The Venerable Ngawang Chojor (see yesterday's post) is 100% committed to his spiritual path, clearly. But I was thinking last night that what he does, making his beautiful mandala over and over again, is quite like what Jane {Not Plain Jane) does when she knits or spins, or Ellen (Stuff from Ellen's Head) as she carefully etches or sandblasts glass. Or Linda Sue (All I Ever Wanted) when she felts flowers or puts together her amazing collages. Susan (Artspark Theater), Tom (Half-Moose with a Twist), John (Robert Frost's Banjo), Willow (Willow Manor), Meri (Meri's Musings), Steven (The Golden Fish), Dan (A Mindful Heart), Kim (Mouse Medicine), Liza (They Will Not Have Me) are also - it seems - absolutely devoted to the path of sharing their art. (There are more of course, - see the sidebar - but you get the idea.)
In fact the blogs I love best are written by artists who are, each in his/her own way, as devoted as Venerable Ngawang Chojor. He seems exotic, sifting his grains of sand on the pattern, dressed in his truly lovely Tibetan Buddhist outfit. He seems pure and exquisite beyond the beyond. But the truth is, he's one of us. He is. Oh yeah.
19 comments:
Could have made a list of everyone on the sidebar ... but that would have been needlessly repetitive, eh?
Happy spring equinox, y'all!
How true, your words and thoughts. I try and end my day knowing I have helped someone take care of their cat...it is my calling, my therapist said...
reya, i like this - i've come to know that even in the smallest and simplest act - washing out a sink, making tea, watering plants - there's a devotion that can contain the deepest care, unparalleled focus, even kindness. acts of quality know no scale and bring goodness into the world no matter what they might be. have a sweet springy dc day! steven
Thanks Reya. sometimes I question my devotion when I can't sleep at night wondering if we'll ever get another job. But then, what else would I do?
I wonder if the mandala master tosses and turns sometimes, wonders about the way his life has gone, yearns for something different. He is human after all. Who knows?
Very good point Reya. I am in awe of artists and their skills and always learn something new from the very way artists see life.
One of the joys of blogging is the discovery of so many brilliant artists who are busy creating such wonderfully unique works.
I baked bread yesterday, something I do about once a week. I make two loaves and the first one is usually gone within a couple of hours. Very much like a sand painting.
he is uber us. uberus, new word. don't forget to put yourself on that list, reya.
Reya, i feel honored, humbled, and gladdened that you would include me on this list. And encouraged as i make my way on the pollen path and share what i see.
To adapt something Gandhi once said, perhaps through our blogs, we're trying to heal ourselves by "being the peace we wish to see in the world."
And, oh, my blogroll is growing....
You're right
something as ephemeral as a soap bubble about a blog
we just enjoy creating things I guess.....
most people's lives ARE their art work
something to think about!
I have this thought often:
I am just amazed by the creativity and the love in the world.
Reya I have never considered my arting as devotional-ish. it does put one in a different zone- takes the edge off, I suppose... but I wouldn't put myself in the same sentence as the sand mandala master...not ever.... though it may be the same stuff in the end...Thanks, dearest deep Reya,- rather than devotional I would just say it keeps me out of jail, surely I would have stabbed somebody by now had I not had wool to stab.
XXXOOO
Everyone on my blogroll is included, and many more who I just haven't gotten around to including.
I think there's a generosity of heart that is a necessary piece of good blogging. A generous heart and the ability to create something beautiful. All of you - and many more - do it whenever you press the "publish" button.
And then, like Elizabeth says, it's gone like a soap bubble. Oh yeah!
Reya, you're so wise as always. Whether it's stitch by stitch, or grain by grain - we're all traveling together! Thank you for reminding me to see what I do as something (even slightly) venerable.
Hi Reya
this is to me one of your best posts ever, because of the way that you have reduced us all to the same common denominator, suggesting that whenever we become fully absorbed in an endeavour we can lose ourselves and be fully in the present...completely devoted...
and as Steven says these tasks need not be artistic or creative in the narrow meaning of those words but they are fully creative and artistic in the ways that they can bring us a sense of peace and harmony and add to the world in minuscule ways over and over again...
thank you dear Reya
Happy days
Thanks, Delwyn! Of course you're one of the family of devoted artists as well. Oh my yes!
I think he is human still with conflicts still left in the body and the mind. As pure as he can be but still...
I was at a retreat. I was at a retreat and observed one of the monks looking away from one of the beautiful, young women in attendance as she stepped into the hot tub in her swim suit.
The look on his face said it all. When I talked to him about it, he said even though he had taken vows to serve the Light, the Source, that he would never break, the longing was still in him.
That's why I love monks. They so tell you how it is!
I love them too, Ronda. Especially now that I've come to believe they are just like us, with more practice.
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