Changing heart towards pain: Pema Chodron

Changing our heart towards pain: Pema Chodron

(Sounds True) Aug. 31, 2022. With The Freedom to Love, Pema Chödrön invites us to start wherever we are — with any challenges, frustrations, or fears we may be facing — and use them as the launching pad to awaken the natural and boundless capacity of our heart. #Buddhism

Do you suppose things will fall apart again?

Do we want to love and connect with others more deeply but need a little help? Struggling with matters of the heart? This is the place to bring them through six sessions of intensive learning and practice.

This beloved and gifted American Buddhist teacher guides us through Buddhism’s traditional awakened heart training...with a difference. She might have named this course “Working with the Hard Stuff” — because here she shows us how to use the principles of The Four Immeasurables (Brahma Viharas or Divine Abidings) in our most challenging situations, relationships, and emotional states.

• Check out the online course The Freedom To Love: bit.ly/3QeGspl.
• Subscribe to Sounds True for more: bit.ly/2EAugMf

ABOUT: Sounds True was founded in 1985 by Tami Simon with a clear mission: to disseminate [spread the seeds of] spiritual wisdom. Since starting out as a project with one woman and her tape recorder, the project has grown into a multimedia publishing company with more than 80 employees, a library of more than 1,500 titles featuring some of the leading teachers and visionaries of our time, and an ever-expanding family of customers from across the world. In more than three decades of growth, change, and evolution, Sounds True has maintained its focus on its overriding purpose, as summed up in its mission statement. Connect on Facebook, Instagram, or website.

Sounds True: When Grief Lands with Love

Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Amber Larson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"When Grief Lands with Love" with Sherry Walling

"Being able to sit in meaninglessness without losing a basic belief in meaning, it's a little bit tricky to do. But I think to have a worldview that says, 'At my core I believe that life is meaningful. I don't see it right now. I can't grasp it right now, but I believe that eventually I will."

—Dr. Sherry Walling, Ph.D.

 

(Sounds True) As a therapist, Dr. Sherry Walling knew all the "right" things to say to help people in grief. But when she lost her father to cancer and her brother to suicide within six months of each other, she had the unfortunate chance to encounter two types of mourning up close — the slowly unfolding terminal illness and the sudden and stigmatized death by suicide.

Touching Two Worlds

She had a profound realization: We’re getting grief all wrong. In this podcast, Sounds True Founder and Host Tami Simon speaks with Dr. Walling about her new book, Touching Two Worlds: A Guide for Finding Hope in the Landscape of Loss, and how we each have the power "to go all the way into our grief to find where it lands with love."

Tune in for this compassionate conversation on:

• Navigating the duality that exists on the opposite spectrums of our lives
• The healing practice of writing about our experiences of grief
• Overcoming the stigma and silence around suicide
• The just-world hypothesis and how traumatic events change our view
• Accepting limitations in life while taking responsibility for finding our own sense of meaning
• Accessing a sense of calm and grace to release the unresolved shock of grief
• Finding closure versus the place "where grief lands with love"
• AUDIO: LISTEN NOW

"With so many of the folks that I work with when they encounter their own grief," explains Dr. Walling, "it takes them down a dark, deep tunnel. And I'm hoping that by sharing a little bit of my own submersion in that world... I hope they'll know a little bit about what it takes to move through those feelings, to embrace those feelings, and to find their joy in the middle of those feelings."

If anyone is experiencing grief that is painfully recent or in the more distant past, we hope that this week’s conversation brings comfort and support.

With you on the journey,

Your friends at Sounds True

 P.S. Discover more about Sherry Walling and her new book, Touching Two Worlds: A Guide for Finding Hope in the Landscape of Loss. Sounds True Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Pinterest Sounds True Blog

"Divine Beings" museum exhibition (Feb. 20)

Norton Simon Museum (norton.org); CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Vishnu Riding Garuda, 320-500 CE, Eastern India or Bangladesh, Gupta Period

.

Parinirvana, Tosa Yukihiro 土佐行広 (Japan,
Muromachi Period, 1338-1573), circa 1451

A new exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum features works by Asian artists in response to spiritual concepts: "Divine Beings" spotlights six exceptional works, five of which are loans that include four Buddhist paintings from China, Korea, and Japan linked with Buddhism and one Hindu sculpture from Eastern India or Bangladesh.

Visitors are invited to explore the relationships between these and more than 30 selected works from the Norton’s vast Greco-Buddhist (Gandharan) collection on view within five Chinese galleries. Some representations of Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist gods and demigods (devas) take the form of humans, such as the Three Taoist Star Lords (ETs?)

Zhao Changguo 趙 昌 國 (Chinese, active 16th century), Three Taoist
Star Lords Playing Weiqi in Autumn Mountains Ming Dynasty, 1500s

Other works depict real or mythological animals, such as the dragon (naga), phoenix (garuda), tiger, owl, ox, horse, and crane, which are believed to possess supernatural abilities, acting as guardians or mounts (transport) for deities and/or disembodied "souls" (gandharvas). Within the structure of time-honored artistic and philosophical conventions, each artist has thoughtfully given form to traditional beliefs about the fundamental nature of existence. It runs between February 20–June 30, 2020. More

Art as Meditation: Norton Simon (Sept. 6-7)

Ananda M. (Dharma Meditation Initiative), Eliza Darcey, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Goddess Tara (nortonsimon.org)

Thursday, Sept. 6, 7:00-8:30 PM: Art as meditation? Buddhism has produced some of the world's most enjoyable art.

Tibetan lamas create sand mandalas and wipe them away. Nepalese artisans pound out gorgeous golden statues and sell them to tourists. Thai craftspeople carve only to see their work drenched in rain.

Americans can use mixed media to focus on the Buddha as the Light of the East. The first human depictions of the Buddha were from the merging of East and West in Ancient Greek Afghanistan called Gandhara and Bactria.

Before we visit Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum of Art  (Sept. 7th), we'll meditate on the Buddha through art. Artist and former child-Buddhist nun Darcey will guide us. Basic materials provided. Or bring your media. FREE RSVP

Buddhist Art Night at the Norton Simon

First art was made in Gandhara.

Friday, Sept. 7, 6:00-9:00 PM: First Fridays at the Norton Simon (nortonsimon.org) are free. Join us for an enchanting evening exploring the Norton Simon Museum of Art’s world-class Buddhist collection from India and Southeast Asia. Take an artful meditation tour. Learn tips on meditation in a drop-in session in the Asian Sculpture Garden. Enjoy the galleries (where the best of Western art is on exhibit). Stop by the theater to see works come to life. Enjoy the flavors of India with special treats available at the outdoor Garden Café next to the lotus pond. FREE RSVP
 

Dharma Meditation Initiative: DMI, PasaDharma, Dharma Punx, Disclosure, UCLA

A Night in Focus: India (Norton Simon, Sep. 29)

NortonSimon.org (Events & Programs); Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Art student examines Vishnu statue (NS)

Join us at the Norton Simon Museum of [Buddhist] Art for an enchanting evening exploring the museum’s Indian art collection.

Take an artful meditation tour of select works in the collection or learn tips on meditation in a drop-in session in the Asian Sculpture Garden. 

Avalokita, Shakyamuni, Maitreya

Enjoy the sounds of the tabla, tanpura, and flute in the galleries, or stop by the museum's theater to see works come to life as dancers recreate the poses seen in sculptures from India.

Families can create a drum inspired by the rhythmic movements in the sculptures. Challenge a friend to a game of chess (a game invented by Buddhist monastics in Asia) in the galleries and garden.

Enjoy the many flavors of India with special treats available for purchase in the Garden Café.

• A Night in Focus: India
• Saturday, September 29
• 5:00–7:30 pm
• Free with admission

Limited free parking is available at the Museum; view public transportation options here. Questions? Email events@nortonsimon.org.

Dance of the Divine Enchantress (Norton Simon)

NortonSimon.org, Pasadena, California; Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

• Dance Performance
• DATE: Saturday, April 7, 2018
• TIME: 6:00-7:00 pm
• Performer: Vijayalakshmi

Triad of key Buddhist figures

Award-winning dancer and choreographer Vijayalakshmi from India performs Mohiniyattam, a classical form of Indian dance from Kerala state, in the southern region. It is deeply rooted in the sacred feminine and celebrates energy, power, and strength  (shakti, viriya, parvati) by using graceful movements and dramatic expression. Visit the museum's massive permanent Buddhist art collection downstairs, featuring treasures from India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and China with Jain and Hindu items as well.

• Visit
• Art
• Exhibitions
• Events and Programs
• Learn
• About
• Shop
• Join
• Press
• Spring 2018

Life in Buddhist India, circa 1999 (video)

Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Norton Simon Museum

"In the Land of Snow" Buddhist Art of the Himalayas" (nortonsimon.org)

A group of young Tibetan monks living in India's Himalayas find themselves torn between their spiritual pursuits and their love for soccer in the true-life comedy "The Cup." Soccer's World Cup fever had swept the globe, finding its way into a remote Buddhist monastery nestled in the Himalayas of northern India. While their teachers, elder lamas, try to keep the young monks focused on their studies, they will do just about anything to watch the final match.

Even if that means finding a satellite dish and setting it up on top of their quiet hermitage. An inspiring tale of colliding cultures, midnight escapades, and daring secret plots is all set against the rich traditions of Tibetan/Bhutanese Vajrayana Buddhism and art. (Rated G, Tibetan with English subtitles, showing tonight FREE at the Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, as part of the Himalayan Buddhism exhibit).

• Date: Friday, June 06, 2014
• Time: 7:00 pm - 8:40 pm
• Director: Khyentse Norbu

Free College Night: Himalayan Buddhism

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Buddhist prayer flags flutter in the Himalayas (Bhakti Omwoods/facebook.com)

College Night is an evening at the Museum just for college students. 

Meet the curators, attend tours, and listen to gallery talks with exclusive behind-the-scenes information about favorite paintings and sculptures. 

Learn about the 20-foot-tall Tibetan Buddhist silk thangka in the special exhibition In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas.

Lamayuru gompa, Ladakh (DT)

et inspired by the photography exhibition Face It: The Photographic Portrait, and then channel that inspiration as by drawing in the galleries and enjoying music, food, and drinks with fellow art lovers in the Museum’s sculpture garden.

Students receive 25% off all food for sale in the Garden Café. Visit the Norton Simon College Night page for more information.

• Friday, April 25, 2014, 7-9:00 pm
• Open House, FREE with valid college I.D.
• Registration recommended but not required

Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Mind Maps

Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Assistant Curator Dr. Jeff Durham (SFAAM)

Buddha icon in Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India (Appaji/flickr.com)

A mandala in Tibetan Vajrayana meditation serves as a kasina (indiebookevent.com)

Buddhist and Hindu hallway, Norton Simon, Pasadena (Christian DeLao/judasmaiden15/flickr)

Enter the Mandala: Mental Maps and Cosmic Centers in Himalayan Buddhism

Jaws of Samsara, Bhavacakra (thangka-mandala)

Dr. Jeff Durham, Assistant Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, will explore the possibility of re-creating a Buddhist experience without years of meditative discipline:

Mandalas are geometric maps of Vajrayana Buddhist visionary worlds [planes of existence in Buddhist cosmology]. Appearing in both painting and sculpture, mandalas typically consist of nested squares and circles.

These geometric forms define the center of the cosmos and the four cardinal directions in the sky/space (akasha). Minutely detailed and saturated with philosophical meaning, mandalas are a feast for the eyes and mind.

For Buddhist meditators, however, they are not just images to view, but also worlds to enter. To work with a mandala, practitioners first re-create it in their mind’s eye then imaginatively enter its world.

• Lecture: Norton Simon Museum
• Date: Saturday, April 19, 2014
• Time: 4:00 pm-5:00 pm

Free with admission (limited seating). Member seating 3:30 pm; general seating at 3:45 pm.
  
Rise of Shramanic tradition
Wisdom Quarterly edit of Dharmic Religions (7th to 5th centuries BCE)

The Buddha taught mostly in Magadha

Buddhism and Jainism belong to the "wandering ascetic" (sramana) tradition as distinct from the Brahminical (temple priest) tradition.

They rose to prominence in 700-500 BCE (Svarghese 2008, pp. 259-60; Jain 2008, p. 210; Mallinson 2007, pp. 17-8, 32-33) in Magadha (Magadha Kingdom), reflecting "the cosmology and anthropology of a much older, pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India" (Heinrich Zimmer, 1989, p. 217) and were responsible for the related concepts of the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra) and liberation from that cycle (moksha) (Flood, 2003, pp. 273-4, n. 9].

 

The wandering ascetic movements challenged the orthodoxy of Brahminical rituals (Gavin D. Flood, 1996, An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge Univ. Press, p. 82) inherited by Hinduism. The shamans (shramanas) were wanderers as distinct from orthodox Vedic Brahmin priests. Mahavira, founder of Jainism, and the Buddha, founder of Buddhism, were the most prominent and long lived icons of this ancient Indian movement. More

Land of Snow: Buddhist art of the Himalayas

Dhr. Seven and CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Norton Simon Museum of Art

The world-famous Norton Simon Museum of [Buddhist] Art, Pasadena, California

The road to the top of the world, be it K2 or Everest, is the path-of-practice (RTI/WQ)

   

In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas

Buddhist Goddess, 1450 Nepal (NS)

This is the Norton Simon's first large-scale exhibition of Himalayan Buddhist art.

It will bring together exceptional Indian [Ladakhi, Sikkim, HP], Nepalese, and Tibetan Buddhist sculptures along with significant thangka (wall hanging "flat field") paintings from throughout the Himalayan region from the Museum's permanent collection and generous loans.

Himalayas (MickeySuman/flickr)

One monumental thangka, which measures over 20 feet in height, depicts the "Buddha of the Future," Maitreya, flanked by the 8th [NOTE: We are currently at the 14th] Dalai Lama, Jamphel Gyatso, and his tutor, Yongtsin Yeshe Gyaltsen. This is only the second time this extraordinary painting has been on view at the Museum.

The exhibit runs from March 28-August 25, 2014, but three related events begin tomorrow (see below).

Himalayan Maitreya, the Buddha-to-come, Diskit, Ladakh, India (PaPa_KiLo/flickr.com)

 
1. MANDALA MAKING (Family Art Night)

Bhavacakra (thangka-mandala)

Date: Friday, April 11, 2014, 6:30 pm-7:30 pm

Mandalas are cosmic diagrams that help us understand how the universe is organized. Create a mandala of your world with yourself at the center, surrounded by the people and things that are important to you. Meets in Entrance Gallery (FREE with admission), designed for families with children ages 4–10. No reservations needed

• 2. TOUR: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas
• Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm
  

Maitreya thangka, Tibet 1793 (NS)

Join a Norton Simon Museum educator for a one-hour tour of the exhibition "In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas." Meets in Entrance Gallery (FREE with admission). 

3. LECTURE: Enter the Mandala: Cosmic Centers and Mental Maps in Himalayan Buddhism, Saturday, April 19, 2014
Jeff Durham (Asian Art Museum of San Francisco) Mandalas are geometric maps of Vajrayana Buddhist visionary worlds. Appearing in both painting and sculpture, mandalas typically consist of nested squares and circles. These geometric forms define the center of the cosmos... 3:00-5:00 pm