The Way to the Deathless: Wisdom and Compassion

30 October 2011

Wisdom and Compassion


No. 3 - Vajrasattva and Consort

Material: Cotton Canvas, framed in traditional Tibetan brocade

Colours: Watercolours

Size: 32 x 44 cm

Creation Period:

roughly 200 hrs between February and May 2011 in Gokarn/India

Availability: sold
For prints, posters etc. please see under the About Thangkas and How to Order Prints section (sidebar) and visit my online shop http://www.zazzle.com/ariyanandi*

Wisdom and Compassion - Vajrasattva and his Consort.

A small story connected with this comes to mind and makes me smile ... In German, 'Wisdom and Compassion' translates as Weisheit und Mitgefühl. I was once in the process of explaining this to a dear German friend, and got as far as "Weisheit und ..." when her witty boyfriend interrupted and completed the phrase "... und Schwarzheit!". The pun unfortunately doesn't translate well into English, but it did have its practical effect on me and zen-like cut off my all-to-wise-sounding remarks. Well said, Ama!

Actually, Wisdom and Compassion describes perfectly these two people for me ... their joyful lightness of being, unassuming wisdom and wide open hearts are just otherwordly precious and a never-ending inspiration.

sholama

Below some information on meaning and symbolism of Vajrasattva - gathered from wikipedia -:

Vajrasattva

(Tib. Dorje Sempa), the ‘indestructible being or hero’,is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana, Mantrayana and Vajrayana buddhist traditions.

Vajrasattva's name translates to Diamond Mind or Thunderbolt Mind. He is beautiful and peaceful with a sweetly smiling face and two eyes, and he sits in vajra-posture upon a white moon disc and a multicoloured lotus. With his right hand he embraces his consort, who is known either as Vajratopa (Tib. Dorje Nyenma), or Vajragarvi, the lady of ‘vajra-pride’. Vajrasattva holds a golden five-pointed vajra (dorje) in front of his heart, and with his left hand resting upon his thigh he holds an upturned silver bell (ghanta) at the level of his hip.

In Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana) the vajra and bell are used in many rites by a lama. The dorje is a malesymbol that represents many things for the tantrika. The vajra is representative of compassion whereas its companion tool, the bell which is a female symbol, denotes wisdom. Some deities are shown holding each the vajra and bell in separate hands, symbolizing the union of the forces of wisdom and compassion, respectively.

Vajrasattva is an important Adi-Buddha and yidam deity, whose practice is particularly effective in purifying all defilements, especially those of anger and aversion. His visualized meditation practice and the repetition of his hundred-syllable mantra form one of the four ‘preliminary practices’ that are common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Mantra

In addition to personal practice, the Vajrasattva mantra is regarded as having the ability to purify karma, bring peace, and cause enlightened activity in general. The six syllable mantra (OM VAJRASATTVA HUM), is a less formal version of the one hundred syllable mantra on which it is based but is believed to contain the essential spiritual points of the longer mantra.

Vajrasattva and Consort - framed in Tibetan brocade

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Who am I ?

... and where do I come from?

Good questions -

they keep me alive and awake and hopefully will get answered as life continues to unravel its mysteries and I grow in understanding ...

For the time being, I'll leave this at that and let Rumi's wise words resonate in all of us seekers of Truth ...

Only Breath

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,

not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen.

Not any religion or cultural system.

I am not from the East or the West,

not out of the ocean or up from the ground,

not natural or ethereal,

not composed of elements at all.

I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or in the next,

did not descend from Adam and Eve

or any origin story.

My place is placeless,

a trace of the traceless.

Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved,

have seen the two worlds as one

and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner,

only that

breath breathing human being.

from Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

About Thangkas and Where to Order Prints

What is a Thangka?

A Thangka is a Tibetan silk or cotton painting framed with brocade embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity or mandala.

It is originally an ancient Nepalese art form (called "Paubha") that was exported to Tibet when a Nepalese Princess married a Tibetan ruler and imported images and representations of deities to Tibet.

To Buddhists, these Tibetan religious paintings offer a beautiful manifestation of the divine, being both visually and mentally stimulating. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. Thangkas often overflow with symbolism and allusion. The painting of a Thangka must follow rules specified in the Buddhist scriptures regarding proportions, shape, color, stance, hand positions, and attributes in order to personify correctly the Buddha or Deities. It takes normally several months of dedicated painting to complete a whole Thangka, which are extraordinary fine and rich in details.

I have set up online shops at http://www.zazzle.com/ariyanandi* and at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/ariya-schaas.html where you can choose your favourite thangka design printed on a great variety of products, such as canvas prints, posters, cards, laptop/iphone cases, calendars, puzzles, clothing, accessories etc. So if you're in search of a lovely gift for anybody and any occasion, come visit me there ...