12/18/17: Nothing Left to Want

Earlier this fall I took some time to draw at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. As my notes in the top image say, a bodhisattva is a Buddhist deity who has attained enlightenment but delays entering paradise in order to aid other earthly beings. As I drew, I noticed how adorned with finery (jewels, fine robes) these figures were...in contrast to the simple robe of standing Buddha on the far right of the spread (see the second image below). The exhibit notes mentioned that standing Buddhas icons were created to make the Buddha more human and to emphasize that he was concerned about the everyday person.

I added the scene of the Minneapolis high-rises in the background, which I saw out the large window near these statues -- perhaps a reminder that Buddhist ideas live on beyond these statues created centuries ago. For example, here's a a thought mentioned in a recent dharma talk by Andrea Martin at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center on Sunday, 12/17/17: "When we realize that everything is already part of our life, there is nothing left to want." 

March 21, 2017: Sat, Chit, Ananda

“Sat, chit, and ananda: ‘infinite being, infinite awareness, infinite bliss.’ Does the ordinary, decent, secular American aspire to that? Does he see it as within his register? There’s a special circle in Dante’s hell that is populated by souls whose only fault was that their aspirations were too low.” –Huston Smith, Parabola Magazine, Dec. 2016.

I heard this quote in a dharma talk given by Bussho Lahn on Sunday morning at the Minneapolis Zen Center. Smith’s words echoed in my mind later at the Minneapolis Institute of Art while I stood in front of this sculpture titled “Rendevous.” Created in 1981 from Indiana limestone by Apache artist Allan Houser (1914-1994), the sculpture was positioned near a colorful, woven Native American blanket.

I felt transfixed, just drinking it all in. I mean, talk about being, awareness, and bliss! At least for the moment, my aspirations were definitely not too low. And several days later, while drawing and painting the scene with pen and gouache, I experienced it all over again: sat, chit, ananda.

Art, religion, meditation, nature, music, literature...there are so many ways to raise our aspirations.