Images for Contemplation
If a word to the wise is
sufficient,
and a picture is worth a
thousand words,
then is one-thousandth of
a picture sufficient for a sage?
-
Sri
Abhidharma Satyananda
(Swami
Mahajnana)
The image above, as well as the one that appears on our Welcome
Page (which you may view in large format by clicking here),
were created in November, 1999 by an Otterbein College
student, Susan Bennett. She received no extra credit for
these wonderful works of art, but built up very good karma.
A Galactic Yin Yang
A photo of a distant galaxy take by the
Hubble space telescope.
An assortment of images of the Buddha from around
the
world,
all intended to carry nonverbal lessons about
Buddhist
virtues,
like peace of mind and compassion.
The Amida Buddha (Daibutsu) at Kamakura, Japan"
One of the two great Buddhas in Japan, and the
largest
in bronze.
It is more than 700 years old, over forty feet
tall, and weighs 200,000 pounds.
Click
here for a closer look from a different angle.
Ink drawing by Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku.
One of two of Salvador Dali's great portrayals of
the
Crucifixion of Jesus, the Christ.
One of the many thousands images of Shakyamuni
Buddha
(Siddhartha Gautama)
found in Thailand.
Water imagery for Ultimate Reality is very common
in
all the worlds religions,
but especially those of the East. Hinduism
especially
likes to makes reference
to the Great Spiritual Sea -- encompassing and
permeating
all beings.
Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, death,
disease,
decay,
dance, music, sexuality, and asceticism, seated in
his teaching posture.
Visible are some of his key symbols: the parallel
white lines on the
forehead (also worn by his followers), serpents, and
the trident.
A modern visual presentation of Jesus as a
spiritual
master,
in the meditative posture of a Hindu yogi or Zen
Master.
There
are ancient legends in the East, as well as some
speculation
in the
West, that Jesus traveled to India (or met travelers
from India) and
learned there much of what he taught, including (1)
reincarnation
("Ye must be born again."), (2) karma ("That
which
a
person sows,
that also shall s/he reap."), (3) the locus of the
Divine Presence within
("The Kingdom of God is within you."), (4) the four
basic yogas or
spiritual disciplines ("You shall love the Lord your
God with all
of your heart, all of your soul, all
of your mind, and all of your
strength....), and (5) the essential unity
and spiritual connectedness
of all sentient beings (". . . and your neighbor as
your self." "I am
[literally "Jahweh"] the vine, and you are the
braches."
One of several crucifixions and many renderings
of
Jesus Christ
painted by the great 16th century Spanish artist,
El Greco.
Hindu god Shiva and the least terrifying of his
consorts,
Parvati ("daughter of the mountain"), the mother of
Ganesha,
the elephant-headed god of good fortune. Click
here
to see a
whole gaggle of Ganeshas!
"Corpus Hypercubus" by Salvador Dali
The second of two very different crucifixions
painted
the great surrealist
twentieth-century artist, Salvador Dali.
Shiva as Nataraja, "The Royal Dancer," who moves
to
the beat of
the cosmic drum that he holds in his right hand,
while
sporting
in his left hand the destructive fire that will
consume
the universe.
"The Last Supper" by Salvador Dali
Another famous and moving scene from the life of
Jesus,
painted in the later, Christian period of Dali's
life.
Krishna is one of ten avatars (incarnations) of
the
"Preserver"
Hindu god, Vishnu, and by far the most popular and
venerated.
He is often portrayed as a child or a youth is a
pastoral
setting.
As an adult, he is often pictured with four
of his most common symbols:
the mace, the discus, the conch, and the lotus.
Radha is the very popular consort (mate) of
Krishna,
his favorite from among the cowgrils (gopis)
who
adore
him.
Sarasati is the consort (mate) of the Creator
god,
Brahma.
She is the goddess of music and writing
(and therefore of school children),
and is usually portrayed holding a sitar and a pen.
Durga is one of the many consorts (mates) of the
Destroyer
God, Shiva.
She is quite fierce in demeanor, for she devours
evil.
Her dress, therefore
is typically blood-red. She is often depicted
riding a tiger.
The Bosatsu (Bodhisattva) Kannon
This is a Japanese line drawing of the
much-beloved
feminine form
(called Kwan Yin in China) of the bodhisattva
(Japanese bosatsu) or
"Enlightenment being" of compassion, Avalokiteshvara
(who is
generally depicted as male). In popular
Buddhist
piety, her role is
not unlike that of the Virgin Mary among Catholic
Christians.
For some images of the famous Sanjusangendo in
Kyoto,
Japan,
which boast 1,001 images of Kannon, click here.
Tenzin Gyatso is, in fact, the fourteenth in the
lineage
of Tibetan
Buddhist spiritual leaders, and one of the most
widely
recognized and
respected religious figures in the world. His
followers regard him as a
living manifestation of Avalokiteshvara (see caption
immediately above).
He has resided in exile with many followers in
Dharamsala
in northern India
since fleeing the Chinese occupation of his country
in 1959, a dramatic
event that was the subject of two recent movies,
Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun.