisions would be expected to remove three protons from lead, or one proton from mercury, to produce gold. “It is relatively straightforward to convert lead, bismuth or mercury into gold,” Morrissey says. “The problem is the rate of production is very, very small and the energy, money, etcetera expended will always far exceed the output of gold atoms.”
In 1980, when the bismuth-to-gold experiment was carried out, running particle beams through the Bevalac cost about $5,000 an hour, “and we probably used about a day of beam time,” recalls Oregon State University nuclear chemist Walter Loveland, one of the researchers on the project. Glenn Seaborg, who shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work with heavy elements and who died in 1999, was the senior author on the resulting study. “It would cost more than one quadrillion dollars per ounce to produce gold by this experiment," Seaborg told the Associated Press that year. The going rate for an ounce of gold at the time? About $560.
If you had lived hundreds of years ago, do you think you would've wanted to be an alchemist? Be sure to explore the following interesting activities with a friend or family member:
You might not be able to turn iron into gold, but you can change the form of a simple compound you use every day. What are we talking about? Water, of course! Get an ice cube out of your refrigerator and turn it to liquid water. You can do that a number of ways. You could simply let it melt on the kitchen countertop, or you could put it in a pan and heat it up to watch it melt quickly. You will definitely need that pan if you want to turn your liquid water into a gas. Keep heating some water in a pan until it reaches the boiling point. When it does, you'll see the water in the pan turning into water vapor right before your eyes. Have fun exploring the different states of water!Want to learn more about Isaac Newton's Experiments with Alchemy? Just follow the link to watch videos of some of Isaac Newton's most famous alchemy experiments. How do you think these experiments helped Newton become the famous scientist he was? Was all of alchemy a waste of time? Why or why not?If you could turn one element into another, what would you do? Think about what elements or things you have plenty of. Then think about things that you don't have much of, but would like more of. For example, if you could do it, would you invent a machine that could change air into soda? How about vegetables into ice cream? Let your imagination run wild and write a short story about what you would do as a modern-day alchemist. Have fun and be sure to share your story with a friend or family member!
distillatio.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/how-to-use-the-divin...
Just in time for Bionifight's closing, I managed to put together a MOC of my (second?) favorite character from the RPG: Virse, Toa of Sand. I've been wanting to MOC her for months, and now that I finally got some (knockoff) tan CCBS, I could finish her. I have to say I'm very proud of how she came out.
Virse hails from an alternate universe where the GSR was never built and the Toa were created to attempt to repair Spherus Magna. However, they only made it worse, and in the great Shattering that followed, the Great Beings were lost. The survivors were forced to war for resources, Glatorian vs. Toa. After thousands of years passed and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, they reached an unsteady peace. Virse, like many other Toa, used this time to specialize her element, shifting from Stone to Sand, before being taken to fight in the Bionifight Tournament. When the Bionifight Facility crash-landed on Saarella Kirottu, Virse was lost and presumed dead in an attempt to liberate the prisoners of the Cult of War.
Virse wields a Heat Gauntlet, a weak Great Being relic capable of creating great heat, in which she can forge her hardened glass blades. She wears the Mask of Elemental Transmutation, allowing her to change her body into sand.
The dogs belonging to the piano's fairies can be found in a wide variety of colours. They are sometimes described as white with red ears may be found in all colours of the keybord.
In Kabbalah, Renaissance magic, and alchemy, the language of the birds was considered a secret and perfect language and the key to perfect knowledge, sometimes also called the langue verte, or green language (Jean Julien Fulcanelli, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa de occulta philosophia,A black dog is a spectral or demonic entity found primarily in the folklore of the British Isles."Their discovery that certain neurons have “music selectivity” stirs questions about the role of music in human life. Why do our brains contain music-selective neurons? Could some evolutionary purpose have led to neurons devoted to music? McDermott says the study can’t answer such questions. But he is excited by the fact that it shows music has a unique biological effect. 'We presume those neurons are doing something in relation to the analysis of music that allows you to extract structure, following melodies or rhythms, or maybe extract emotion,' he says." The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, some of them shapeshifters, and are often said to be associated with the Devil or described as a ghost or hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal dog and often has large glowing eyes.[ It is sometimes associated with electrical storms (such as Black Shuck's appearance at Bungay, Suffolk) and also with crossroads, places of execution and ancient pathways. The origins of the black dog are difficult to discern. It is uncertain whether the creature originated in the Celtic or Germanic elements of British culture. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Cŵn Annwn (Welsh),Garmr (Norse) and Cerberus (Greek), all of whom were in some way guardians of the Underworld. This association seems to be due to the scavenging habits of dogs. It is possible that the black dog is a survival of these beliefs. Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest and Shuck) are said to be directly harmful. They may also serve as familiar spirits for witches and warlocks. Some black dogs, however, such as the Gurt Dog in Somerset and the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills in Connecticut,are said to behave benevolently. Some, known as guardian black dogs, guide travellers at night onto the right path or guard them from danger.his thought leads to another, which takes us into unexplored and perhaps unexplorable regions of Greek religious history. The chief claim made in Pithetaerus's preposterous speech to the Birds is, after all, partly true. The Birds were objects of worship to the Minoans and the early inhabitants of Greece before Zeus and his Olympian commando descended upon the peninsula. Birds were not gods; Pithetaerus does not quite say they were. Yet the bird perched on the sacred Double Axe or the pillar-tree was the Numen of the axe or the tree. Technically, the Language of the Birds - as it was often described in folk tales and myths in general - literally referred to what anyone might assume it did: the way birds communicate. And, to be able to understand this language endowed one with special powers, knowledge and abilities. As time went on, however, the phrase took on more occult implications. in medieval France it became the secret "Green Language" of the Freemasons and Knights Templar - la langue des oiseaux - and was possibly also utilized by the Troubadours (or Trouvères). During the Renaissance, there were apparently a number of musical languages inspired by birdsong, although at least a few of these were probably composed of simple signals in ways similar to those used by the indigenous peoples of the Americas and elsewhere.When I first began using the phrase "the Language of the Birds" to describe my own understanding of mysticism, I had almost no formal knowledge of the phrase's history; I had initially found it in reference to a Sufi text, and was attracted to it in a poetic sense. After all, the phrase has a nice resonance to it. Eventually, however, I began to equate it with language of the higher consciousness, specifically that of the creative muse and its role in automatism. At the same time, you began to intuit there was a transdimensional aspect to it, which you referred to as "the memory of sound". That is, while there is the physicality of sound and its effect on our senses, there are also immaterial, subliminal codes embedded in sound which effect us both emotionally and spiritually in ways that are not currently understood. In this sense, music is, in fact, magic.The Minoans believed, as Nilson says, that the gods - or, to put it more exactly, the divine power - appeared in the form of birds. Again, the most important and wide-spread method of communication with the divine power was by augury. The birds knew the weather; they knew when good luck or bad was to be expected; they gave clear warning of the future to those who could read their messages. Could they have known what was coming so well unless indeed it was partly they who made it come? "Sometimes mythological birds create more than the physical world. Cultures in northern Europe and Asia credited birds with establishing their social orders, especially kingships. A golden-winged eagle was said to have put the first Mongol emperor on his throne. The Japanese believed that sacred birds guided their second emperor in conquering his enemies before the founding of his dynasty. The Magyar people claimed that a giant eagle, falcon, or hawk had led their first king into Hungary, where he founded their nation. The Magyars looked upon this bird as their mythical ancestor...Many myths have linked birds to the arrival of life or death. With their power of flight, these winged creatures were seen as carriers or symbols of the human soul, or as the soul itself, flying heavenward after a person died. A bird may represent both the soul of the dead and a deity at the same time. Some cultures have associated birds with birth, claiming that a person’s soul arrived on earth in bird form."Lastly, we come to the Music Box, the third element of this introduction. Portions of it first made its appearance on this blog in February around Valentine's Day, and was meant to be the metaphorical fulcrum about which my "Ode to Love" was spun. That particular post died in the water, however - for numerous reasons - and, although the initial post is still online - and might be referred to in the future - you may as well consider this one its replacement.
In "Still Life with Music Box" the floating panels of the box I created last month have finally come together into an actual (although virtual) object. In order to visualize the box, I inadvertently made a model of it with cardboard and inkjet prints and then snapped its photograph. A great deal more work was involved, but amongst the objects, only three were entirely contrived... and I'm guessing it's pretty obvious which ones. I'm no master, but I did the best I could (without driving myself insane). (Hint: The wooden table supporting the objects is real enough - it was created by my grandfather at some point around the turn of the last century.)
As it so happens, as lyrical as the music box appears, it's creation was the result of a geometrical inquiry... an inquiry that's particularly relevant in any discussion of love and alchemy when you come right down to it, but I'll save the geometry for the next post and reflect on the music box's general importance here; that is, in its role as a generator of music, and, at the same time, a collector of love tokens, that is, a keepsake box.
Initially, I referred to the music box as the "Love Box"... totally overlooking the fact that the actual term is American slang for a certain portion of a woman's anatomy. That being said, that "love box" has the particularly feminine connotations it does, is not really inappropriate here. Woman, after all, do have a peculiar predilection for keeping memorable items in special boxes, especially as young girls. Our little magic boxes... full of talismanic detritus we've collected over the years... a coin, jewelry, a shred of hair, a crumbling flower head, a photo, a signature, stones, bones... whatever. Generally the tokens are kept to remind us of lovers or loved ones... small trophies for experiences that may eventually retreat into a mental shadowland in the same way the objects themselves have retreated into the shadowy recesses of the box. But, no matter. The box becomes a sort of artificial memory bank... a collection of three-dimensional objects representing transdimensional events in the same way a collection of symbols do.
In the end, whether we're talking about musical codes, alchemical codes, or the enigmatic chemistry of love and attraction, some type of hidden language is involved... as is some kind of communication that lies outside the bounds of what is consciously understood. When we find ourselves in tears while listening to an old, wistful tune, or find ourselves suddenly uplifted by the memory of a lover's smile, although utterly immaterial, the experience is real, and has as much power to move us, inspire us, and inform us as any collection of words (up to and including the ones you are presently reading)! And that, is the Language of the Birds.
As it stands, for all our technological prowess, we, as a species, have not inwardly changed very much from the days our savage ancestors danced naked around a fire; the difference being, our savage ancestors very likely understood a few things we modern specimens of humanity have forgotten. And, one of those "things" is the origin of music. My guess is that if prehistoric humans could somehow convey to us certain facets of our prehistory, they might inform us that humans did not, after all, invent music. The were taught.
Well, do the math. Songbirds are thought to have evolved 50 million years ago in an area which is now Australia. Modern humans, on the other hand, are generally considered to have arisen out of Africa a paltry 250,000 years old. In other words, birds were singing millions of years before humans even discovered the coveted fire they'd eventually dance around."Their discovery that certain neurons have “music selectivity” stirs questions about the role of music in human life. Why do our brains contain music-selective neurons? Could some evolutionary purpose have led to neurons devoted to music? McDermott says the study can’t answer such questions. But he is excited by the fact that it shows music has a unique biological effect. 'We presume those neurons are doing something in relation to the analysis of music that allows you to extract structure, following melodies or rhythms, or maybe extract emotion,' he says."
"As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals."
- From a short entry for the Wiccan holiday, Ostara (March 20th), found on this page.
"Hieros gamos or Hierogamy (Greek ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία "holy marriage") refers to a sexual ritual that plays out a marriage between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.
The notion of hieros gamos does not presuppose actual performance in ritual, but is also used in purely symbolic or mythological context, notably in alchemy and hence in Jungian psychology.
In Wicca, the Great Rite is a ritual based on the Hieros Gamos. It is generally enacted symbolically by a dagger being placed point first into a chalice, the action symbolizing the union of the male and female divine in the Hieros gamos. In British Traditional Wicca, the Great Rite is sometimes carried out in actuality by the High Priest and High Priestess."
- From the Wiki entry for Hieros gamos.
"One of the most fascinating explorations of the psychological analogues of alchemy was given to us by Jung in a lengthy essay not usually classified as one of his alchemical writings, entitled The Psychology of the Transference. In this study Jung employed the ten pictures illustrating the opus of alchemical transormation contained in a classic called Rosarium Philosophorum (Rosary of the Philosophers), where the dual powers of the "King" and "Queen" are shown to undergo a number of phases of their own mystico-erotic relationship and eventually unite in a new, androgynous being, called in the text "the noble Empress". The term "transference is used by Jung as a psychological synonym for love, which in interpersonal relations as well as in depth-psychological analysis serves the role of the great healer of the sorrows and injuries of living."
- From "Alchemical Eros" via C. G. Jung and the Alchemical Renewal by Stephen A. Hoeller, (an article from the Gnosis magazine archive).
"In this hermetic side of alchemy, the "philosopher's stone", supposed to to be the most tangible and dense crystalization or condensation of a subtle substance, became a metaphor for an inner potential of the spirit and reason to evolve from a lower state of imperfection and vice (symbolized by the base metals) to a higher state of enlightenment and perfection (symbolized by gold). In this view, spiritual elevation, the transmutation of metals, and the purification and rejuvenation of the body were seen to be manifestations of the same concept."
- From the Crystalinks entry for Philospher's Stone.
***
But, what do we really mean by phrases like "the realm of the psyche" or "spiritual elevation"? Obviously, this question (in various forms) has been at the heart of the world's philosophy the millisecond humanity became disconnected from its initial source. At some point, we simply forgot. No longer having any real understanding of our essential natures we - specifically those of us in the west - allowed the various spin-doctors to take over. "And all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty (the egg) together again... "
Except for one thing. In spite of the failure on the part of "the king and his men", there is one force that could - and one force that always will - "put" us together again, and that is the force of Love. While the physical aspect of Love exists and is very important to us in a biological and psychological sense, Love also reminds us that we are, in essence, immaterial entities. We know that we are truly alive because we love. We are assured our lives have meaning because we love. We conceive of things like "eternity" and "forever" because we love.... and we know Love, like Life itself, cannot simply dissipate because, although it influences the material realm, it is not really of it. Love knows no atrophy.
Alchemy itself, as a psuedo-science and precursor to chemistry, was primarily founded upon the concept that there was some substance - the Philopher's Stone - that when procured a certain way via certain rituals could transform base materials literally into gold. This, in any case, is the general fable. But when one takes a peek at all the literature, and all the various graphic material pertaining to alchemy and the alchemists, one thing immediately becomes clear: alchemy was no mere chemistry experiment.
But, just what was alchemy exactly? What was really meant by "the Great Work"? In reality, there is no exact definition of alchemy. It seems to have slowly evolved both in the East and in the West, and, at all times, to have been both an exoteric as well as an esoteric inquiry. On one hand, the quest was to cure disease, attain immortality and transmute base substances... on the other the goal was divine and spiritual knowledge and the perfection of the soul. The Great Work was generally in reference to creating or attaining the Philosopher's Stone, but once again, the "stone" had both material and mystical properties. One might say the stone itself was merely metaphorical for a sublime state of being or for the secret of creation itself.
One might go further and intuit the true Philosopher's Stone was the force of Love, but this side of alchemy has been mostly ignored except in Hermetic philosophy, in which the heiros gamos (see quotes above), or the "mysterium conjunctionis" is a crucial part of the philosophy. It was not lost on Carl Jung, however, who wrote in Volume 14 (translatable text) of his Collected Works:
“In light of eternity, it is a wedding, a mysterium conjunctionis. The soul attains, as it were its missing half, it achieves wholeness.”
Transcendence transfigures; it does not reconcile, but rather transmutes opposites into something surpassing them that effaces their oppositions
- Sri Aurobindo,
Although I am not particularly skilled at staged photos, I thought this would be a good exercise in black and white, and it's always nice to play around with different shutter settings and lighting in a controlled environment.
One nice surprise though? The ray effect of the coins dropping, nearly like money was contained in a ray of light, transmuting on impact
Anyway, sometimes play does pay off!
It is believed that spirits often feed themselves thru inhaling from joss sticks.
======
It's the Luner 7th month, which means it's the scariest month in the whole year according to Chinese believes.
As a child I was always warned to be extra cautious: avoid going out at night, never answer when I heard anyone call my name from behind, don't whistle and no mention the word "ghosts" are among the rules during the Ghost Month.
This year I decide to pay a visit to one of the remaining Ghost Month ( which is called "Yu Lan Festival" in the formal term ) to document some of its believes.
So here's the beginning of my first documentation of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
It became apparent that the site was well suited for another high-profile memorial since it sat directly south of the White House. By 1901 the Senate Park Commission, better known as the McMillan Commission, had proposed placing a pantheon-like structure on the site hosting "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory of some individual shall be honored by a monument of the first rank may be left to the future"; no action was ever taken by Congress on this issue.[3]
The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped to facilitate the recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid-chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water and make the Tidal Basin (also known as Twining Lake) suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Memorial, opened in May 1918 and operated as a "Whites Only" facility through 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid the question of racial integration.[5]
A design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt in 1925. The winning design was submitted by John Russell Pope and consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. The plan was never funded by Congress and was not built.[3]
Jefferson Memorial Side View
The Memorial's chance came in 1934 when President Franklin Roosevelt, an admirer of Jefferson himself, inquired to the Commission of Fine Arts about the possibility of erecting a memorial to Jefferson, including it in the plans for the Federal Triangle project, which was under construction at the time. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boylan jumped off FDR's starting point and urged Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission. Boylan was appointed the Commission's first chairman and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for a memorial to Jefferson.[3]
Jefferson warns that a nation cannot be "ignorant and free."
The Commission chose John Russell Pope as the architect in 1935. Pope was also the architect of the National Archives Building and original (west) building of the National Gallery of Art. He prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the Anacostia River at the end of East Capitol Street; one at Lincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the National Archives; and one situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site and because it completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission (Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol; White House to the Tidal Basin site). Pope designed a very large pantheon-like structure, to sit on a square platform, and to be flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.[3]
[edit] Construction
Under construction in 1941, as seen from across the Tidal Basin
Construction began on December 15, 1938 and the cornerstone was laid on November 15, 1939, by president Franklin Roosevelt. By this point Pope had died (1937) and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, took over construction of the memorial. The design was modified at the request of the Commission of Fine Arts to a more conservative design.
Construction commenced amid significant opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the Memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the design and site of the Memorial. In addition, many Washingtonians opposed the site because it was not aligned with L'Enfant's original plan. Finally, many well established elm and cherry trees had to be removed for construction. Construction continued amid the opposition.[3]
In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned statue in the center of the Memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six, Rudulph Evans was chosen as the main sculptor and Adolph A. Weinman was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the entrance.[3]
The Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated by President Roosevelt on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday. At that time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished. Due to material shortages during World War II, the statue that was installed at the time was a plaster cast of Evans' work painted to look like bronze. The finished bronze statue was installed in 1947, having been cast by the Roman Bronze Company of New York.[3]
One of the last American public monuments in the Beaux-Arts tradition,[citation needed] the Memorial was severely criticized even as it was being built, by those who adhered to the modernist argument that dressing 20th century buildings like Greek and Roman ones constituted a "tired architectural lie."[citation needed] More than 60 years ago, Pope responded with silence to critics who dismissed him as part of an enervated architectural elite practicing "styles that are safely dead."[citation needed] As a National Memorial it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[1][6]
[edit] Description
The monument's marble steps, portico, and circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and shallow dome.
Composed of circular marble steps, a portico, a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and a shallow dome, the building is open to the elements. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River. The Jefferson Memorial, and the White House located directly north, form one of the main anchor points in the area of the National Mall in D.C. The Washington Monument, just east of the axis on the national Mall, was intended to be located at the intersection of the White House and the site for the Jefferson Memorial to the south, but soft swampy ground which defied 19th century engineering required it be sited to the east.[citation needed]
[edit] The interior
Rudulph Evans's statue of Thomas Jefferson with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence to the right
The interior of the memorial has a 19-foot (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4336 kg) bronze statue[7] of Jefferson by sculptor Rudulph Evans[7] showing Jefferson looking out toward the White House. This statue was added four years after the dedication. Most prominent are the words which are inscribed in a frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."[8] This sentence is taken from a September 23, 1800, letter by Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush wherein he defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.
On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776:[9]
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.
Note that the inscription uses the word "inalienable", as in Jefferson's draft, rather than "unalienable", as in the published Declaration.[10]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is an excerpt from "A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1777", except for the last sentence, which is taken from a letter of August 28, 1789, to James Madison:[9][11]
Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.
Detail of the statue
The quotes from the panel of the northeast interior wall are from multiple sources. The first sentence, beginning "God who gave...", is from "A Summary View of the Rights of British America".[12] The second, third and fourth sentences are from Notes on the State of Virginia.[13] The fifth sentence, beginning "Nothing is more...", is from Jefferson's autobiography.[14] The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from an August 13, 1790, letter to George Wythe.[15] The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to George Washington[16]:[9]
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.
The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is redacted and excerpted from a letter July 12, 1816, to Samuel Kercheval:[17][9]
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
[edit] Criticism
Cato Institute Fellow and University of Alberta history professor emeritus Ronald Hamowy has called the inscriptions "[p]erhaps the most egregious examples of invoking Jefferson for purely transient political purposes." Hamowy argues that:
Planned and built during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the walls of the memorial are adorned with quotations from Jefferson’s writings, many of which suggest that Jefferson advocated positions consistent with the aims of the New Deal—with which he would, in fact, have had little sympathy. Thus, Jefferson’s admonition that an educated electorate was essential if liberty were to be preserved is transmuted into a call for universal public education. And his caution that man, as he advances in his understanding of the world, must accompany his greater enlightenment with changes in his social institutions becomes a justification for a new theory of government in keeping with the social-democratic principles that animated the New Deal.[18]
The excerpts chosen from the Declaration have been criticized because the first half alters Jefferson's prose (for the sake of saving space) and eliminates the right of revolution passage that Jefferson believed was the point of the Declaration, while much of the second half (from "solemnly publish" to "divine providence") was not written by Jefferson.[19]
The fifth sentence quoted on the northeast interior wall ("Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free.") has been called "misleadingly truncated" by historian Garry Wills, because Jefferson's sentence continued with: "Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."[20]
[edit] Location
Jefferson Memorial, with Potomac River in the background. Photographed from the top of the Washington Monument, January 1967
The site of the monument is in Washington D.C. West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin, is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry trees, a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.[21]
The monument is not as prominent in popular culture as other Washington, D.C. buildings and monuments, possibly due to its location well removed from the National Mall and the Washington Metro. The Jefferson Memorial hosts many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.[21]
The monument is open 24 hours a day but park rangers are there only until 11:30 p.m.;however, the monument is only a few hundred yards from the National Park Police D.C. Headquarters in East Potomac Park. (0330 UTC)[22]
Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female Bodhisattva. She is known as the "mother of liberation", and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokiteśvara. Tārā is also known as a saviouress, as a heavenly deity who hears the cries of beings experiencing misery in saṃsāra.
The most widely known forms of Tārā are:
Green Tārā, (Syamatara) known as the Buddha of enlightened activity
White Tārā, (Sitatara) also known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity; also known as The Wish-fulfilling Wheel, or Cintachakra
Red Tārā, (Kurukulla) of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things
Black Tārā, associated with power
Yellow Tārā, (Bhrikuti) associated with wealth and prosperity
Blue Tārā, associated with transmutation of anger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_(Buddhism)
Temple of the Five Pagodas
Temple of the Five Pagodas , also known as the "Precious Pagoda of the Buddhist Relics of the Diamond Throne" , is a Buddhist temple in the city of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia in north-west China. It is located in the older part of the city in the vicinity of Qingcheng Park.
Construction of the temple began in 1727 and was completed in 1732. The distinctive five pagodas surmount contains a temple with 1563 images of Buddha carved into its walls each differing slightly to the other. Inside is a rare Mongolian cosmological map carved into a large stone which illustrates the zodiac and positions of numerous stars.
Elderly men checking out the list of donations for this ceremony from local residents.
=====
** Origin and facts of the Hungry Ghost Festival:
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
Photo shot with Photo shot with Nikon D600 + AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
=====
It became apparent that the site was well suited for another high-profile memorial since it sat directly south of the White House. By 1901 the Senate Park Commission, better known as the McMillan Commission, had proposed placing a pantheon-like structure on the site hosting "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory of some individual shall be honored by a monument of the first rank may be left to the future"; no action was ever taken by Congress on this issue.[3]
The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped to facilitate the recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid-chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water and make the Tidal Basin (also known as Twining Lake) suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Memorial, opened in May 1918 and operated as a "Whites Only" facility through 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid the question of racial integration.[5]
A design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt in 1925. The winning design was submitted by John Russell Pope and consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. The plan was never funded by Congress and was not built.[3]
Jefferson Memorial Side View
The Memorial's chance came in 1934 when President Franklin Roosevelt, an admirer of Jefferson himself, inquired to the Commission of Fine Arts about the possibility of erecting a memorial to Jefferson, including it in the plans for the Federal Triangle project, which was under construction at the time. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boylan jumped off FDR's starting point and urged Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission. Boylan was appointed the Commission's first chairman and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for a memorial to Jefferson.[3]
Jefferson warns that a nation cannot be "ignorant and free."
The Commission chose John Russell Pope as the architect in 1935. Pope was also the architect of the National Archives Building and original (west) building of the National Gallery of Art. He prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the Anacostia River at the end of East Capitol Street; one at Lincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the National Archives; and one situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site and because it completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission (Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol; White House to the Tidal Basin site). Pope designed a very large pantheon-like structure, to sit on a square platform, and to be flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.[3]
[edit] Construction
Under construction in 1941, as seen from across the Tidal Basin
Construction began on December 15, 1938 and the cornerstone was laid on November 15, 1939, by president Franklin Roosevelt. By this point Pope had died (1937) and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, took over construction of the memorial. The design was modified at the request of the Commission of Fine Arts to a more conservative design.
Construction commenced amid significant opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the Memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the design and site of the Memorial. In addition, many Washingtonians opposed the site because it was not aligned with L'Enfant's original plan. Finally, many well established elm and cherry trees had to be removed for construction. Construction continued amid the opposition.[3]
In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned statue in the center of the Memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six, Rudulph Evans was chosen as the main sculptor and Adolph A. Weinman was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the entrance.[3]
The Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated by President Roosevelt on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday. At that time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished. Due to material shortages during World War II, the statue that was installed at the time was a plaster cast of Evans' work painted to look like bronze. The finished bronze statue was installed in 1947, having been cast by the Roman Bronze Company of New York.[3]
One of the last American public monuments in the Beaux-Arts tradition,[citation needed] the Memorial was severely criticized even as it was being built, by those who adhered to the modernist argument that dressing 20th century buildings like Greek and Roman ones constituted a "tired architectural lie."[citation needed] More than 60 years ago, Pope responded with silence to critics who dismissed him as part of an enervated architectural elite practicing "styles that are safely dead."[citation needed] As a National Memorial it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[1][6]
[edit] Description
The monument's marble steps, portico, and circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and shallow dome.
Composed of circular marble steps, a portico, a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and a shallow dome, the building is open to the elements. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River. The Jefferson Memorial, and the White House located directly north, form one of the main anchor points in the area of the National Mall in D.C. The Washington Monument, just east of the axis on the national Mall, was intended to be located at the intersection of the White House and the site for the Jefferson Memorial to the south, but soft swampy ground which defied 19th century engineering required it be sited to the east.[citation needed]
[edit] The interior
Rudulph Evans's statue of Thomas Jefferson with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence to the right
The interior of the memorial has a 19-foot (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4336 kg) bronze statue[7] of Jefferson by sculptor Rudulph Evans[7] showing Jefferson looking out toward the White House. This statue was added four years after the dedication. Most prominent are the words which are inscribed in a frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."[8] This sentence is taken from a September 23, 1800, letter by Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush wherein he defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.
On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776:[9]
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.
Note that the inscription uses the word "inalienable", as in Jefferson's draft, rather than "unalienable", as in the published Declaration.[10]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is an excerpt from "A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1777", except for the last sentence, which is taken from a letter of August 28, 1789, to James Madison:[9][11]
Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.
Detail of the statue
The quotes from the panel of the northeast interior wall are from multiple sources. The first sentence, beginning "God who gave...", is from "A Summary View of the Rights of British America".[12] The second, third and fourth sentences are from Notes on the State of Virginia.[13] The fifth sentence, beginning "Nothing is more...", is from Jefferson's autobiography.[14] The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from an August 13, 1790, letter to George Wythe.[15] The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to George Washington[16]:[9]
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.
The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is redacted and excerpted from a letter July 12, 1816, to Samuel Kercheval:[17][9]
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
[edit] Criticism
Cato Institute Fellow and University of Alberta history professor emeritus Ronald Hamowy has called the inscriptions "[p]erhaps the most egregious examples of invoking Jefferson for purely transient political purposes." Hamowy argues that:
Planned and built during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the walls of the memorial are adorned with quotations from Jefferson’s writings, many of which suggest that Jefferson advocated positions consistent with the aims of the New Deal—with which he would, in fact, have had little sympathy. Thus, Jefferson’s admonition that an educated electorate was essential if liberty were to be preserved is transmuted into a call for universal public education. And his caution that man, as he advances in his understanding of the world, must accompany his greater enlightenment with changes in his social institutions becomes a justification for a new theory of government in keeping with the social-democratic principles that animated the New Deal.[18]
The excerpts chosen from the Declaration have been criticized because the first half alters Jefferson's prose (for the sake of saving space) and eliminates the right of revolution passage that Jefferson believed was the point of the Declaration, while much of the second half (from "solemnly publish" to "divine providence") was not written by Jefferson.[19]
The fifth sentence quoted on the northeast interior wall ("Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free.") has been called "misleadingly truncated" by historian Garry Wills, because Jefferson's sentence continued with: "Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."[20]
[edit] Location
Jefferson Memorial, with Potomac River in the background. Photographed from the top of the Washington Monument, January 1967
The site of the monument is in Washington D.C. West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin, is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry trees, a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.[21]
The monument is not as prominent in popular culture as other Washington, D.C. buildings and monuments, possibly due to its location well removed from the National Mall and the Washington Metro. The Jefferson Memorial hosts many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.[21]
The monument is open 24 hours a day but park rangers are there only until 11:30 p.m.;however, the monument is only a few hundred yards from the National Park Police D.C. Headquarters in East Potomac Park. (0330 UTC)[22]
There are more items ready, but more dolls would make the setting too confusing.
Dolls are:
Never Ordinary Eden wearing Transmutation dress from our Seven Wonders Collection.
Lady In Red Erin: Wearing Grace Dress from our The Harvest Collection
MLP Fluttershy Wearing our Sybil derss
DOTW Sumatra/Indonesia on a MTM Body wearing a custom Daughter Of Sailors top.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Major transformations and transmutations taking place, outcome is different than expected. Symbol of joy, color, gentleness, lightness, and change in life. Awakens us to dance on the winds of life, teaches that growth doesn't have to be painful, allows us to discover the important issues in life for conscious transformation. Can you discern what is important right now? Don't sweat the small stuff, be joyful and thankful for your blessings.
Oil on canvas; 215 x 293.5 cm.
Kenzo Okada (岡田 謙三 "Okada Kenzō" September 28, 1902 – July 25, 1982) was a Japanese-born American painter and the first Japanese-American artist to work in the abstract expressionist style and receive international acclaim.[1]
According to Michelle Stuart, “when Okada came to the United States he was already a mature painter, well considered in his native Japan. To American abstraction Okada brought civilized restraint, an elegance of device and an unusual gift for poetic transmutation of natural forms.”
Kenzo Okada was born September 28, 1902 in Yokohama, Japan. His father, a wealthy industrialist, did not support his son's desire to be an artist. When his father died, Okada entered the department of Western painting at Tokyo School of Fine Arts,[1] called today Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, but in 1924 left for France where he studied with fellow Japanese expatriate Tsugouharu Foujita, executing paintings of urban subjects. In 1927, he exhibited work in the Salon d'Automne. In the same year, he returned to Japan and within a year he had his first one-person show at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. His success continued with a prize in 1936 from the Japanese contemporary artist group Nikakai Group, of which he went on to become a lifetime member. He taught at the School of Fine Arts, Nippon University from 1940 to 1944, but was evacuated to Mori village in the Miyagi Prefecture, later returning to Tokyo to teach at the Musashino Art Institute.[1]
A realist painter in Japan, in 1950 he moved to New York City, where he produced abstract paintings. Undoubtedly stimulated by Abstract Expressionism, these paintings nevertheless display a strong Japanese sensibility and feeling for form. His paintings from the 1950s reveal subtle changes in the natural world through the use of imagery constructed with delicate, sensitive color tonalities, floating within the compositional space. In 1953 he began to exhibit his abstract expressionist paintings with the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City.
During the 1970s he painted numerous works that used as a point of departure the reinterpretation of the decorative effects of traditional Japanese painting.
Okada evokes the aura of landscape by using earth colors, abstract patterns hinting at rocks and flowers, and an overall haziness that makes his scenes look submerged in water. Bringing an Asian sensitivity to the New York School of abstraction, Okada distills the essence of nature into his painting, making it seem elemental and thus sublime. Okada became friends with Mark Rothko and many other abstract expressionists, especially the early color field painters. His sensitive and personal style of abstract expressionism, with his Asian roots, relates directly to both color field painting and lyrical abstraction.
Okada died in Tokyo July 24, 1982